It has been over three years since the inception of the Express Entry system. We have seen many exciting changes during 2016 and 2017. More points awarded for Canadian education, siblings in Canada, and French language proficiency. New records were set for Express Entry in terms of number of invitations issued and lower selection points. The more we progress in 2018, Express Entry will become more favorable to those applying under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and Provincial Nominee Program.
As we witnessed in the draws conducted in 2017, there is a spike in the number of ITA’s being issued. We are looking forward to seeing more ITA’s being issued in 2018 and we are hoping that the average number of ITA’s per draw will remain around 3,500 ITA’s per draw. In addition, the beginning of 2018 has seen a drop in CRS scores. We are anticipating that CRS scores will continue to drop during 2018 in a hope that they would stabilize in the range of 420-435 points.
Unlike 2016 and 2017, the “Golden Rule” for 2018 has changed and is now more feasible for immigrants to apply under the Express Entry system. Provincial Nominee Programs have seen increasing demand and more applicants are opting in for provincial-level immigration streams. On the other hand, on federal-level immigration, to have a CRS score over 400 points, a candidate should be under the age of 36, complete a Bachelor’s Degree, have three years of full-time foreign work experience, and achieve CLB level 9 in each bracket of IELTS-G, CELPIP-G, or TEF language test.
The most recent Express Entry draw was conducted on April 25, 2018 with 3,500 ITA’s issued and a lowest CRS score of 441 points.
We put together a summary of the round of invitations during 2018, along with the number of candidates that will get an Invitation to Apply (ITA), based on the immigration program(s) that are in included in each Express Entry draw.
Draws from IRCC Express Entry Pool (Updated 25/4/18):
During 2018, there has been 8 draws that took place till date and 24,500 total ITA’s issued. The highest number of ITA’s to be issued per draw is 3,500 ITA’s. The lowest CRS score to be selected per draw is 441 points.
Following is a comparison between 2017 and 2018 in terms of numbers of draws, number ITA’s issued, and CRS scores:
Minimum CRS Points Required:
As of January 1, 2018, till date, the lowest selection score is 441 CRS points with an average of 445 CRS points per draw.
Number of Invitations to Apply (ITA) Issued:
As of January 1, 2018, till date, the highest number of invitations issued is 3,500 ITA’s with an average of 3,063 ITA’s per draw.
As of January 1, 2015, foreign nationals must receive an invitation from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) before they may apply to the above programs. Express Entry eliminates the requirement to process applicants in these programs through a first come first serve basis. IRCC aims to process 80 percent of complete Express Entry applications in six months or less. Under Express Entry, candidates who meet the criteria will be accepted into a pool of possible candidates for immigration to Canada. Candidates will be ranked against others in the pool using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System. IRCC will regularly select the highest-ranking candidates from the pool by inviting them to apply to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents.
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