Express Entry: Canada invites 1,070 PNP candidates

Canada continues holding Express Entry draws for provincial nominees. Canada has once again broken the record for the largest Provincial Nominee Program Express Entry draw, issuing 1,070 Invitations to Apply (ITAs).

The minimum CRS score needed to be eligible for the February 2  draw was 674 points, 71 points lower than the previous PNP draw. When PNP candidates are nominated, an automatic 600 points are added to their score, which is why their score is significantly higher than in a typical all-program draw. Without the nomination, the lowest-scoring candidate would only have needed 74 CRS points.

The tie-breaking rule was applied in this draw, where the candidates with the CRS Score of 745 points who submitted their profile on or before February 18 2021 at 05:05:15 UTC would have received the invitation.

Invited candidates now have 60 days to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

This was the third round of invitations under Express Entry in 2022 and 215th overall.

What is Express Entry?

Canada’s most popular immigration programs use the online Express Entry system to manage applications. Express Entry is a system that the federal government uses to manage applications for Canada’s three main economic-class programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). In addition to that, the most provinces also have immigration streams that are aligned with the Express Entry system.

Stakeholders expect to see a steady stream of invitations going out as Canada reaches its target number of 411,000 new permanent residents by 2022. Due to the COVID-19 crisis earlier this year, CRS score predictions remain difficult.

With the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020, Canada switched to program-specific draws for Canadian Experience Class and Provincial Nominee Program candidates. This resulted in a significant increase in the number of individual draws over previous years.