Express Entry draws have been conducted for the first time in nearly two months and the largest since all-program draws resumed in July 2022.
5500 Invitations to Apply were issued in the January 11 draw, and the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score was 507.
The minimum CRS score was 16 points higher than the November 23 draw. It was expected that the increase would occur due to the large gap between the draws, which was caused by a computer glitch resulting from the launch of the new National Occupational Classification (NOC 2021).
As per the tie-break rule, candidates who had the minimum score were only included if they had submitted their profiles before December 06, 2022 11:00:07 UTC
Candidates from the Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades and Provincial Nominee Program were eligible for this round of invitations.
Canada has issued its first Express Entry ITAs in 2023. There were 45,115 ITAs issued in 2022, with all program draws halted for six months to deal with the backlog of applications.
In 2021, IRCC issued 114,431 ITAs to Canadian Experience Class and Provincial Nominee Program candidates. It beat the previous record of 107,350 set in 2020.
It was the first Express Entry round in 2023 and the 237th overall.
As of January 10, Express Entry processing times increased for all the three categories as listed below: