Express Entry: Minimum CRS Score Drops to 447 in New Canadian Experience Class Draw

The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score dropped to 447 as Canada conducted its latest Express Entry draw aimed at Canadian Experience Class candidates.

The May 14 draw, announced on May 15, saw 3,371 candidates receive Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence.

The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score dropped to 447 as Canada conducted its latest Express Entry draw aimed at Canadian Experience Class candidates.

The May 14 draw, announced on May 15, saw 3,371 candidates receive Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence.

Minimum scores have now fallen from 467 to 447 in the five Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws that have taken place since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Canada.

The latest draw follows a May 13 draw aimed at Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates that saw 529 candidates invited and a minimum CRS score of 718.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is continuing its policy of targeting CEC and PNP candidates since COVID-19 travel restrictions were put in place on March 18.

Candidates in the two categories are more likely to already be in Canada than those coming through other Express Entry-linked programs, meaning they will not be affected by travel restrictions.

Since March 18, Canada has conducted 10 draws, five targeting PNP candidates and five targeting CEC candidates. It has issued 19,520 ITAs, including 2,530 to PNP candidates and 16,990 to CEC candidates.

Canada has now issued 38,200 ITAs so far in 2020, after issuing a total of 85,300 in 2019. IRCC broke the record for annual Express Entry ITAs in 2018 with 89,800.

Canada’s high-skilled immigration admission target for 2020 is 85,800, up from 81,400 in 2019. However it is likely that permanent resident admissions will be affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

Find out exactly who is allowed to enter Canada under COVID-19 restrictions here.

The latest draw saw the tie-breaking rule implemented on December 23, 2019 at 6.01am EST. If more than one candidate had the minimum CRS score, only those who submitted their Express Entry profiles before this date and time received invitations.

This was the 15th round of invitations under Express Entry in 2020 and 148th overall.

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is an immigration system implemented by Canadian immigration authorities (IRCC) on January 1, 2015 which manages skilled worker applications under Federal Economic programs. This includes the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program the Canada Experience Class and parts of the Provincial Nomination Programs.

Stakeholders expect to see near 30 draws and more than 80,000 invitations issued in 2020, with a majority of draws featuring CRS scores around 470 to enable Canadian immigration authorities to meet targeted annual immigration levels for 2020.

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What Can Employers Do to Recruit Foreign Workers?

Employers are encouraged to consider securing an LMIA or nomination under provincial nomination programs (PNPs) to ensure long term retention of employees.

At immigration.ca we provide Canadian employers with unparalleled immigration legal services and recruitment of foreign nationals through our in-house Global Recruiters of Montreal, GRNMontreal.com and skilledworker.com. We bring qualified candidates to Canada in the shortest time possible. Employers in a wide range of industries can directly benefit from our unique position as one of Canada’s leading immigration firms in the industry, with a strong on-line presence, to meet both their recruitment and immigration requirements.

Interested employers wishing to seek our assistance are invited to contact us here for further information.

What Should Candidates Do Next?

It is expected that the majority of applicants to be issued ITAs in 2020 will require a CRS score around 470 points, enabling a significant number of applicants to receive permanent admission to Canada without a job offer or nomination under a provincial immigration program. However, securing an approved offer of employment is highly recommended. Watch our Facebook livestream video on how to find jobs in Canada from overseas.

We offer all our individual clients with excellent employment services as well as a 60-minute Live, Face-to-Face LinkedIn tutorial on how to find jobs in all areas of Canada.

Find out whether you qualify to Canada by completing our free online evaluation. We will provide you with your evaluation results within 1-2 business days.