On March 15, Canada held the biggest Express Entry draw ever, inviting 7,000 candidates to apply for permanent residence.
Canada conducted the all-program Express Entry draw after January 18, 2023, which invited 5,500 candidates. The CRS threshold for the March 15 all-program Express Entry draw was 490 points. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held five invitation rounds for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Provincial Nominee Programs between the two all-program Express Entry draws.
These are the number of invitations and CRS scores of Express Entry draws this year so far:
- January 11 (All-program draw) – 5,500 ITAs (CRS cut-off 507)
- January 18 (All-program draw) – 5,500 ITAs (CRS cut-off 490)
- February 1 (Provincial Nominee Program) – 893 ITAs (CRS cut-off 733)
- February 2 (Federal Skilled Worker Program) – 3,300 ITAs (CRS cut-off 489)
- February 15 (Provincial Nominee Program) – 699 ITAs (CRS cut-off 791)
- March 1 (Provincial Nominee Program) – 699 ITAs (CRS cut-off 748)
- March 15 (All-program draw) – 7,000 ITAs (CRS cut-off 490)
There is a deviation from the typical manner and frequency of Express Entry draws, which was once every two weeks on Wednesdays. This year’s first Express Entry draw occurred after the last draw on November 23, 2022. Canada held an Express Entry draw targeting provincial nominees on February 1, 2023, after a gap of seven months. There was a program-specific Express Entry draw the very next day.
