Shock! 4 consecutive Express Entry selections

Canada had 4 consecutive days of Express Entry draws, with a record-low passing score in the last draw.

From July 4 to July 7, Canada held a series of selections in the Express Entry system and invited 5,000 people to immigrate in just 4 days. By the way, just a week ago, on June 27 and 28, there were two more draws, and 4,800 people were invited. In total, 9,800 candidates can receive Canadian permanent residency. First, a little explanation for those who are still not well versed in immigration to Canada, and then to the selections.

Why am I talking specifically about Express Entry draws? Through Express Entry, Canadian federal immigration programs work. These are, you might say, the main programs. They allow you, first, to immigrate quickly, on average in 7 months, and second, to settle in any province, except Quebec, and the city of your choice. Because there are also programs in which you must prove that you intend to live in a particular region or city when applying.

Immigration through Express Entry

To enroll, you must qualify for one of three federal programs. You will be assessed on different factors and given points. Then Canada conducts an immigration draw with a certain score. If you score it, you are invited, if not, you wait for the next selections. We already have a detailed article about immigration through Express Entry.

The Express Entry draws used to be much less frequent: one drawing every 2 weeks. Now, as you can see, there have already been 4 draws in early July alone, and 2 more at the end of June. That is, the officials have taken Express Entry seriously and, apparently, will be actively inviting candidates through this system.

Selections

On July 4, there was a general draw for all professions. It invited 700 people with a passing score of 511. This selection is not really that interesting because there are few invitations and the passing score is very high.

The second selection is more interesting because they invited 500 candidates with in-demand professions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. All of these occupations are called STEM. This is the first draw for such professions in Express Entry. The list includes architects, various engineers, IT workers, mathematicians, researchers, web designers, city planners, and so on. The passing score this time was 486. This is also actually quite a lot, but I think it will go down in the next selections, I will explain why.

On July 6, Canada held an Express Entry selection for candidates with healthcare occupations. 1,500 people were invited and the passing score was 463. This is the second time the drawing for healthcare professionals has been held, the first draw was on June 28. The passing score there was 476. And now it's down. I think the passing score for STEM occupations will be lowered as well, but we'll see.

Well, on July 7, the passing score dropped even further to a record low for the past year. Canada sent out 2,300 invitations. Candidates with a B2 or higher level of French received them. And the minimum score was 439.

If you look at the history of Express Entry selections over time, it's not such a high score. Especially if you have a good command of French and English, you can probably get it without any job search or anything like that. If you want your chances of immigrating to Canada to skyrocket, learn French.

By the way, healthcare and STEM occupations, and French proficiency are not the only categories Canada will be targeting. There are also candidates with trades, transportation, and agriculture occupations. You can see a list of all in-demand professions in Express Entry in our article.

If you have a priority occupation, I advise you not to postpone immigration, because it is not known how many candidates Canada needs. Maybe when you have enough, the list of in-demand professions will be changed and you will be left in the lurch.