Canada breaks immigration records: 20,000 permanent residence invitations in one month
In the last month, Canada held 5 record-breaking Express Entry selections, inviting nearly 20,000 candidates, all with low passing scores.
The Canadian government is set to accept 401,000 new immigrants this year alone through a large number of immigration programs. Some of the applications to move to Canada are processed directly and some are processed through the Express Entry system. That's what I'm going to talk about. For 2021, the target for the number of immigrants through Express Entry is 108,500.
For several selections in a row, Canada has been breaking records by inviting a huge number of applicants at a time. And the passing scores are constantly decreasing, which means that more people have a chance to get a Canadian permanent residency.
Record-breaking selections
From late May to late June, there was a series of major draws in which a large number of low-scoring candidates were invited.
The selection for candidates with experience in Canada was held on May 31, with 5,956 people called. This stream often invites so many candidates, this is nothing new. But the passing score was only 380, even though it was between 400 and 460 in selections before that. I'm not counting the record selection where all candidates with Canadian experience were invited. Over 27,000 invitations were issued in it, and the score turned out to be only 75.
Then, on June 9, there was a selection process for candidates with provincial nominations. These are the people who passed through the provincial programs. In the drawing, 940 invitations to the PMP were issued. This has never happened before, usually 300-600 people were invited. The score is also low — 711, and before it was up to 800. Do not think that 711 is a lot, because the nomination from the province automatically gives the candidate 600 points. That is, without it, the applicant with the lowest score would only score 111.
And the next day, on the 10th, Canada again held a drawing for professionals with Canadian experience, inviting exactly 6,000 candidates and lowering the score to 368. The previous selection had been 380.
But that's not all. On June 23 another record selection for provincial program candidates took place, with 1,002 people selected — even more than the last time. The next day, they called again 6,000 professionals with Canadian experience and a passing score of only 357. Let me remind you, previously they called those who had more than 400.
A total of 19,898 invitations to obtain Canadian permanent residency through Express Entry were issued from May 31 to June 24. That's almost 20,000 people! And for the year 2021, there are more than 90,000 in total. It's only been six months, and the plan is already almost fulfilled.
If you are interested in immigrating through Express Entry, follow selection history on our website.
Why does Canada need so many immigrants?
Canada has always been a country of immigrants. Now the pandemic is ending and we need to rebuild the economy. The Canadian government has repeatedly stated that immigrants are the ones who play a big role in this. Also, the grand goal of 401,000 new arrivals for the year was not set by chance, but also to compensate for the situation in 2020, when very few people were moving to Canada because of the pandemic. Because of health restrictions, many immigrants were barred from entering the country even though they had already been selected in the screening process. Now the situation has changed and it is once again possible to fly into Canada with an immigrant visa.
Selections in two streams only
I think you noticed that I only talked about selections for provincial program participants and for candidates with Canadian experience. Express Entry has a stream for skilled workers that calls people from abroad with no nomination or Canadian experience. It has been very popular with potential immigrants, but unfortunately there have been no selections for it since late 2020.
There used to be an assumption that it had to do with restrictions on entry into Canada, because not all immigrants could fly in. But the restrictions are gone now, and there are still no selections. This may be because the Express Entry system will be changed. Canada has allocated a large sum in its 2021 budget to upgrade the system.
That is why I always advise to try and find a job in Canada or look at provincial programs. Provinces have their own eligibility requirements and their own selection systems, so the Express Entry situation doesn't affect them. Selection for provincial programs in Canada takes place every week.
If you want to move to Canada, take a free assessment of your chances for immigration. You fill out one questionnaire and the information system matches your answers to the requirements of all the immigration programs that exist in Canada. With a good to excellent chance, I recommend signing up for a consultation with a licensed professional who will find the best immigration route for you and help with the paperwork.
Alex Pavlenko, Founder of Immigrant.Today
