Canada has a new selection process for participants in provincial programmes

On August 18, Canada issued 463 invitations to candidates registered in Express Entry. Luck favoured participants in provincial programs. In the past drawing, Canada chose the fewest number of candidates since April of this year.

The minimum passing score on the Comprehensive Ranking System was 751, 9 points lower than it was in the previous selection, which took place on August 4. The points requirement may seem high, but that's because all the invited entrants had previously received provincial nominations. Express Entry candidates who receive a nomination are automatically awarded 600 points on top of their original score for age, education, language skills and other factors.

Express Entry is Canada's system for selecting immigrants through three federal economic class programs:

• highly skilled professionals;
• specialists in the working professions;
• specialists with experience in Canada.

Under a new immigration plan for 2021-2023, Canada aims to admit about 110,000 immigrants annually through Express Entry. For 2021, about 103,000 invitations have already been issued.

Recent selections show that Canada continues to give priority to immigration applicants who are already in the country or who are nominated by the provinces, while travel restrictions continue to apply.

To maximize your chances of receiving an invitation to apply for Express Entry selection, we recommend keeping an eye on history of passing scores and number of invitations.