Never seen before: Express Entry record-breaking draw
Candidates with provincial nominations were luckier than usual.
On December 10, Canada sent 1,032 invitations to candidates registered in Express Entry. Luck favoured participants in provincial programs. This was a record selection in this category.
The minimum passing score on the Comprehensive Ranking System was 698, 39 points lower than it was in the previous selection, which took place on November 24. The scoring 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. Thus, without the nomination points, candidates have scored only from 98 points in the system.
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, more than 113,000 invitations have already been issued.
Express Entry selections have become much less frequent since Canada met its annual target for the number of invitations through the system. Now held only for provincial program participants. Drawings under the program for skilled have not been available since 2020. Also, the Government of Canada has said that supervised selections for professionals with Canadian work experience have been temporarily suspended.
To increase 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.
