Twelth Express Entry Draw: CRS Points Required Decreases to 463

The number of Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points required by candidates to receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence through the Express Entry selection system for Canadian immigration has dropped for the third time in just over a month.

The twelfth draw from the Express Entry pool was performed on July 10, 2015. A total of 1,516 invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence were issued to candidates with 463 or more CRS points.

Though three Express Entry draws that selected candidates with less than 600 points have occurred previously — notably from March 20 to April 17, 2015 — the most recent Express Entry draws mark the first time in which three such draws have taken place and the CRS points requirement has decreased for each consecutive draw.

This news has been welcomed by candidates who have been awarded a considerable number of CRS points for their core human capital factors, which includes level of education, age, work experience and language proficiency, as well as those who have successfully obtained a qualifying job offer of arranged employment or an enhanced provincial nomination certificate.

Many candidates who had been in the pool for many weeks, or even months, have finally been rewarded for their efforts at increasing their CRS score and ranking.

Moreover, with an increasing number of Canadian provinces having introduced Express Entry streams as part of their Provincial Nominee Programs, candidates in the Express Entry pool are seeing an increasing number of options and opportunities for obtaining the all-important invitation to apply. The provinces of Ontario and Saskatchewan, as well as the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, have all introduced such streams in recent weeks.

How are people getting invitations to apply?

(The following scenarios are hypothetical and do not represent real people who have received an invitation to apply. They are representative of how people may have improved their CRS score and ranking within the pool over recent weeks and months.)

Gabriel: 464 points

Gabriel wishes to immigrate to Canada as a single applicant. Now 30 years old, he obtained a Master’s degree in 2011 and has recently acquired a third year of work experience outside Canada as an insurance manager. He has initial advanced (CLB 9) language proficiency. He had considered re-taking a language test with the aim of improving his language ability to CLB 10 or higher, but the fact that he reached an annual milestone in his work experience, along with the CRS points requirement decreasing, led to him receiving an invitation to apply.

Maria: 463 points

Like Gabriel, Maria is also 30 years old and has never worked or studied in Canada. She is in the pool as a principal applicant and wishes to move to Canada with her husband and child. She has a Master’s Degree, has completed four years of skilled work experience, and has proven initial advanced (CLB 9) language proficiency. Her profile had been in the pool since February, 2015. During recent months, her husband has obtained an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for his Bachelor’s degree and sat the General IELTS test, in which he received results equivalent to CLB 9 for listening, speaking and reading, and CLB 8 for writing. Because these spousal characteristics are taken into account under the CRS, Maria’s score increased to a total of 463.

Charlotte: 475 points

Thirty-seven year-old Charlotte has been living and working in Canada as a biologist for two years. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree back in 2001, for which she obtained an ECA before entering the Express Entry pool. She is a single applicant and is fluent in English. She has also acquired three years of skilled work experience in her home country earlier in her career. Though she hasn’t obtained a large number of points for her age, her other credentials are strong enough for her to be awarded 475 points.

Ahmed: 899 points (pending)

Ahmed is 45 years old and has been working in Saskatchewan as a construction estimator since obtaining a temporary work permit in 2013. He has a one-year post-secondary training certificate and, though not a native speaker of English or French, has managed to get his language proficiency in English up to an adequate intermediate (CLB 7) standard.  When he saw that his occupation was listed as in-demand for the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) Express Entry sub-category, he made an application to the SINP. After his complete and accurate application is approved by the province and he inputs this information into his Express Entry profile, he will be awarded 600 additional CRS points and will receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence at a subsequent draw from the pool.

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