With record 3,664 ITAs and lowest 447 CRS points, Express entry continues to welcome immigrants

The express entry scheme of Canada is creating new records with its each passing draw. The latest express entry draw held on 8 February 2017 awarded the highest number of invitation to apply with 3, 664 and had the lowest comprehensive ranking system points with 447. This was the largest draw so far in which candidates with CRS points 447 or more were offered the invitation to apply for permanent residence in Canada, as quoted by the CIC News.

The draw was also the first of its kind wherein candidates with scores less than 450 were offered an invitation to apply. Many stakeholders in the immigration sector considered the 450 mark as an important threshold. It was the lowest threshold of any draw that was held ever since the express entry scheme was launched two years earlier.

These latest trends of the Canadian express entry indicate that the requirements of points will further be decreased in the draws that will be held in the future. Though the exact nature and details of the future draws cannot be predicted at this stage, sources from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada have informed that on the average it can be expected that the points for selection under the express entry scheme will continue to decline.

These predictions are in conformity with the changes that were made to the express entry draw that was aimed at modernizing and liberalizing the draws. The most important change was the decrease in points for applicants with a job offer in Canada to 50 and 200 points from the existing 600 points.

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada had also predicted that these changes will result in a decline of the eligibility points under the comprehensive ranking system. It also added that the intention was to bring about a balance in the CRS system to give more stress to experience, skills and human capital.

These significant changes are however not the only factors that have resulted in the decline of CRS points in the draws that were held recently. The very reason that the last held draw is almost five times bigger than the draw that was held in the first quarter of the previous year has also resulted in slashing of limits in the CRS draws held of late.

The decrease in CRS eligibility points also means that there is going to be greater diversity in the profiles of candidates who will receive the invitation to apply for permanent residence in Canada.

Attorney David Cohen has said that the latest draws reveal that candidates who had not received ITAs due to specific reasons are now being offered the invitation to apply. These reasons are language, prior study or work experience in Canada or age. These candidates would have earlier not received ITAs due to low scores in any of these areas.

The attorney also added that it is not just increasing the number of applicants who are receiving the ITAs but also a greater diversity is being ensured for candidates who arrive in Canada.

Furthermore, the latest trends in the express entry draw offer much optimism to applicants who have not yet received the invitations as of now. These applicants have now very strong reasons to escalate their efforts to improve scores, said David Cohen.