On April 29, Canada invited 6,000 Express Entry applicants to apply for permanent residency.

Candidates with a score of at least 400 and who may be qualifying for permanent residence through the Canadian Experience Class is invited by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This is the second lowest score for a CEC-specific draw in history.

Candidates with a minimum score of 400 were only invited if they submitted their Express Entry profile before April 24, 2021 at 15:24:49 UTC, as per the tie-break rule.

The Senior Attorney of Campbell Cohen, David Cohen Said “The CEC was created in 2008 to help more temporary workers and international student graduates to transition to permanent residency. Candidates need to have one year of Canadian work experience to be eligible for the CEC. This experience is highly valuable in Canada’s job market. As such, we see many CEC candidates employed within their first year of landing.”

In 2021, IRCC has only conducted two types of program-specific Express Entry draws, both of which target candidates who are already living in the country. CEC candidates are particularly common in Canada, according to the IRCC, about 90% of CEC candidates apply domestically.

The other group were invited through Express Entry, those have previously received a nomination through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Candidates for receiving the PNP nomination also require job experience, research experience, or some strong ties to the province. As such, these candidates also have a high proportion of candidates already in the country.

To achieve its target of welcoming 401,000 new immigrants in 2021, IRCC has created six new programs aimed at essential workers and international student graduates. Starting May 6, Canada will open the door to 90,000 new immigrants plus an unlimited number of French-speaking essential workers and graduates.