First Express Entry Draw held in Canada for the year 2022



Canada is encouraging 392 Express Entry hopefuls to apply for permanent residency in the new year.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited only Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates to the January 5 draw. The cutoff score for the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) was 808. When PNP candidates receive their nomination, 600 points are automatically added to their score, which is why the score appears to be high when compared to prior invitation rounds.

PNP drawings have only been held by IRCC since September. According to an internal briefing note, IRCC has been focused on PNP candidates due to a backlog of applications being processed by immigration officers. Before welcoming candidates from other programmes, the immigration agency hopes to cut the Express Entry backlog in half.

The Canadian government has hinted that modifications to Express Entry will be made this year. The Liberal administration proposed in the 2021 federal budget to allow the immigration minister more latitude in inviting Express Entry candidates who fit Canada’s labour market demands. Later that year, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a mandate letter to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, requesting that Express Entry be used to increase permanent residency paths for international students and temporary foreign workers. No other information has been made public at this time.

Also, when the new Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) system replaces the present National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill levels, Express Entry-eligible occupations may alter.

For the time being, Express Entry only takes into account job experience in NOC 0, A, and B occupations. When TEER goes into effect in late 2022, this classification will be altered.

In 2021, Canada held solely program-specific Express Entry lotteries for PNP and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants. No candidates from the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) were asked to apply for the first time in the history of Express Entry. FSWP candidates were the primary source of Express Entry immigrants prior to the pandemic.

In comparison to PNP or CEC candidates, FSWP candidates are more likely to apply from outside the nation. Due to travel constraints, IRCC concentrated more on accepting candidates who were already in Canada last year.

Candidates for the CEC are almost certainly already in Canada, as they must have at least one year of work experience in the country. Provinces have already submitted PNP individuals for immigration, indicating that they have proved their ability to support regional labour markets. The Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program all use Express Entry as their application management system. In the Express Entry pool, PNP candidates have already qualified for one of these programmes.

Express Entry ranks candidates’ profiles using a points-based mechanism known as the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Candidates with the highest scores receive an Invitation to Seek (ITA), which they can use to apply for permanent residency.

The application is then reviewed by an IRCC officer, who makes a decision. They will next seek biometrics and perhaps schedule an interview or require other papers.

IRCC issues a Confirmation of Permanent Residence if the application is approved (COPR). Permanent residents who have been approved can then finish the landing process. If they are outside of Canada, they can take advantage of pre-arrival services to assist them in taking the first steps toward settling in.

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