On 20th August 2019, an Express Entry lottery was held where a sum of 3,600 invitations for Canadian permanent residence were given out to applicants with ranking scores of at least 457.
The Express Entry program is the country’s primary source of expert foreign workers. Candidates who qualify enter the program’s pool and are given a CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) score. The score issued depends on several factors including one’s age, level of education, work history, and knowledge of English and French. The candidates with the highest rank are provided with an ITA (Invitations to Apply) for permanent residence in Canada during regular draws from the Express Entry pool.
Tuesday’s Draw
The draw held on Tuesday 20th August, saw the lowest minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score since 1st May. Additionally, a draw has never occurred on a Tuesday since 8th September 2015.
In order to participate in Canada’s Express Entry pool, applicants should first of all attain the eligibility criteria for one of the country’s three Federal high skilled economic class immigration categories:
- Federal Skilled Worker Class
- Federal Skilled Trades Class
- Canadian Experience Class
IRCC (Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada) utilized a tie break rule during Tuesday’s draw. All candidates were required to have handed in their complete profiles before 24th March 2019 at 15:32:42 Coordinated Universal Time. That means that candidates with a CRS score of 457 or above who submitted their profiles in the pool before that date and time got an ITA.
The 3,600 ITAs handed out on the 20th August draw brought the total number of invitations to apply for permanent residency in Canada to 56,200.
The IRCC has been passing out 3,600 ITAs each time since 10th July. Between 30th January and 26th June, IRCC was handing out just 3,350 ITAs per Express Entry lottery, which means the past four draws have had 250 more invitations than for most other draws in 2019. The extended draw sizes may help the IRCC exceed its one-year Invitations to Apply record of 89,800 invites that was set in 2018.
