February 21, 2018 – Canadian immigration authorities have conducted another large Express Entry draw, with 3,000 candidates issued Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence under all programs. The lowest Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score was 442, exactly the same as the previous draw. The draw was the 4^th round of invitations under Express Entry in 2018 and 84^th overall.

Under the new format, immigration authorities can now set an exact number of invitations to be issued.  Where the number of candidates with the lowest score surpasses the number of invitations permitted, authorities will implement a tie-breaking mechanism to issue invitations based on a time-stamp-determined, first come, first served basis.

Thus, if more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles. The highest number of candidates invited in a single draw since the change is 3,000.

For the latest draw, the first 3,000 profiles in the pool were eligible for an Invitation to Apply (ITA).  The cut-off score was 442.

Why This Change?

The new format allows immigration officials greater control to implement a more fine-tuned method for choosing an exact number of candidates to be issued an ITA.  The previous system did not allow this.

Despite the latest change, the latest draw continued the trend under the Express Entry System where the lowest CRS score was well below 500. It was the 17^th draw since immigration authorities substantially modified the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System on June 6, 2017.

Express Entry is an immigration system implemented by Canadian immigration authorities (IRCC) on January 1, 2015 which manages skilled worker applications under Federal Economic programs. This includes the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Skilled Trades Program the Canada Experience Class and parts of the Provincial Nomination Programs.

Stakeholders expect to see near 30 draws and up to 70,000 invitations issued in 2018, with a majority of draws featuring CRS scores below 450 to enable Canadian immigration authorities to meet targeted annual immigration levels for 2018.

Read More

Canada Immigration: 2017 Year in Review
2017 Express Entry 9-Month Review
2017 Express Entry 6-Month Review
2016 Express Entry Year-End report

What This Means for Employers

Employers are encouraged to consider securing an LMIA or nomination under provincial nomination programs (PNPs) to ensure long term retention of employees.

We provide Canadian employers with unparalleled immigration legal services and recruitment of foreign nationals through skilledworker.com. We bring approved candidates to Canada in the shortest time possible. Employers in a wide range of industries can directly benefit from our unique position as one of Canada’s leading online immigration firms in the industry to meet both their recruitment and immigration requirements.

Interested employers wishing to seek our assistance are invited to contact us here for further information.

What This Means for Candidates

It is expected that the majority of applicants to be issued (ITA’s) under Canada’s Express Entry Immigration system in 2018 will require a CRS score well under 450 points, enabling a significant number of applicants to receive permanent admission to Canada without a job offer or nomination under a provincial immigration program. However, securing an approved offer of employment is highly recommended. Watch our Facebook livestream video on how to find jobs in Canada from overseas.

Find out whether you qualify to Canada by completing our free online evaluation. We will provide you with your evaluation results within 1-2 business days.

Resources:

• Immigration.ca News Articles – A daily news source outlining the latest developments in immigration, employment and the economy with commentaries by Attorney Colin Singer.
• At skilledworker.com we are dedicated to developing long-term strategic alliances with client companies and candidates alike. We strictly adhere to our guiding principles of honesty, integrity and confidentiality.

Colin R. Singer is immigration counsel for www.immigration.ca and Managing Partner of skilledworker.com. He is one of Canada’s foremost senior corporate immigration attorneys. Colin is internationally recognized as an experienced and recommended authority on Canadian immigration and foreign recruitment. In addition to being licensed human resources professional, he is a licensed Canadian lawyer in good standing with the Quebec Law Society for more than 25 years and is authorized by the Canadian government in all immigration matters.

Interested employers: Kindly contact us here to receive further information.

Interested candidates: Find out whether you qualify to Canada by completing our free on-line evaluation. We will provide you with our evaluation within 1-2 business days.

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