Express Entry: CRS Points Required Decreases Through June

The tenth and eleventh Express Entry draws for Canadian immigration took place over the past month and, after a brief spike in the minimum number of Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points required for the only draw that occurred in May, the month of June saw the number of CRS points required continue to decrease towards the mid-400’s.

Furthermore, the eleventh and latest draw from the pool was the third in succession in which the number of invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence has increased. A greater number of candidates were invited to apply in June than in any month since March of this year.

The tenth Express Entry draw took place on June 12. A total of 1,501 invitations to apply were issued to candidates with 482 or more CRS points.
The eleventh Express Entry draw took place on June 26. A total of 1,575 invitations to apply were issued to candidate with 469 or more CRS points.

News of the most recent Express Entry draws has been welcomed by candidates who have been awarded a considerable number of CRS points for their core human capital factors, which includes level of education, age, work experience and language proficiency, as well as those who have successfully obtained a qualifying job offer of arranged employment or an enhanced provincial nomination.

Moreover, these draws have also be seen as a positive development for candidates in the pool who did not receive an invitation to apply this time around, as the number of CRS points required has been decreasing over the past month. With an increasing number of Canadian provinces having introduced Express Entry streams as part of their Provincial Nominee Programs, candidates in the Express Entry pool are seeing an increasing number of options and opportunities for obtaining the all-important invitation to apply. The provinces of Ontario and Saskatchewan, as well as the Maritime provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, have all introduced such streams in recent weeks. These enhanced Provincial Nominee Program immigration streams have all been covered in-depth by CICnews.com in recent weeks:

Case studies: How are people getting invitations to apply?

The following scenarios are hypothetical and do not represent real people who have received an invitation to apply. They are representative of how people may have improved their CRS score and ranking within the pool over recent weeks and months. The lowest CRS score required in any Express Entry draw that has taken place so far was 453. The most recent draw selected candidates with 469 or more CRS points.

Case 1: Lucas

Lucas is 33 years old and has a year of Canadian work experience, as well as three years of foreign work experience. He is fluent in English. As he was eligible under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), he entered the Express Entry pool in March and was initially awarded 314 CRS points. Before beginning his career, he completed a bachelor’s degree in his home country; but because an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) is not required in order to be eligible for the CEC, he had not applied for his education to be assessed according to Canadian standards. Lucas realised that if he obtained an ECA, he could be awarded a huge boost in his CRS points. When he obtained the ECA and uploaded it to his profile, his scored moved up to 472 points.

Case 2: Myra

Myra has never been to Canada, but has strong core human capital factors. She is single, 28 years old, has a Master’s degree, and has been working in the United States on a H1-B visa. She does not speak French, but has improved her English considerably since moving to the United States. She can demonstrate an initial advanced English language proficiency. She entered the Express Entry pool earlier in 2015 and was awarded 444 points, having entered the fact that she has at least two years of skilled work experience. In the meantime, however, she was able to update to profile to reflect that she now has at least three years of work experience. This added 25 points to her profile, bringing her score up to 469.

Case 3: Laura

When 36 year-old Laura heard about the new Ontario Human Capital Priorities immigration stream, she decided to act. She has three years of skilled work experience outside of Canada, a bachelor’s degree, an advanced English ability, and was sitting in the Express Entry pool on 403 CRS points. In mid-June, she re-uploaded her profile after noting that Ontario was only issuing Provincial/Territorial (PT) Notifications of Interest to candidates who had uploaded a profile on or after June 1, 2015, had at least 400 points, and had expressed an intention to reside in Ontario or “all provinces and territories.” She has since been issued a PT Notification of Interest and, though she does not yet have an invitation to apply issued by the government of Canada, she is preparing her application to the Ontario program. If she completes an accurate application and sends it in time, she is on track to be awarded 600 additional CRS points later this year.

Case 4: Zhang

Zhang is a 44 year-old civil engineer. When he heard about the Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry immigration stream (part of the Nova Scotia Nominee Program, or NSNP) earlier this year, he noted that his occupation was on the list of opportunity occupations for the Nova Scotia Demand: Express Entry stream. He took the time to learn more about the stream and prepare his supporting documents, before quickly submitting an application to the NSNP. The enhanced provincial nomination certificate that he subsequently successfully obtained boosted his CRS score by 600 points, and he was issued an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence. Before applying to the NSNP, Zhang’s CRS points total was below 300.

Reaction to recent Express Entry draws

“The last couple of Express Entry draws were welcome news for all candidates, particularly those fortunate enough to have received invitations to apply during recent weeks. I offer my congratulations to anybody who has received an invitation to apply so far,” says Attorney David Cohen.

“It may also be seen as a positive development for candidates in the pool who did not receive an invitation to apply this time around, as the number of CRS points required has been decreasing over the past month. Moreover, with an increasing number of Canadian provinces having introduced Express Entry streams as part of their Provincial Nominee Programs, candidates in the Express Entry pool are seeing an increasing number of options and opportunities for obtaining the all-important invitation to apply.”

To find out if you are eligible for any of over 60 Canadian immigration programs, including the federal economic programs that are processed under Express Entry, please fill out a free online assessment.