Express Entry tie-break procedure explained

The two most recent draws from the Express Entry pool saw Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) make use of the tie-break procedure that it introduced in June.

The new procedure ranks candidates with the same Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score by the date and time their profiles were first submitted to the Express Entry pool. The tie-break procedure prioritizes those candidates whose profiles have been in the pool longer.

In the case of the November 15 draw, IRCC issued 2,750 Invitations to Apply, or ITAs, for Canadian permanent residence to Express Entry pool candidates with a minimum CRS score of 439. However, given that a tie-break was used, only those candidates with 439 points who had submitted their profiles by a cut-off date and time determined by IRCC were invited to apply. IRCC listed that time and date as October 19, 2017 at 12:02:28.

It’s important to note, however, that a candidate’s CRS score remains the primary factor in determining his or her ranking in the pool. When it introduced the tie-break rule in June, IRCC said the procedure’s purpose was to help the government better manage invitation rounds.

The following table illustrates how time stamp could have worked during the Nov. 15 draw. The information in this table is not based on actual statistics from the draw.

Rank	CRS score	Date and time of profile submission	Status
2749	439	October 19, 2017, at 09:04:41	Invited
2750	439	October 19, 2017 at 12:02:20	Invited
2751	439	October 19, 2017, at 17:15:35	Still in the pool
2752	439	October 20, 2017, at 12:20:25	Still in the pool

It is important for candidates in the pool to note that modifying or updating their Express Entry profile will not revise the time stamp of the original submission. For example, if a candidate submitted a profile on April 1, 2017, at 08:33:13 and then subsequently updated his or her profile with new language results, the time stamp on the profile will remain 08:33:13 on April 1, 2017.

However, if a candidate deletes his or her profile and then returns to the Express Entry pool with a completely new profile, the time stamp on the new profile will be the date and time when he or she rejoined the pool. The date and time stamp on the original profile does not carry over.