CRS score reaches new 2018 low in latest Express Entry round

The Government of Canada held a new Express Entry draw on Wednesday, May 23, issuing 3,500 invitations to apply for permanent residence. The Comprehensive Ranking System cut-off score for this draw was 440.

Today's score is a new low for 2018, surpassing the previous low of 441 that was established in the invitation round on April 25 and repeated on May 9.

The tie-break date and time for this latest invitation round was December 30, 2017, at 06:39:40 UTC. This means that all candidates with a CRS score above 440, as well as those candidates with scores of 440 who submitted their profile before this time, received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in this invitation round.

Today's draw is the tenth of 2018 and the fourth in a row to issue 3,500 ITAs, bringing the 2018 ITA total to 31,500.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has increased draw sizes in 2018 from 2,750 at the start of the year to 3,000 in February and March and now to 3,500 for each of the four draws held since the start of April.

Larger invitation rounds can have the effect of lowering the CRS cut-off score, or keeping it lower than smaller draws, which is what we've seen in these last four draws. The increase in draw sizes to 3,500 in the draws held April 11, April 25, May 9 and now May 23 has corresponded with a reduction in the CRS cut-off score by six points, from 446 to today's low of 440.

To find out if you are eligible to enter the Express Entry pool, fill out a free assessment form.

The Government of Canada's target for 2018 is 74,900 admissions through the three economic immigration classes administered by the Express Entry system — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class and the Canadian Experience Class. For 2019, the target for these three classes is set at 81,400.

"Seeing the CRS cut-off drop is always a welcome sight, even if it was only by one point," said Attorney David Cohen, senior partner at the Campbell, Cohen immigration law firm in Montreal.

"We're not even at the half-way point of 2018 and we're still a long way off the admissions target for this year, so it's going to be interesting to see what that means for the CRS score in upcoming draws."

The following are hypothetical examples of candidates who would have received an ITA in today’s invitation round.

Gary and Rita are married, and are 29 and 31 years old respectively. Each holds a bachelor's degree and they have both been working as software engineers for four years.. They have each also each written the IELTS and scored an 8 in each category. Neither has ever worked or studied in Canada and the couple entered the Express Entry pool with Gary as the principal applicant. Gary’s CRS score of 440 would have been sufficient to obtain an ITA in the May 23 Express Entry draw.

Pria is 35 years old, has two bachelor's degrees, and has been working as an accountant for five years. She has an advanced English language proficiency and has never worked or studied in Canada. Her CRS of 441 would have been sufficient to obtain and ITA during the most recent draw from the Express Entry pool.