Minimum score stays at 2018 low of 440 in latest Express Entry draw

A new Express Entry draw held August 22 has issued a total of 3,750 invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score in this draw was 440.

This is the third draw in 2018 to feature a minimum score of 440, which is the lowest CRS score drawn in 2018 to date. Both the minimum CRS score and the draw size in the August 22 were the same as the previous draw, held on August 8.

The Express Entry system manages the profiles of candidates in Canada's three main federal economic immigration categories — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class and the Canadian Experience Class.

Candidates are ranked according to their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score and the highest-ranked candidates are issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) through regular invitation rounds.

The tie-break date and time used in this draw was February 21, 2018, at 11:28:03 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 specified date and time, received an ITA in this invitation round.

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

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has now issued 3,750 ITAs in every draw held since June 13. The regular pace of these larger draws, which have been held roughly every two weeks, could be what has helped keep the CRS score at 440 and not let it go higher.

*May 30 draws were program-specific.

There are several ways for Express Entry candidates to improve their scores, including a provincial nomination that results in 600 additional CRS points. Express Entry-linked Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) have been extremely active and innovative in 2018.

IRCC has now issued a total of 54,700 ITAs over 17 draws in 2018, which puts it slightly ahead of the 54,487 ITAs that were issued over the first 17 draws of 2017. However, IRCC had issued 60,742 ITAs in 2017 by this same point in August, which in that sense puts IRCC 6,042 ITAs behind last year's pace.

A total of 86,023 ITAs were issued in 2017, which more than doubled the ITA totals of 2015 and 2016 combined. Given Canada’s increased admission targets for 2018 and 2019, it remains possible that this year's total could surpass the number of ITAs issued in 2017.

The following hypothetical example illustrates candidates who would have obtained an ITA in today’s draw:

Anil and Yasmeen are married, each holds a Bachelor’s degree, and they have been working for eight and four years respectively. Anil works as a financial analyst and Yasmeen works as a teacher. They each wrote the IELTS and scored 8 in each category. Anil is 34 years old and Yasmeen is 29. Neither has ever worked or studied in Canada. They entered the pool with Yasmeen as the principal applicant because she scored more points for age. Their CRS score of 440 was sufficient to obtain an ITA during the most recent Express Entry draw.

"The CRS minimum isn't going up, which is likely due to the large size of the draws we've been seeing since June," said David Cohen, senior partner with the Campbell Cohen Canadian immigration law firm in Montreal. "There's still a long way to go until the end of the year, and Canada's larger admission targets for 2018 and 2019 mean we could be looking at an active fall on the Express Entry front."

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

The CRS Calculator

The CRS Calculator allows you to find out what your score would be under the CRS.

Tips for improving your CRS score

There are a number of ways Express Entry candidates may be able to improve their ranking. Visit this dedicated page to learn strategies for improving your CRS score.