New Express Entry draw sees cut-off score decrease by 5 points

A new Express Entry draw held June 12 invited 3,350 candidates to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

The cut-off score in today's draw was 465, a five-point decrease from the previous draw's minimum score of 470.

Canada's Express Entry system manages the pool of candidates for the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class, which are three of Canada's main economic-class immigration programs.

Eligible candidates for each program are issued a score under what is known as the Comprehensive Ranking System, or CRS, which determines their rank in the pool.

Scores are based on factors including age, education, skilled work experience and proficiency in English or French.

The highest-ranked candidates are awarded an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence (ITAs) through regular draws from the pool, which usually take place every two weeks, and the Government of Canada aims to process applications for Canadian permanent residence from Express Entry candidates in six months or less.

Find out if you are eligible to enter the Express Entry pool

IRCC has now issued 38,450 ITAs to Express Entry candidates in 2019.

This is 6,250 more than it had issued at this same point in 2018, a year that saw the current ITA record of 89,800 established.

Canada has higher admissions targets for 2019 and 2020 for the three programs managed by the Express Entry system.

Time between draws a crucial variable

The time between draws is a crucial variable that influences the cut-off CRS score.

The cut-off score in the May 29 draw reached 470 after a period of four weeks elapsed between all-program draws, which allowed a greater number of candidates with higher scores to enter the pool.

The fact only two weeks passed between the previous invitation round on May 29 and today's draw means fewer candidates were able to enter the pool between draws, leading to a five-point reduction in the cut-off score.

The tie break used by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in the June 12 draw was June 6, 2019, at 13:51:59 UTC.

This means that all candidates with a CRS score above 465, as well as those with scores of 465 who entered their profile in the Express Entry pool before this date and time, received an ITA.

The following are hypothetical examples of candidates who would have obtained an ITA in the June 12 draw:

Sai is 30, has a bachelor's degree as well as a two-year diploma, and has been working as a software architect for three years. Sai is married to Elina, who is 36 and also holds a bachelor's degree. Sai and Elina wrote the IELTS and scored an 8 in each category. Neither Sai nor Elina have ever worked or studied in Canada. They entered the pool with Sai as the principal applicant. Their CRS score of 467 would have been high enough to obtain an ITA during the June 12 Express Entry draw.

Aisha is 32, has a master's degree, an advanced English language proficiency and has been teaching for five years. While Aisha has never worked or studied in Canada, her CRS score of 465 would have been high enough to obtain an ITA during the June 12 Express Entry draw.

"It's good to see IRCC getting back to a two-week period between draws," said David Cohen, senior partner with the Campbell, Cohen Canadian immigration law firm in Montreal.

"If this continues, we may see the CRS cut-off to decrease even more in the coming weeks."

Find out if you are eligible to enter the Express Entry pool