Express Entry: Candidates in this situation can receive an ITA before their score goes up

Despite not being widely known, some candidates in the Express Entry pool can and do receive invitations to apply (ITAs), despite having a lower Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score than the cut-off for that draw.

This situation most often comes up when a candidate is within the 60-day ITA validity window of completing a new year-of-experience threshold (e.g., moving from one year to two years, or two years to three years) in Canadian or foreign skilled work experience.

In these situations, candidates may be awarded an ITA before their score increases—and must follow careful steps to ensure that they utilize this invitation properly to gain permanent residence (PR).

See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams

This article covers

Why some candidates receive an ITA early; and
What to do if you receive an ITA in this “60-day gap,” and why submitting too early can lead to refusal.

Why some candidates receive an ITA early

The Express Entry system typically invites candidates based on their CRS score at the time of the draw.

In practice, however, work-experience points are awarded in “brackets” (one year vs two years vs three years, etc.), with the system relying heavily on the dates a candidate enters into their profile.

Note here that the system typically counts work experience by the month rather than by exact dates (January 2025 to January 2026 vs. January 15, 2025, vs. January 15, 2026), meaning work experience can be formally gained through the CRS at the start of the relevant month as opposed to on the exact date.

As such, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) may occasionally award an ITA in anticipation of a candidate hitting the next work experience milestone within the 60-day application window—based on their forthcoming CRS.

This can occur with both Canadian work experience and foreign work experience.

How to safely use your ITA in this situation

Step 1: Confirm the exact date you “earn” the new experience bracket

Though the Express Entry system can award points by the month rather than exact dates (as covered above), candidates in the application stage must make sure they calculate the exact date they would hit the next work experience milestone, to ensure they don’t complicate their application submission.

Step 2: Decide whether you can safely submit after you reach the threshold—within 60 days

If you reach the work-experience milestone before your 60-day deadline, you may be able to proceed—but only by submitting a complete PR application after the date that you’ve actually earned that additional experience.

That might mean submitting close to the deadline, and that’s okay as long as your application is accurate and complete.

Step 3: Submit only once your application can be fully supported by documents

Your work reference letters and evidence should align with the experience you are claiming. If your supporting documents show you didn’t yet have the required duration on the relevant date(s) that you met the new work experience milestone, you risk refusal.

Why submitting “too early” can cause refusal

IRCC officers reassess whether an applicant:

Met the minimum entry criteria (Express Entry program requirements), and
Still has a CRS score that justifies the ITA based on the round’s lowest-ranked invited score.

Submitting your application before your score formally rises can complicate the work IRCC officers need to do, and risk your score being found to fall below the round’s cut-off. This can potentially even lead to your application being refused by IRCC for not meeting requirements.

See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams

Example 1: Canadian work experience increases (one year → two years)

Lina Ahmed is a single 28-year-old, which places her in the 20–29 age bracket for CRS scoring. She holds a master’s degree and has completed an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). She also has English language results at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 10 in all four abilities.

Lina began her Canadian skilled work experience on April 1, 2024, in a full-time position classified under NOC TEER 1. On the draw date of February 20, 2026, she has not yet completed two full years of Canadian work experience. She will formally reach the two-year mark on April 1, 2026, which falls within the 60-day period she would have to submit a complete application if she receives an ITA.

In addition to her Canadian experience, Lina has two years of foreign skilled work experience gained outside Canada.

Why she can get an ITA “early”: At the time of the draw, Lina’s profile can be treated as if she already has two years of Canadian work experience (due to how the system reads the date range), even though she hasn’t formally hit the two-year mark yet. She must submit her PR application only after April 1, 2026, when she can actually prove two full years.

CRS score before she formally reaches two years of Canadian experience

This represents her true score at the draw date.

A) Core / Human capital

Age (28): 110
Education (Master’s): 135
First official language (CLB 10 x4): 136
Canadian work experience (one year): 40

Core subtotal: 421

B) Skill transferability

Education + language (Master’s + CLB 9+): 50
Foreign work + language (two years foreign + CLB 9+): 25
Foreign work + Canadian work (two years foreign + one year Canadian): 13

Foreign-work transferability subtotal = 25 + 13 = 38 (not capped yet)

Skill transferability subtotal: 50 + 38 = 88

Total CRS (before): 509

CRS score after she formally reaches two years of Canadian experience

A) Core / Human capital

Canadian work experience (two years): 53 (instead of 40)
- Core total becomes: 110 + 135 + 136 + 53 = 434

B) Skill transferability

Foreign work + Canadian work (two years foreign + two+ years Canadian): 25 (instead of 13)
- Foreign-work transferability becomes 25 + 25 = 50
- Skill transferability becomes 50 (education) + 50 (foreign-work) = 100

Total CRS (after): 434 + 100 = 534

Change caused by the Canadian experience milestone: +25 CRS (509 → 534)

Example 2: Foreign work experience increases (two years → three years)

Arjun Patel is a 27-year-old single male, which places him in the 20–29 age bracket for CRS scoring. He holds a master’s degree and has completed an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). He also has English language results at CLB 10 in all four abilities.

At the moment, Arjun has one year of Canadian skilled work experience, meaning he would receive 40 CRS points for Canadian work experience right now.

His foreign skilled work experience began on March 15, 2023, in a skilled role outside Canada.

On the example draw date of February 6, 2026, he has accumulated approximately two years and ten months of foreign skilled work experience, so he is still in the “one to two years” bracket for CRS purposes. He will formally reach three full years of foreign work experience on March 15, 2026, which is within the 60-day window he would have to submit an application if he receives an ITA.

In addition, Arjun earns extra CRS points because he has a sibling living in Canada, which provides 15 points, and he also has a Canadian education credential of three years or more, which provides 30 points. Together, these additional factors contribute a total of 45 CRS points.

Why he can get an ITA “early”: His profile can appear to meet the three-years-or-more foreign work experience bracket before March 16, 2026 (depending on date interpretation). He should only submit his eAPR after March 16, 2026, when he can document the full three years.

CRS score before he formally reaches three years of foreign work experience

A) Core / Human capital

Age (27): 110
Education (Master’s): 135
First official language (CLB 10 x4): 136
Canadian work experience: 40

Core subtotal: 421

B) Skill transferability

Education + language (Master’s + CLB 9+): 50
Foreign work + language (1–2 years foreign + CLB 9+): 25
Foreign work + Canadian work: 13

Skill transferability subtotal: 88

C) Additional points

Canadian education (3+ years): 30
Sibling in Canada: 15

Additional subtotal: 45

Total CRS (before): 421 + 88 + 45 = 554

CRS score after he formally reaches three years of foreign work experience

Only the foreign-work transferability changes:

Foreign work + language (3+ years foreign + CLB 9+): 50 (instead of 25)
Foreign work + Canadian work (3+ years + 1 year Canadian): 25 (capped at 50)

So:

Skill transferability becomes the existing 50 (education) + 50 (foreign + language) = 100

Total CRS (after): 421 + 100 + 45 = 566

Change caused by the foreign experience milestone: +25 CRS (554 → 566)

In situations like Arjun’s and Lina’s, timing is a crucial factor that is just as crucial to their permanent residence chances as their CRS scores. While the boost in eligibility can be substantive, it is also easily undone by applying before changes actually come into effect.

See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams