IRCC invites candidates in third Express Entry draw of the week

Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued invitations to apply (ITAs) in the third Express Entry draw of the week.

The department invited 150 candidates in a category-based selection draw for agriculture and agri-food occupations.

Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 437.

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Today’s draw follows two others this week. The first was a general draw that occurred on February 13 in which 1,490 candidates with a minimum CRS score of at least 535 received ITAs.

On February 14, IRCC issued ITAs to 3,500 candidates in a category-based selection draw for health care occupations. Candidates needed a minimum CRS score of 422 to be considered.

Another category-based selection draw occurred on February 1 inviting 7,000 candidates with strong French language proficiency. It was the largest draw of the year so far.

There were three general draws in January inviting a total of 3,280 candidates. The minimum CRS score for these draws ranged between 546 and 541.

Summary of Express Entry draw results in 2024

Date	Draw Type	Number of ITAs	Minimum CRS
April 24	French proficiency	1,400	410
April 23	General	2,095	529
April 11	STEM occupations	4,500	491
April 10	General	1,280	549
March 26	French language proficiency	1,500	388
March 25	General	1,980	524
March 13	Transport occupations	975	430
March 12	General	2,850	525
February 29	French language proficiency	2,500	336
February 28	General	1,470	534
February 16	Agriculture and agri-food occupations	150	437
February 14	Healthcare occupations	3,500	422
February 13	General	1,490	535
February 1	French language proficiency	7,000	365
January 31	General	730	541
January 23	General	1,040	543
January 10	General	1,510	546

What is category-based selection?

In May 2023 IRCC introduced category-based selection rounds of invitations. The department created six new categories targeting specific human capital attributes. One category is for candidates who can demonstrate proficiency in the French language. The remaining five categories are occupation-based for:

Healthcare occupations
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
Trades occupations, such as carpenters, plumbers, and contractors
Transport occupations
Agriculture and agri-food occupations

Candidates must be eligible for an Express Entry program and have an application in the pool through one of the three programs to be considered for category-based selection.

These categories were chosen following consultations with stakeholders such as provincial and territorial governments, employers, immigration researchers and settlement services to assess the most critical gaps in Canada's labour force and target the candidates who are best suited to fill vacant positions.

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is an application management system that oversees three economic immigration programs for skilled workers: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.

These programs use the Comprehensive Ranking System to evaluate candidates based on their human capital factors such as language ability, work experience, occupation, education, and age. Each factor is assigned a score, the scores are added together, and the result is a candidate’s overall CRS score.

Once a candidate has a CRS score, they are entered into the Express Entry application pool and ranked against other candidates. The candidates with the highest CRS scores are the most likely to receive an invitation in an upcoming Express Entry draw.

Candidates who receive an ITA have 60 days to submit their final application to IRCC for permanent resident status in Canada.

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