Canada held its Second Express Entry draw of the year today.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued invitations to 5,500 candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 490. Eligible candidates were invited from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). All are programs that operate under the Express Entry system.
This draw was a surprise as it marked the second Express Entry round of invitations in consecutive weeks. IRCC had just held a draw last Wednesday January 11 in which it also invited 5,500 candidates. The CRS cut-off for last week’s draw was 507, meaning the CRS cut off score has dropped 17 points between draws
IRCC moved from categorizing skills as 0-D level to a system based on training, education, experience and responsibilities (TEER). The new TEER system has revised NOC 2016’s skill levels 0-E and created an equivalent five TEERS. Under NOC 2021, 16 new occupations are now eligible to apply for economic immigration programs managed by Express Entry, such as the FSWP or CEC. Â
Candidates who have a profile already submitted to the IRCC Express Entry pool were invited to switch their NOCs to the new NOC 2021 independently. The update must be done for each position (job) included in their IRCC profile. Failure to do so will disqualify candidates from receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
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