Canada Holds First Express Entry Draw of 2022

Key Highlights:

• Overview
• Eligible Candidates
• PNP specific Draws
• Changes in Express Entry

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) kickstarted Canadian immigration in the new year by inviting 392 immigration candidates to apply for permanent residence in the country under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).

Eligible Candidates

In the draw held on January 5, the IRCC only invited those Express Entry candidates who had a nomination from a Canadian province and had a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 808 points.

As candidates who receive a nomination also get 600 additional points in their CRS score, they only had to have 208 points before the nomination to be eligible for receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for PR.

PNP Specific Draws

Since the start of 2021, the Canadian government has only been inviting candidates through PNP and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and even stopped CEC-specific draws in September.

According to an internal memo, IRCC has only held PNP draws because their officers are currently dealing with a large backlog of applications and want to cut that backlog in half before inviting any other candidates.

Changes in Express Entry

The Canadian Government has suggested that it plans to make several changes to the federal Express Entry system in 2022. In the budget for 2021, the government proposed to give the immigration minister greater flexibility to target those candidates who meet their labour needs.

Moreover, in the recent mandate letter to Sean Fraser, the immigration minister, premier Justin Trudeau asked to expand PR streams for temporary foreign workers and international students through the Express Entry system. 

Additionally, Express Entry may witness several changes when the new Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) system comes into effect in late 2022. This will replace the current NOC list and emphasize work experience instead of skill levels.