Express Entry: 3,500 ITAs in First Draw of April 2023

Canada holds the first Express Entry draw of the month, the 10th draw to be held so far in 2023. Over 41,000 ITAs issued so far this year. The annual target is 82,880, with the scope to go up to 88,000.

On April 12, 2023, the federal government of Canada held another round of invitations under the Express Entry system.

Launched in 2015, Express Entry is a points-based application management system. The invitations to apply are issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

You can create an Express Entry profile if you -

• are eligible for any of the 3 Express Entry programs, and
• can score 67 points on Canada eligibility calculation.

However, you can only submit your application for Canadian permanent residence if you receive an invitation to apply (ITA) from IRCC. ITAs are issued by IRCC in the Express Entry draws held from time to time.

The Express Entry draw schedule is not announced beforehand. Usually held once every 15 days, the draws can also be held close to each other. For example, the recent Express Entry draws that were held on March 29, March 23, and March 15, 2023.

Invitations are issued to those with at least the minimum required score as per the 1,200-point Comprehensive Ranking System. The latest Express Entry draw had a minimum cut-off of CRS 486 which was 5 points more than the CRS 481 requirement of Express Entry Draw #245.

A total of 3,500 ITAs were issued to candidates in the latest all-program Express Entry draw. The minimum CRS cut-off was 481. Being an all-program draw, candidates from FSWP, FSTP, and CEC were eligible, provided they had the minimum required score.

The latest Express Entry Draw #246 follows after the 3 recent and consecutive EE draws that each had 7,000 ITAs issued leading to a combined total of 21,000 ITAs.

With the latest IRCC round of invitations, a total of 41,059 Canadian immigration hopefuls have received invitations in 2023 to apply for a Canada PR visa by Express Entry. More ITAs have been issued in 2023 compared to the same time in 2022. Overall, the year 2022 had a total of 46,539 ITAs issued.

March 2023 created history for Canada’s Express Entry. 21,667 ITAs were issued across 4 Express Entry draws, making it the second-highest monthly total since the first Express Entry draw held on January 31, 2015. While 7,000 ITAs were issued in each of the all-program draws held in 3 weeks - March 29, March 23, and March 15 - another 667 were sent out in a PNP-only draw held earlier on March 1, 2023. The record for most ITAs in a month is for February 2021 wherein 27,332 CEC candidates received invitations.

An estimated 82,880 will get Canada PR visas in 2023 by Express Entry, as per the 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan announced by IRCC on November 1, 2022. There is scope for the annual target for Express Entry to go up to 88,000 for 2023.

Express Entry applications are processed within 6 months. The processing begins when a complete application - containing all required information and with no document missing - is received by IRCC. The processing ends with a decision being reached.

There are many other ways to immigrate to Canada. The right immigration pathway for you will be as per your specific profile.

For more information, get in touch today. Free consultation.