Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has now conducted its second Express Entry draw in as many days for the week of February 26. Here are the results of Canada’s latest Express Entry draw, a French-language category-based selection draw on February 29, 2024.

Today’s draw saw IRCC issue another 2,500 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to Express Entry candidates with strong French-language proficiency. The 2,500 ITAs issued in this draw make this round of invitations IRCC’s third-largest draw of 2024 thus far. Candidates who received an ITA today all had a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 336.

Canada has released new entry

Today’s draw follows an all-program/general draw conducted by IRCC on February 28, where the department issued 1,470 ITAs to candidates with a minimum CRS score of 534. 

Today’s draw follows an all-program/general draw conducted by IRCC on February 28, where the department issued 1,470 ITAs to candidates with a minimum CRS score of 534. 

Express Entry

Express Entry is the application management system for three of Canada’s economic-class permanent residence programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Since June 2023, Canada has expanded the Express Entry system to include a second type of draw called a category-based draw. 

The difference between these draws will be outlined below.

Standard Express Entry Draws

“Standard” Express Entry draws rank eligible candidates against each other based on their CRS scores, which are numerical values assigned to all Express Entry candidates based on a variety of human capital factors. Examples of some factors used to calculate a candidate’s CRS score include age, education and work experience in Canada. As they relate to standard Express Entry draws, CRS scores are directly responsible for determining whether a candidate will receive an ITA during a given Express Entry draw. This is because only candidates with a CRS score above the cut-off for a given draw will be rewarded with an ITA. 

The following steps must be performed in order for an Express Entry candidate to receive consideration for an ITA through IRCC’s standard Express Entry draws: 

1. Candidates must first self-assess their eligibility for any of Canada’s three Express Entry-managed programs: the FSTP, the FSWP and the CEC
2. If eligible, candidates can proceed to create an online profile with IRCC
3. At this time, candidates will formally enter the Express Entry candidate “pool” and receive their CRS score
4. Candidates must now wait for the next Express Entry draw from IRCC to see if they will receive an ITA for permanent residence in Canada

Note: Receiving an ITA is the only way for candidates to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry

Category-Based Express Entry Draws

Category-based draws, meanwhile, began in June of 2023 to help IRCC bring in more foreign skilled workers who have specific work experience/proficiencies in key areas of need across Canada – as designated by IRCC itself. In 2023, IRCC indicated that the department’s category-based draws would prioritize immigration candidates with the following qualities:

Work Experience

Express Entry applicants with work experience in these industries:

• Healthcare
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM)
• Trades
• Transport
• Agriculture and Agri-Food

Language Proficiency

Express Entry immigration candidates with strong French language proficiency (defined as a “minimum score of 7 in all 4 language abilities on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens” (NCLC)).

Update: After indicating that the department would allow itself the room to reassess these categories and adjust them if necessary, on February 12, IRCC confirmed that it would continue with the same Express Entry categories for 2024. More information on that announcement is available here. 

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