Express Entry: CRS 717 for PNP candidates, lowest of 2021

IRCC (Canada) surprises Express Entry candidates by inviting the candidates with the lowest score of 2021 for PNP. A total of 381 candidates have been invited to apply for the PR under the 14th draw. The eligible candidates had to score a minimum of 717 to get the ITA. As a rule, the canidates who are nominated by a province get 600 extra points. Hence in this draw, they only had to score 117 to be eligible.

Through PNP Express Entry, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Saskatchewan have all issued nominations to Express Entry applicants so far this year. All provinces and territories run a PNP except Quebec and Nunavut. The provinces want to invite skilled workers to promote economic progress. Canada runs its immigration system also through its provinces named as provincial nominee program.

Details of latest “Express Entry” round of invitations

Ministerial Instructions respecting invitations to apply for permanent residence under the Express Entry system number 184 – April 28, 2021

• A number of invitations issued: 381
• Rank required to be invited to apply: 381th or above
• Date and time of round: April 28, 2021, at 11:00:02 UTC
• CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 717
• Tie-breaking rule:  March 16, 2021, at 21:20:50 UTC (If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.)

CRS score distribution of candidates in the Express Entry pool as of April 26th, 2021

Express Entry Draws for 2021 so far:

How immigration activities are performing during pandemic?

Including this latest express entry draw, Canada has so far invited 55,771 total candidates from PNP and CEC stream to apply for PR. This simply means Canada is really going on the right path for completing the target of 108,500 candidates through express entry this year. On the other hand, the total number of immigrants to be accepted in 2021 is 401,000.

Canadian immigration minister along with IRCC has surprised everyone during the first 4 months of 2021 where many difficult and outstanding decisions have been made. Some are as follows:

• Continuous draws of Express Entry
• Regulars invitations from Provinces
• 6th draw of Express Entry on 13 February with the biggest number of candidates invited in a single draw 27,332 with the least ever CRS score cut of 75
• The new public policy of Permanent residency for 90,000 candidates who are temporary workers in Canada in the health and care sector and other essential workers (you may read here complete details)
• The second big express entry draw with an invitation to 6,000 candidates (CEC) in the 13th draw of 2021

There are 10 Canadian provinces, with three territories to the north. The provinces are Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Saskatchewan. The three territories are Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon. PNP currently has about 80 unique streams in the participating provinces and territories.

Each province and territory has its own “streams” (immigration programs that target certain groups) and requirements. For example, in a program stream, provinces and territories may target:

• students
• business people
• skilled workers
• semi-skilled workers

The PNP works for those who:

• want to live in that province
• want to become permanent residents of Canada
• have the skills, education, and work experience to contribute to the economy of a specific province or territory

A better PNP stream related to the provincial nomination, namely Canada’s Express Entry System, will give the system a Comprehensive Rating System (CRS) score of 600 extra points. If you earn these extra points, it is practically guaranteed that you will receive an invitation from the Government of Canada to apply for permanent residency.

Check here for more details about the provincial Nominee programs of Canada.