Canada express entry rules to change from 2023

The latest express entry draw issued permanent residency invitations to 3,750 candidates.

Canada Express Entry draw system will see changes in order to address the labour shortage in the country. The changes will come into effect in the year 2023. Canada could also issue Invitations to Apply for Permanent Residence (ITAs) to candidates with specific work experience and education instead of looking at the CRS scores.

This change will ensure that apart from the top-ranking candidates in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), other applicants with a much narrow but efficient ability are also given a chance to move to Canada.

The ‘Express Entry system’ for permanent residency was reopened in Canada after 18 months due to the pandemic. In simple terms, this system is an application management system used to select candidates best suited to live and work in Canada.

Currently, IRCC uses CRS to rank prospective candidates based on their CRS score which parameters such as age, education, language skills and work experience. 

Three separate programs run under this system. Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Draws for FSWP and FSTP were put on hold in December 2020 while CEC was halted later in September 2021. 

Here are some recent points on Canada’s express entry system:

  1. The latest express entry draw issued permanent residency invitations to 3,750 candidates, an increase of 500 invitations issued in the previous draw. 
  2. Invitations were issued to eligible candidates from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).
  3. . September 14th draw invited 3,250 candidates, while August 31st draw invited 2,750.

It is not necessary to have a job offer in hand to be eligible for the aforementioned schemes, it does help in gathering the minimum marks for CRS. 

Once an applicant has figured out their CRS score and the system they want to apply to, they need to create a profile and simply fill it out. If their score meets the minimum score selected, they will receive an ITA. 

Afterward, they need to fill out the form and upload the documents, within two months of receiving the ITA. The Canadian government will process the applications within a timeframe of six months.