The 5th Express Entry draw of 2023 occurred recently. This draw was PNP-specific and took place for the second time this year. Additionally, IRCC sent around 699 PNP invitations to eligible candidates, with the least CRS score of 791.
This draw was specific only to the Provincial Nominee Program’s candidates. Initially, the two other program-specific draws occurred on February 1 and February 2, 2023. The one held on February 1 invited candidates with a Provincial Nomination. The other one, on February 2, was explicitly for Federal Skilled Workers Program.
5th Express Entry draw- a new pattern for draws in 2023
Usually, the Express entry draws take place on Wednesdays, almost once every week. Today, the Express Entry draw pattern is immensely different from the one that existed before Covid-19 occurred. The shift in this pattern significantly differed from the latter part of 2022.
On January 11, the first draw of Express Entry took place in 2023. This draw brought forth significant differences in the process of conducting Express Entry draws. For instance, this January 11 draw occurred after a long temporary pause. However, IRCC justified this delay due to technical challenges they were facing at that point in time. These technical flaws occurred due to the NOC 2021 transition from the previous NOC 2016.
Another one followed this draw on January 18, which only differed a week from the previous draw. The two draws issued the same number of invitations to candidates, but the January 18 draw had a lower CRS cut-off score.
However, IRCC took two weeks to conduct another draw on February 1, 2023. Additionally, this draw didn’t occur for all the programs, making it unique. Only those candidates with a prior Provincial Nomination under a PNP could obtain ITAs.
IRCC has not conducted a PNP draw since June 2022. Moreover, IRCC again started with the all-program draws after a long pause between January 2021 and July 2022. All this happened as a result of Covid-19 limitations and border restrictions.
The following recent draw occurred on February 2 when IRCC issued ITAs to Federal Skilled Worker Program candidates. This was a major event because no FSWP-specific draw has happened since the beginning of Express Entry in 2015.
Both IRCC and the immigration minister are responsible for making decisions regarding the Express Entry draws. The IRPA doesn’t include any law stating when the draws must occur. They could happen on a routine basis or even in a few months. It will solely depend on Sean Fraser as to what he thinks suits best Canadian economic development.
Express Entry- a brief
Express Entry functions through its three primary economic programs for Canadian immigration. These programs fall under an entirely digital application system under Express Entry’s supervision.
Provincial Nominee Program candidates with an Express Entry profile can acquire eligibility under one of the three programs above.
The Express Entry system operates through a point system and ranks candidates against each other under the Comprehensive Ranking System.
Candidates acquiring a top rank will obtain an invitation to apply for Permanent Residence. Once the candidates apply for Canadian PR, the IRCC official will further verify the application. Next, he will check its completion and accuracy level. The candidate will achieve Canadian PR and proceed toward Canadian citizenship if approved.
