Official reports claim that Mr. Frazer announced All-Programs of the Express Entry draws to resume on July 6, 2022.
IRCC commits to normalizing the Express Entry all-program draws
Initially, IRCC confirmed Mr. Fraser’s promise to resume the all-program draws of the Express Entry system at the beginning of July. IRCC committed in April to continue the standard processing time of applications for Express Entry, that is, six months.
Due to the pandemic outburst in 2020, IRCC had paused the Permanent Residence applications for candidates under the FSWP and FSTP. IRCC gradually also did the same with CEC candidates in September 2021.
Latest developments in Express Entry
Before the pandemic broke out, IRCC acknowledged all the Bi-weekly Express Entry candidates. This implies that IRCC will send invitations to those candidates having high CRS scores regardless of their program eligibility.
IRCC applied a different approach when the pandemic arose. There was a pause in the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program and this pause were justified based on the logical reasoning of giving priority to economic immigration candidates as the country was facing travel restrictions.
In 2021, Canada had targeted to welcome 401,000 new permanent residents; therefore, for a larger part of 2021, the CEC candidates were prioritized to achieve the above target.
IRCC’s inventory experienced massive growth in the applications due to all the developments taking place. The pause in the Express Entry invites for CEC candidates in 2021 was an attempt to improve the standard service of the Express Entry.
However, the PNP candidates continued to receive Express Entry invitations even during the pandemic season. IRCC took an initiative to contribute toward the economic growth of the territories and provinces of the country.
Effect of the all-program draws on the Express Entry candidates
The all-program draws will be welcoming all the candidates of the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trade Program (FSTP) similarly.
FSWP was introduced in 1967 and acted as the primary pathway for economic class immigration candidates.
Before the pandemic, over 45 percent of individuals were invited for permanent residency through Express Entry.
World Education Services, is a designated provider of the Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) as per IRCC. It stated that there was a persistent demand for the Federal Skilled Worker candidates to continue with the immigration process despite the circumstances due to the pandemic.
On the other hand, CEC candidates will now be able to maintain their legal status of residing in Canada through the resumption of draws.
After receiving an ITA for submitting their permanent residency application in Canada, they can apply for a BOWP (Bridging Open Work Permit).
The BOWP helps the candidate sustain his legal status in Canada while his permanent residency application is under process. From September 2021 onwards, the CEC candidates haven’t been to experience the benefits associated with the Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP).
IRCC also declared in April, regarding the availability of the Open Work Permit extension to the CEC candidates. This extension will be made available to those CEC candidates who have recently witnessed the expiry of the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) or those who are expected to see the same. There is no clue when the open work permit applications will be accepted.
Express Entry and its working process
Express Entry was introduced in 2015 and it manages applications for FSWP, FSTP, CEC, and partially for PNP as well.
Those candidates who qualify for the eligibility criteria are required to upload their profile on IRCCs official website. Based on the Human Capital features along with several other factors including age, language skills, work experience, and education, these candidates are provided with a CRS score.
As soon as the all-program draws resumes, IRCC will send invitations to candidates achieving higher scores to help them apply for permanent residency. The situation is likely to be the same as pre-pandemic.
