Express Entry’s Annual Report for 2021 was recently released by IRCC. The department usually releases this report on Express Entry annually. Express Entry is the primary pathway for immigration for skilled workers to obtain Canadian PR.
The Express Entry system began in 2015, and since then it has been managing chief immigration programs, including the Federal Skilled Worker Program, FSTP, and Canadian Experience Class. Partially, it does manage the Provincial Nominee Program. However, these candidates under PNP must first be eligible for any of the above programs.
The number of invitations sent through Canadian Permanent Residence is nearly 114,431. Among all these ITAs, people who gained PR account for 155,810, including chief applicants and family members. Moreover, these figures prevailed even after a pause in the Express Entry invitations for all Federal Skilled Trade Program and FSWP. In 2021, there were a few draws for CEC, but even these were paused in September. PNP draws generally occurred in 2021, once in two weeks.
The crux of the Express Entry’s Annual Report for 2021
Interestingly, more than 440,000 Express Entry profile submissions took place toward the latter part of 2021. This figure accounts for a rise of 23 percent since 2020. The profile submissions comprised at least 74 percent with eligibility for one of the Express Entry programs, while 26 percent turned out to be ineligible. Besides this, the percentage of women profile submissions with eligibility for at least one Express Entry program was more than 71 percent of men.
Express Entry pool individuals comprised CRS scores between 351 and 400
Scores under the Comprehensive Ranking System help the candidates to compete against each other based on distinct factors. Furthermore, the report claims that the Express Entry pool is changeable and that even the CRS scores will change constantly. This means the score will decrease or increase with a new profile submission.
Additionally, all eligible candidates who scored between 351 and 400 accounts for 31 percent. 27 percent of qualified candidates had CRS scores between 401 and 450. On the other hand, 21 percent comprised scores between 451 and 500, whereas 16 percent had scores between 301 and 350. PNP-specific draws witnessed CRS scores between 682 to 813 points. Meanwhile, the CEC-specific draws had scores between 75 and 462.
58 percent of eligible profiles couldn’t fulfill the eligibility criteria to receive bonus points at the submission time. Also, more than 54 percent of profiles belonged to men. Moreover, 21 percent of eligible profiles received extra points based on Canadian education, while 13 percent received them due to their Canadian siblings.
Furthermore, 12 percent of candidates with eligibility scored extra points for having prior arranged employment and displaying French language proficiency.
A rise of 6 percent in ITAs from 2020
In 2021, 42 Express Entry draws occurred; in these draws, nearly 114,431 invitations were sent. This figure depicts a six percent increase from 2020. Canada works to bring forth more younger immigrants. Moreover, 64 percent of those who obtained these ITAs belonged to the age group between 20 and 29 years old.
ITAs primarily focused on CEC and PNP. In 2021, the CEC draws occurred throughout the year, indicating 87 percent of invitations were issued under this. Conversely, around 25 PNP draws issued 13 percent of all the invitations. The FSWP and FSTP applicants didn’t receive any invitations.
Express Entry’s Annual Report- workers in food services, admin, and retail received the most ITAs
The “Food Service Supervisor” is the chief occupation under which candidates received an invitation to apply in 2021. The number of individuals with ITAs under this specific occupation was nearly 13,097. Interestingly, 60.4 percent of those who received the ITAs were women.
The following reflects the occupations under which the people received these invitations, along with the number of people with ITAs against the occupations:
- 13,097 invitations were sent to people working as Food Service Supervisors.
- 5,930 ITAs issued to those working as Administrative Assistants.
- 5,020 invitations were sent to those working as Retail Sales Supervisors.
- 4,916 ITAs received by Software Engineers and Designers.
- 4,624 invitations- Cooks
Several candidates receiving the ITAs lived in Nigeria and India
Around 102,806 candidates with ITAs resided in Canada, accounting for most of them. On the other hand, foreign applicants, nearly 3,826 with ITAs, resided in India. Meanwhile, around 1,432 lived in Nigeria. 2019 and 2020 were two years where the U.S.A., grabbed the third rank on the list.
Following is the list of the top ten countries concerning the 2021 ITAs, along with the number of invitations issued:
1. 102,806 ITAs issued- Canada
2. 3,826 ITAs sent- India
3. 1,432 ITAs issued- Nigeria
4. 806 ITAs sent- USA
5. 687 ITAs issued- People’s Republic of China
6. 465 ITAs sent-United Arab Emirates
7. 348 ITAs issued- United Kingdom and Overseas Territories
8. 269 ITAs sent- Pakistan
9. 235 ITAs issued- Morocco:
10. 215 ITAs sent-Lebanon
Maximum of the individuals with ITAs had citizenship in India, Korea, and China
IRCC data further revealed that the top-ranked countries with citizenship among ITA holders have also shown little change over time. The last three years witnessed India get the priority with the first rank. However, the People’s Republic of China received second on the list. In 2020, 6,550 citizens with ITAs belonged to Nigeria and ranked third. On the other hand, the Republic of Korea acquired the third rank with the maximum number of ITAs. These were around 3,131 individuals.
Here’s the data for 2021, with 7 out of 10 citizenship countries with most individuals acquiring ITAs:
1. India- 65,565 ITAs
2. People’s Republic of China- 9,592 ITAs issued
3. Republic of Korea- 3,131 ITAs
4. Nigeria- 3,123 ITAs issued
5. Brazil- 2,877 ITAs
6. Philippines- 2,429 ITAs issued
7. United Kingdom and Overseas Territories- 2,298 ITAs
8. Iran- 1,700 ITAs issued
9. Socialist Republic of Vietnam-1,514 ITAs
10. Republic of Ireland- 1,348 ITAs issued
CEC gains prominence under Express Entry
Surprisingly, 79.6 percent of the PR applications under Express Entry belonged to the chief applicants trying to enter Canada through CEC. On the other hand, PNP candidates brought forth 12,652 PR applications under Express Entry. Nearly 8,245 applicants belonged to the FSWP category for PR applications. All three programs indicate that the percentage of men applying for Canadian PR occurred mainly through CEC and PNP. The percentage for CEC and PNP was 57 and 58 percent, respectively. On the other hand, 53 percent of women applied for PR under FSWP. The FSTP applicants accounted for only three PR applications.
80 percent of Express Entry applications with processing times equal to 9 months
Several potential immigration candidates face massive challenges related to the processing time of their applications. In 2020, the processing time remained constant for all three programs. Moreover, IRCC processed a majority of applications within 9 months; these are around 80 percent.
PNP applications had a processing time of 21 months, while 80 percent of CEC applications had a processing time of 7 months. On the other hand, FSTP and FSWP applications had processing times of 23 and 26 months, respectively.
Express Entry’s Annual Report- PRs desired to settle in Ontario
Of all the people with Express Entry PR submissions, 96,353 individuals wished to reside in Ontario. The provinces that gained immense popularity after Ontario among these individuals were British Columbia and Alberta. These account for 35,735 and 12,082 individuals in the above areas. Contrarily, the least prominent destinations out of 187 destinations were Yukon, Nunavut, and the Northwest Territories.
Since Quebec operates through its separate immigration programs, its immigration figures aren’t available here.
The Express Entry System in 2022 and 2023
IRCC returned to its standard draws in July 2022 after the long haul of the FSTP and FSWP in January. Even the CEC paused in September 2021. This year, two draws resumed the program-specific pattern. IRCC conducted a PNP-only draw on February 1 and an FSWP-only draw on February 2. Notably, the FSWP emerged as the first draw in the history of the Express Entry draw.
Moreover, the Express Entry draws departed from the initial pattern where the main focus remained only on CRS scores. However, IRCC will soon execute a new pattern of draws emphasizing categories. They will focus on factors related to education, language proficiency, and occupation.
Over the years, Express Entry has released the latest updates in such reports, specifically toward the latter end of the year. Overall, the following report will emerge in the latter part of December 2023.
