Read ahead to understand IRCC’s approach toward determining the Express Entry draws. Typically, IRCC held draws on Wednesdays every two weeks. Usually, every draw would issue more than 3,000 ITAs with a minimum CRS score of nearly 470. However, this trend isn’t an official IRCC policy.
Before the pandemic broke out, the draws were pretty predictable. The policy objectives of Express Entry have been steady since its conception in 2015. In addition, a few years ago, IRCC mostly remained aligned with the standard processing times and could process almost 80 percent of Express Entry’s PR applications. Therefore, it was able to issue ITAs consistently, offering certainty to candidates under Express Entry.
However, after long, this year, Express Entry draws occurred consistently around every two weeks. After the launch of Express Entry category-based selection, the draws kept happening regularly. This was because IRCC was more prone to accomplish a broader range of policy objectives. These goals mainly include combating the acute labor shortages and inviting French-speaking new immigrants.
The category-based selection occurred between June 27 and August 15, 2023. Overall, IRCC conducted 12 Express Entry draws. However, this was pretty unanticipated, seeing the earlier trends, as IRCC would usually hold draws, around four to eight draws, over a distinguishable period.
For some time, IRCC started conducting draws only in a month before actually organizing draws between September 19 and October 26.
However, after October 26, IRCC has not conducted even a single Express Entry draw, and the reason remains unknown.
Overall, several factors could influence the dates of these Express Entry draws.
IRCC’s approach toward determining the Express Entry draws
The following factors can be responsible for when Express Entry conducts the draws:
Immigration Levels Plan
IRCC annually publishes its Immigration Levels Plan to outline the admission targets for the PR admissions that should arrive in Canada for the upcoming three years. Additionally, IRCC bifurcates the admission targets category-wise, including Express Entry.
For instance, IRCC seeks to invite around 110,770 newcomers through Express Entry in 2024 and welcome 117,550 each year in 2025 and 2026. These admission numbers include the main applicants who acquire Express Entry invitations to apply. Also, these consist of their qualifying partners and dependents who can contribute to their Permanent Residence applications.
To understand that IRCC fulfills these objectives, it must regularly assess the number of PR applications in the processing line. If IRCC has an adequate number of applications for the present as well as the following year, then it doesn’t need to issue more invitations. Conversely, if the department doesn’t have sufficient applications in the processing line, it is expected to hold more draws and send ITAs.
IRCC acknowledges the current and next year when it sits to determine the number of ITAs to be issued in the subsequent draws. This is also because it takes around six months to process Express Entry applications.
For instance, this implies that ITAs to be sent in the second half of 2023 will mostly lead to a PR actualizing their arrival in 2024.
Policy goals of IRCC
IRCC must also take into account the type of draws it must organize to achieve its policy objectives. Overall, the Canadian immigration minister has to fulfill a mandate to solidify the national economy. The minister will likely implement this goal by instructing new immigrants and welcoming them to reduce gaps in the Canadian workforce and contribute to the economy faster after moving to Canada.
One of the most chief methods of doing the above is sending Express Entry ITAs to candidates under the Provincial Nominee Program.
Determining the type of candidates to select consumes much time and effort. As a result, we might witness occasional delays in conducting Express Entry draws. This is because IRCC takes that amount of time to examine its alternatives.
For instance, the department must determine whether applicants must receive ITAs within an all-program draw. These draw consider candidates from all three programs of Express Entry. Moreover, the department must assess if more program-specific draws must occur. Either way, they need to decide whether candidates from category-based draws must be prioritized.
IRCC’s previous draws and their records
Earlier in 2021, IRCC planned to fulfill its objective of welcoming over 400,000 new PRs even though Canada faced several challenges due to Covid-19. The major issues remained travel restrictions and processing delays. The chief method through which IRCC planned to accomplish this goal was to conduct Express Entry draws on a larger scale for candidates under the Canadian Experience Class. Most of these were supposed to be in Canada, and hence, this turned out to be a good solution. This implies that IRCC could simply expedite the admission of these candidates as new permanent residents. After the launch of Express Entry category-based draws, IRCC conducted increasing draws to look after broader policy goals. These policy goals included the following:
- Encourage economic development in areas within Canada.
- Welcome and admit candidates with a higher level of human capital. This also means candidates who would be a better fit for integrating into Canada’s labor market.
- Carry out transitions from temporary to permanent residence.
- Solidify French-speaking communities outside of Quebec.
- Welcoming candidates with relevant work experience in skilled trades, agriculture, transport, healthcare, and STEM professions.
Implementing changes within the Comprehensive Ranking System and Express Entry profiles
There are several factors influencing the Express Entry draws, such as the changes made within the Comprehensive Ranking System and Express Entry. The number of times Express Entry draws take place can also depend on the allocation process of IRCC concerning CRS points to a particular attribute. For instance, in 2020, IRCC enhanced the number of CRS points for a candidate with French skills. This implies that IRCC will have to accomplish various technical updates to ensure all available profiles are up to date with the correct CRS scores.
In another instance, IRCC discontinued the NOC skill types to encourage the new TEER system.
IT challenges
Express Entry dates also shift due to technical glitches and other IT challenges. Lately, IRCC has even confirmed issues related to the Express Entry profile builder. As a result of this technical issue, several candidates who had received an ITA haven’t been able to update or upload their final PR profiles within sixty days.
On November 29, IRCC claimed that applicants who cannot upload their profiles will get 60 days to submit their applications. When IRCC launches and implements a new system, the system might face technical issues. Minister Fox also revealed that after the launch of new Category-based invitation rounds, IRCC underwent several technical glitches.
This is why IRCC might pause draws to wait for the problem to disappear completely. Moreover, Express Entry held no draws between November 23, 2022, and January 11, 2023. This happened due to the launch of the new updates within the NOC system. As a result of this technical fault, a few ineligible candidates also received ITAs.
IRCC’s approach toward determining the Express Entry draws – A change in IRCC’s staff
A change in IRCC’s staff is also a chief reason for delays or pauses in Express Entry draws. This includes a new immigration minister coming into power, or perhaps a Deputy Minister or other staff officers who are solely affiliated with Express Entry. When such changes happen, the staff officials also take their time to settle into their new positions.
Besides all this, IRCC is re-evaluating after previous Deputy Minister Neil Yeates published its report on the flaws within the department. Furthermore, he clearly suggested through his report to amend IRCC’s operational processes depending on business lines.
In his interview with Paul Wells, Fox confirmed that IRCC is already initiating several changes within its system. Consequently, these changes will surely impact IRCC’s staffing process.
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