Latest IRCC Express Entry Round: October 10, 2023

In the latest development in Canada’s immigration landscape, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) recently conducted its first Express Entry draw for the month, inviting 3,725 candidates to apply for permanent residency on October 10, 2023. 

To receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in this draw, candidates needed to have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 500. This CRS score represents a 4-point drop from the last all-program draw held on September 26, 2023, and is also the lowest cutoff score for all-program draws held since August 1, 2023.

TABLE A: Express Entry Results Between August 1, 2023 to October 10, 2023

IRCC’s Express Entry Report for 2022

It is noteworthy that the IRCC released its annual report on Express Entry on September 26, 2023. The report revealed that there were a total of 24 Express Entry draws in 2022, resulting in 46,539 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) being issued. This marked a 59% decrease compared to the previous year, 2021, which had seen 114,431 ITAs issued. This decline is largely attributed to a pause in Express Entry draws for Federal High Skilled programs between September 2021 and July 2022.

The report also highlighted that the majority of ITAs in 2022 were issued to candidates in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and the Canadian Experience Class. Furthermore, candidates with occupations such as software engineers, designers, information systems specialists, computer systems developers, programmers, food service supervisors, and cooks were among the most common recipients of ITAs. Of the ITAs issued, over 30,000 went to residents of Canada, with India and Nigeria also receiving significant numbers of invitations.

These recent developments underscore the evolving nature of Canada’s Express Entry system as it continues to adapt to the changing needs of the country’s labor market and economic landscape. As the IRCC strives to prioritize key attributes in the selection process, prospective immigrants are presented with new opportunities and pathways to make Canada their home.