Canada has invited 1,470 more candidates to apply for permanent residence (PR). Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has granted Invitations to apply (ITAs) for PR in a general draw of the Express Entry system. Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 534.
It was the fifth general draw of 2024 and the eighth overall. Thus far, IRCC has issued 16,910 ITAs through the Express Entry program in 2024. On February 13, IRCC invited 1,490 candidates with a minimum CRS of 535 in another general draw. It was followed by two category draws for healthcare (3500 invitations) and agriculture and agri-food occupations (150 invitations), which required candidates to have a CRS of at least 422 and 437, respectively.
On February 1, 7,000 candidates with French proficiency with a minimum CRS score of 365 were invited. Three general draws were conducted in January, with an overall number of 3,280 invitations issued.
Every year, Canada updates its immigration levels plan for the next three years from each of its four immigration classes: economic, family, refugee, and humanitarian. Economic class programs like Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), and other work-related programs attract maximum new immigrants annually. This year, Canada will welcome 281,135 immigrants through economic streams, 110,770 of whom will come through Express Entry managed programs.
This is a significant increase from last year when the government targeted 82,880 newcomers for PR through Express Entry. In 2025 and 2026, this number is set to stabilise at 117,500.
As per CIC News, there were 211,487 candidates in the pool on February 27, with the most significant section of them scoring between 451 and 500.
According to reports, Canada’s allocation for new permanent residents through the PNP will increase to 120K in 2025 — making PNP pathways collectively Canada’s main route to welcome new economic immigrants. Immigration triggers the highest population growth in Canada, as you can see in this blog.
Canada Express Entry is a management system for immigration applications. The centralised electronic system expedites the processing of economic immigration candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades programs.
Express Entry utilises CRS to assign scores based on many factors such as age, education, language ability, occupation, and work experience. Candidates having the highest scores are the most likely to receive an ITA for PR status.
Candidates who get a nomination letter through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) can earn 600 points in the CRS. This ranks them higher and increases their chances of getting an ITA.
After receiving an ITA, candidates get 60 days to submit their Canada PR application to IRCC.
In May last year, the category-based selection rounds of invitations for candidates were introduced by IRCC in six new Express Entry draw categories:
At the time of the announcement, the department said that it would review these categories and make any changes if required. IRCC confirmed this month that these categories will not be updated in 2024. So, if you want to immigrate to Canada, now is the best time. Immigration Consultant Dubai can navigate the Canada Immigration process and help you secure PR without significant hassles.
