Express Entry All Program Draws Resume July 2022

The Express Entry program has been the long standing program for international applicants looking to
immigrate permanently to Canada. Under Express Entry, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC)
Express Entry manages the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), the Canadian Experience Class
(“CEC”) Program, the Provincial Nomination Programs (“PNP”) and The Federal Skilled Trades (“FST”)
Program. Typically, Express Entry draws were completed every two weeks, but the processing of
international applications had been delayed due to the pandemic and previous travel restrictions, so
there had been a surge in inventory and resulting backlog.

In order to combat the size of the processing inventory, all-program draws were paused and instead,
Invitations to Apply (“ITA”) were issued soley to those under the CEC and those eligible under the PNP.
On April 22, 2022, the Minister of IRCC, Sean Fraser announced Express Entry will resume in early July
and there will be a six-month service standard utilized to process most of the new Express Entry
applications. The last all program Express Entry draw was conducted on December 22, 2020.

What is Express Entry?

Prior to this year, Express Entry was the primary method to bring in economic class immigrants to
Canada. Express Entry is an electronic method used to regulate applications of skilled workers who seek
Canadian permanent residence. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) distributes points to
applicants contingent on age, education, work experience, language, skills, and other factors. Applicants
with the highest scores will receive an ITA for permanent residence.

Prior to the pandemic, the candidates that had earned the most points were invited by the IRCC to
submit applications for immigration. During the early stages of the pandemic, the IRCC focused on
bringing in CCEC and PNP applicants to obtain a large number of immigrants despite travel restrictions.

Reasons to Submit Your Application Early

1. Possibility of an earlier ITA
2. It takes time to gather all the documents, so you are allowing yourself an advantage if you begin
preparing the documents now. The quicker your documents are completed and turned in, the
quicker you can join the Express Entry Pool.
3. Have an upperhand in the tiebreaking rule
4. The CRS assigns points to each of the application, so if there were to be a draw in points
between candidates, time and the day you entered the pool are the two factors that act as
tiebreakers.
5. Take advantage of the benefits of Provincial Nominee Program
6. The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) encourages skilled workers to immigrate and advances
settlement in the provinces. Upon turning in your express entry application and picking a
preferred province, you may obtain a direct Express Entry invitation and also be chosen by your
preferred province. Each Province and / or Territory has it’s own pathway to permanent
residence. Obtaining a provincial nomination adds 600 points to your CRS score. The boosted
score almost guarantees you an ITA for permanent residence for the next draw.

If you have any questions related to Express Entry, contact us at info@poonahimmigrationlaw.com or
call us at (678) 978-5848.