The immigration minister told CIC News in an exclusive interview that the IRCC will resume drawings for all Express Entry programs on July 6.
Canada had invited 636 Express Entry applicants to apply for permanent residence on June 22.
All invited applicants had previously received a nomination from a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and had a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 752. The minimum score was relatively high because Express Entry candidates automatically have 600 points added to their score when they receive a nomination from a province. The lowest-scoring candidates would have had 152 base points without the nomination.
In the last draw, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited 932 Express Entry candidates with a score of at least 796.
Could this be the last PNP draw?
Yesterday, CIC News spoke with Immigration Minister Sean Fraser at the Collision Conference in Toronto, where the minister said the IRCC “tentatively” plans to resume the draw for all programs on July 6.
In April of this year, Fraser announced that Express Entry invitations for Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applicants would resume in early July, but did not give a date at that time.
Since September 2021, IRCC has only held drawings for PNP applicants. IRCC has temporarily suspended drawings for CEC and FSWP applicants to reduce the backlog of Express Entry applications, which has increased due to the pandemic.
IRCC’s application backlog for the three Express Entry programs has improved since the announcement. As of June 1, it stood at 31,603 applications, down from 40,889 at the end of April.
Although drawings for all programs could resume in two weeks, this may not mean the end of PNP drawings forever. Before the pandemic, IRCC occasionally conducted drawings just for PNP. For IRCC, the PNP program is central to promoting economic development across Canada.
In addition, Bill C-19 is nearing passage in the Canadian Parliament, which will allow the IRCC to invite applicants whose profiles match the government’s economic priorities. For example, the government can conduct occupation-specific draws for applicants who are in an occupation where there is a labor shortage.
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