Canadian Immigration News

An Unprecedented Express Entry Draw: 27,332 Invites with Minimum CRS of 75 to Apply for PR

2 minute read
"On February 13, 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held the 176th Express Entry draw to invite 27,332 applicants to the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Applicants only required a minimum CRS score of 75 points. It is being considered the largest Express Entry Draw ever!"
Written by My Visa Source Team
Published on:  Apr 20, 2021
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On February 13, 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) held the 176th Express Entry draw to invite 27,332 applicants to the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). 

Applicants only required a minimum CRS score of 75 points. It is being considered the largest Express Entry Draw ever!

It also has the lowest ever CRS requirement in history! Previously, on May 16, 2017, applicants to the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) with a CRS score of 199 received Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence.

The IRCC had reportedly used the tie-breaker rule where applicants with the same CRS score were invited based on when they submitted their application.

Applicants who submitted their Express Entry profile before September 12, 2020, at 15:31 UTC received the ITAs.

Why Was This Such a Large Express Entry Draw?

The unprecedented Express Entry draw reflects the IRCC’s aim to meet the new immigration targets for the next 2 years.

Canada announced that it aims to welcome over 401,000 new immigrants in 2021, the majority of which will come from the Express Entry system

Take a look at our regularly updated Latest Express Entry Draw Updates and our Canada PNP Draw Updates.

Priority has been given to the 3 federal economic immigration programs:

The 176th draw was almost 6 times larger than the previous Express Entry draws of this year. 

Marco Mendicino, Canada’s immigration minister said that the IRCC will make efforts to achieve the new immigration targets by inviting more applicants to transition to permanent residency.

This draw reflects that the IRCC aims to invite as many applicants as possible at the beginning of this year to finish the processing by late 2021. 

This allows the IRCC to achieve its immigration targets amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. 

The IRCC is only inviting applicants from the CEC since most applicants from this program are already present in Canada. This means that they can apply for permanent residency and be present for additional processing despite the travel restrictions. 

The rest of the applicants currently outside the country will be able to travel to Canada once travel restrictions have been lifted or if they meet the exceptions. 

This is also the reason why the IRCC has been targeting provincial nominee program applicants, as they are more likely to already be present in the country. 

Until now, the IRCC conducted 3 other Express Entry draws this year. Out of 3, 2 were for CEC applicants, while 1 was for provincial nominee applicants. 

See the latest Express Entry Draw Updates

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