IRCC has issued 3,300 invitations to candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker Program.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued invitations to 3,300 candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 489. The draw was only applicable to candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker Program for the first time since Express Entry began in 2015. This was the second program-specific draw of 2023 following the results on February 1 in which only candidates who had already received provincial nomination obtained an ITA.
Express Entry in 2023
Typically, Express Entry draws take place every two weeks on Wednesdays. However, draws in 2023 have deviated from the routine seen since Express Entry was established in 2015. The first draw this year, on January 11, occurred after an unexpected six-week pause following the draw on November 23. IRCC has implied in an email to CIC News that the pause was due to an IT system glitch caused by the implementation of NOC 2021.
There were 5,500 candidates invited on January 11 with minimum CRS scores of 507. It was the highest number of candidates, with the lowest CRS cut-off score, since all-program draws resumed after an 18-month pandemic hiatus between December 2020 and July 2022.
There was another draw the following week on January 18 that invited the same number of candidates but with a much lower minimum CRS score of 490. This draw came as a surprise as IRCC does not usually issue ITAs to candidates in consecutive weeks.
© CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.