Update on Express Entry

Original Newsletter(s) this article was published in: Blaneys on Immigration: May 2017

Since Express Entry began on January 1, 2015, it has been necessary for prospective permanent residents to first receive an Invitation to Apply (“ITA”) before submitting an application for permanent residence under one of the following categories:

The Federal Skilled Worker (“FSW”) Class;
The Canadian Experience Class (“CEC”);
The Federal Skilled Trades (“FST”) Class; or
Members of the Provincial Nominee Class who fall within the Express Entry Stream of a Provincial Nominee Program (“PNP”).

Express Entry applicants are selected to receive an ITA based on how many points they are assigned under the Comprehensive Ranking System (“CRS”).

As of May 17, 2017, IRCC had issued a total of 62 rounds of ITAs under Express Entry. A summary of these rounds appears below:

In Round #1 (January 31, 2015), IRCC issued 779 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 886 CRS points.
In Round #2 (February 7, 2015), IRCC issued 779 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 818 CRS points.
In Round #3 (February 20, 2015), IRCC issued 849 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 808 CRS points.
In Round #4 (February 27, 2015), IRCC issued 1187 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 735 CRS points.
In Round #5 (March 20, 2015), IRCC issued 1620 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 481 CRS points.
In Round #6 (March 27, 2015), IRCC issued 1637 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 453 CRS points.
In Round #7 (April 10, 2015), IRCC issued 925 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 469 CRS points.
In Round #8 (April 17, 2015), IRCC issued 715 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 453 CRS points.
In Round #9 (May 22, 2015), IRCC issued 1361 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 755 CRS points.
In Round #10 (June 12, 2015), IRCC issued 1501 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 482 CRS points.
In Round #11 (June 26, 2015), IRCC issued 1575 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 469 CRS points.
In Round #12 (July 10, 2015), IRCC issued 1516 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 463 CRS points.
In Round #13 (July 17, 2015), IRCC issued 1581 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 451 CRS points.
In Round #14 (August 7, 2015), IRCC issued 1402 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 471 CRS points.
In Round #15 (August 21, 2015), IRCC issued 1523 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 456 CRS points.
In Round #16 (September 8, 2015), IRCC issued 1517 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 459 CRS points.
In Round #17 (September 18, 2015), IRCC issued 1545 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 450 CRS points.
In Round #18 (October 2, 2015), IRCC issued 1530 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 450 CRS points.
In Round #19 (October 23, 2015), IRCC issued 1502 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 489 CRS points.
In Round #20 (November 13, 2015), IRCC issued 1506 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 484 CRS points.
In Round #21 (November 27, 2015), IRCC issued 1559 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 472 CRS points.
In Round #22 (December 4, 2015), IRCC issued 1451 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 461 CRS points.
In Round #23 (December 18, 2015), IRCC issued 1503 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 460 CRS points.
In Round #24 (January 6, 2016), IRCC issued 1463 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 461 CRS points.
In Round #25 (January 13, 2016), IRCC issued 1518 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 453 CRS points.
In Round #26 (January 27, 2016), IRCC issued 1468 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 457 CRS points.
In Round #27 (February 10, 2016), IRCC issued 1505 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 459 CRS points.
In Round #28 (February 24, 2016), IRCC issued 1484 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 453 CRS points.
In Round #29 (March 9, 2016), IRCC issued 1013 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 473 CRS points.
In Round #30 (March 23, 2016), IRCC issued 1014 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 470 CRS points.
In Round #31 (April 6, 2016), IRCC issued 954 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 470 CRS points.
In Round #32 (April 20, 2016), IRCC issued 1018 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 468 CRS points.
In Round #33 (May 6, 2016), IRCC issued 799 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 534 CRS points.
In Round #34 (May 18, 2016), IRCC issued 763 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 484 CRS points.
In Round #35 (June 1, 2016), IRCC issued 762 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 483 CRS points.
In Round #36 (June 15, 2016), IRCC issued 752 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 488 CRS points.
In Round #37 (June 29, 2016), IRCC issued 773 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 482 CRS points.
In Round #38 (July 13, 2016), IRCC issued 747 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 482 CRS points.
In Round #39 (July 27, 2016), IRCC issued 755 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 488 CRS points.
In Round #40 (August 10, 2016), IRCC issued 754 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 490 CRS points.
In Round #41 (August 24, 2016), IRCC issued 750 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 538 CRS points.
In Round #42 (September 7, 2016), IRCC issued 1,000 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 491 CRS points.
In Round #43 (September 21, 2016), IRCC issued 1,288 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 483 CRS points.
In Round #44 (October 12, 2016), IRCC issued 1,518 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 484 CRS points.
In Round #45 (October 19, 2016), IRCC issued 1,804 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 475 CRS points.
In Round #46 (November 2, 2016), IRCC issued 2,080 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 472 CRS points.
In Round #47 (November 16, 2016), IRCC issued 2,427 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 470 CRS points.
In Round #48 (November 30, 2016), IRCC issued 559 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 786 CRS points. However, it was available only to provincial nominee applicants, which is why the lowest CRS score was much higher than in previous rounds. Provincial nominees receive an additional 600 CRS points if they are nominated under the Express Entry stream of a Provincial Nominee Program.
In Round #49 (December 16, 2016), IRCC issued 1,936 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 497 CRS points.
In Round #50 (December 22, 2016), IRCC issued 2,878 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 475 CRS points.
In Round #51 (January 4, 2017), IRCC issued 2,902 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 468 CRS points.
In Round #52 (January 11, 2017), IRCC issued 3,334 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 459 CRS points.
In Round #53 (January 25, 2017), IRCC issued 3,508 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 453 CRS points.
In Round #54 (February 8, 2017), IRCC issued 3,644 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 447 CRS points.
In Round #55 (February 22, 2017), IRCC issued 3,611 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 441 CRS points.
In Round #56 (March 1, 2017), IRCC issued 3,884 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 434 CRS points.
In Round #57 (March 24, 2017), IRCC issued 3,749 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 441 CRS points.
In Round #58 (April 5, 2017), IRCC issued 3,753 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 431 CRS points.
In Round #59 (April 12, 2017), IRCC issued 3,923 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 423 CRS points.
In Round #60 (April 19, 2017), IRCC issued 3,665 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 415 CRS points.
In Round #61 (May 4, 2017), IRCC issued 3,796 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 423 CRS points.
In Round #62 (May 17, 2017), IRCC issued 3,687 ITAs. Applicants in this round were required to receive at least 415 CRS points.

As I previously reported, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration issued revised Ministerial Instructions on October 21, 2016 (the “2016 Amendments”), which made significant changes to the Express Entry System. These changes came into effect on November 19, 2016.

Many practitioners believed that once the 2016 Amendments came into effect, the lowest eligible CRS score would immediately drop. This was due to the fact that, under the 2016 Amendments, temporary foreign workers holding work permits based on Labour Market Impact Assessments would no longer receive an additional 600 CRS points. However, this proved not to be the case.

Round #48 was technically the first Express Entry round after the 2016 Amendments came into effect but it was made available only to provincial nominees. Round #49 was the first regular Express Entry round after the 2016 Amendments; the lowest CRS score for that round was 497. In other words, there was no immediate drop in the lowest eligible CRS score following the implementation of the 2016 Amendments.

Fortunately, the CRS score has been steadily dropping since Round #50. In the last three rounds, the CRS score has fluctuated between 415 and 423. The CRS score in Rounds #60 and #62 has been 415, which is the lowest that it has been since Express Entry began on January 1, 2015.