Canada revamps Express Entry: CEC and PNP draws dominate after hiatus

MUMBAI: Canada’s Express Entry draws that offer permanent residency to those selected are back with a bang after a considerable hiatus. In May 2024, there were just two draws and only one in the following month. Since then, the periodicity of the draws has picked up, as was the earlier norm. However, there is a marked shift with ‘General’ category rounds conspicuous by their absence.
The writing was on the wall – way back in March, Canada’s immigration minister, Marc Miller had said, “…As part of our efforts for temporary residents to transition to permanent residency, we will have more domestic draws for us and ask provinces and territories taking part in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) to do the same with their allocations.”
In other words, it was clear that going forward the focus would be on PNP draws and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws which are for skilled workers who have Canadian work experience and want to become permanent residents - typically such individuals are already residing in Canada.An analysis of the draws in July and August clearly reflects this. The main reason was to reduce an additional inflow of new immigrants and thus mitigate the pressure on health care and housing.
Express Entry is a system used by the Canadian government to manage applications from skilled and qualified workers for permanent residence (PR) through three economic immigration programs. These are the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the country’s immigration agency, on its website explains the different types of draws that are held throughout the year.

In each draw, aspiring candidates are ranked relative to each other based on a score under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Those who meet the cut-off score are sent an invitation to apply and become permanent residents. A permanent residency is akin to a green card in the USA and offers a future path to Canadian citizenship.
The CRS score is divided into two sections. The core score can reach a maximum of 600 points and is based on the candidate’s age, education, official language proficiency, work experience etc. Second, a maximum of 600 points are awarded to the candidates if they meet policy or other objectives such as: having a provincial nomination, a qualifying offer of arranged employment, Canadian educational credentials, French-language proficiency or a sibling in Canada.
Candidates that receive an invitation to apply have 60 days to either decline the invitation or submit an online application for permanent residence to IRCC. After a due process, applicants and their accompanying family members become permanent residents.
Here is an analysis of the draws held during the past two months.




Immigration experts point out that the cut off scores, except for category based draws be it - French proficiency draws or occupation-related draws, continue to remain high (above 500 points). Recently, IRCC also announced a pilot that offers a direct pathway to permanent residency to Francophone (French speaking) students.
Those already in Canada now appear to have a better chance to become permanent residents under the Express Entry mechanism.