The minimum CRS score requirement drops to lowest since June for a PNP draw.

Canada invited 521 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence on September 15. All invited candidates had previously received nominations under a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which amounts to an automatic 600 points added to their base Express Entry score. As a result of the award, candidates needed a score of at least 732 in order to be invited. Express Entry candidates invited today now have 60 days to apply for permanent residence.

18 PNP draws, more than 100,000 ITAs

Since the start of 2021, IRCC has only held PNP and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Express Entry draws. This is now the 18th PNP-specific draw of the year. Usually, IRCC holds a PNP draw on Wednesdays followed by a CEC draw on Thursday. However, the CEC draw expected on September 2 did not come. The most recent CEC draw happened yesterday. The first time the Express Entry draw pattern was broken this year was on February 13, when IRCC invited every single CEC candidate in the pool. After that, it did not hold another CEC draw for more than a month. IRCC also held an irregular CEC draw in April, and May. Compared to the same time last year, IRCC has nearly doubled the number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued. This year, the department is aiming to admit 108,500 newcomers through the Express Entry system.

The minimum score requirements have been up and down due to the nature of CEC- and PNP-only draws. CEC draws typically have lower cutoffs because the draws are concentrated in the one group of applicants. They are not competing with others in the Federal Skilled Worker Program, for example. So, with bigger draw sizes, IRCC can invite more candidates, thus bringing the score down. PNP candidates automatically get 600 points with their provincial nomination, so PNP draws will always be higher than any other type of Express Entry draw.