OTTAWA ― Canada has skipped CEC draw once again and invited 888 PNP Candidates in Express Entry draw 208 on October 27, 2021. The Comprehensive Ranking Score cut-off increased by twenty four points to 744 points compared to the previous PNP draw of 720.
This means that candidates needed a CRS score of at least 744 points to receive an invitation from this Express Entry draw.
The cut-off score is higher because IRCC targeted this draw towards candidates having a provincial nomination. Only the candidates from the Provincial Nominee Program were eligible for this round of invitations. There is still no sign of an all program draw.
Provincial nominees get 600 additional points in the Express Entry profile.
Previous Express Entry PNP Draw was held on on October 13, 2021 and compared to it, we see an increase in number of candidates who received an invitation in this Express Entry draw. There were 888 invitees this time around compared to 681 from the previous draw. This is an increase of 207 invitations.
Express Entry Draw 208
Program: Candidates with Provincial Nomination
Comprehensive Ranking Score: 744
Invitations issued: 888
ITA issued to 888 candidates under the “Provincial Nominee Program”. The minimum CRS points required were 744 points. The tie break date was October 7th at 16:38:21 UTC
Canada has issued more than 111k invitations so far in 2021 through Express Entry program including latest Express Entry draw 208
The number of invitations via Express Entry Draw this year has reached a milestone of 111,265 out of which the Canadian Experience Class accounts for 90% invitations at 99,653 and Provincial Nominee Program accounts for 10% invitations at 11,612.
PNP Draws continue the trend
While the travel restrictions were removed on September 7, Canada has still continued with CEC and PNP draws. No all program FSW draw have been conducted so far in 2021. However, there is a definite change in the trend.
This is the fourth consecutive PNP Express Entry draw. Canada has not conducted any CEC draw since September 14, 2021. – Express Entry Draw 205, Express Entry Draw 206 and Express Entry Draw 207 and 208 are all PNP draws – without any CEC draws in between.
Canada has been inviting only PNP and CEC candidates this year. There doesn’t seem to be a need for an open draw since the pandemic travel restrictions have kept people out of Canada anyway, but later this year they might consider doing it all again and start inviting outland candidates.
Canada is looking to increase the number of immigrants they welcome annually, and have a goal of 1.2 million new Canadian immigrants in three years! This year alone 111,265 invitations were sent out with this draw.
| Invitations issued | 2020 | 2021 |
| Canadian Experience Class | 34215 | 99653 |
| Federal Skilled Trades | 250 | 0 |
| No program specified | 68100 | 0 |
| Provincial Nominee Program | 4785 | 11612 |
| Grand Total | 107350 | 111265 |
Canada new immigration minister Sean Fraser’s has inherited a backlog of more than 560k immigration files for PR as per a recent report in The Toronto Star.
The visa backlog is as follows:
Temporary Residence: 748,000
Permanent Residence: 562,000
Citizenship: 376,000
Express Entry
Canada ranks Express Entry candidates in the pool using a points-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). About every 2 weeks, IRCC invites the top candidates in the pool to apply for permanent residence during rounds of invitations. If you are looking to increase your CRS score, here are Six ways to improve your CRS Score.
Did you receive an invitation in this Express Entry round? Discuss in the Canada Immigration Visa Forum.
