Express Entry Draws for FSW/CEC will restart in July

The Express Entry draw for applicants in the Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSW), and Canadian Experience Class classes (CEC), will resume in July 2022. This announcement was made April 22 by Immigration Minister Sean Fraser and will end months-long pause in FSW and CEC draws.

FSW Express Entry draws have been halted since December 2020. CEC draws have been halted since September 2021. Canadian immigration officials said that the draws would be paused until Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), had completed at least half its backlog of high-skilled applicants. It was at 111,900 as of September 2021.

• IRCC has reduced its backlog by more than half to 48,000 as of March 2022 and plans to further reduce it by July.

• This progress in application processing means that IRCC will resume Express Entry draws for CEC and FSW candidates in July.

• Register for our newsletter and create a Moving2Canada account to get notified about Express Entry results. When draw results are available, we’ll email them directly to your inbox.

Predicting CRS scores when Express Entry draws for CEC Restart

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS score cut-off for Express Entry draws for CEC and FSW will be over 500 points when CEC and FSW draw again in July 2022. The score cut-off for Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores will likely remain high during the initial draws but could fall to pre-pandemic levels after regular draws.

The Express Entry pool has seen a surge in candidates since regular draws were halted. Express Entry launched in 2015 and the pool has now surpassed 200,000 candidates.

According to internal IRCC memos, immigration officials believe that the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS score) required to be invited to apply for Express Entry draws for CEC and FSW candidates will rise to 500 or higher when they resume.

It is difficult to predict how high and for how long the CRS score will remain high. The number of applicants, draw frequency, and number of invitations received in each draw all affect the CRS score cutoff.

We will only be able to see what the rest of 2022 looks like once Express Entry has drawn its resume.

Find out your CRS score. To assess your ability to compete in the CEC and FSW draws, use the Moving2Canada CRS Score Calculator.

Additional measures to in-Canada candidates

Canada will introduce a few immigration special measures to help certain candidates who are already in Canada and are at risk of losing their status.

A new temporary public policy will allow international graduates to remain longer in Canada if their temporary status expires. A new temporary public policy will allow recent international graduates to be granted an additional open work permit for up to 18 months if they are located in Canada. It will start in summer 2022.

For those who applied for Canada’s Temporary Residence-Permanent Residence Pathway (TR2PR), last year, another temporary public policy will be implemented. This was a temporary special immigrant program for graduates and essential workers in Canada. Applications are no longer accepted. These measures will be in effect from this summer as part of the new public policy:

• While their application is being processed, applicants will no longer need to be in Canada.
• Open work permits will be granted to applicants who wait for their permanent residence applications to be processed. This will ensure that all permanent residency applications are processed before applicants need to apply for a temporary extension.
• Family reunification is possible by allowing family members to apply for an open work permit.

Although the exact dates of these new policies have not been revealed, more information will be available as the summer months approach.

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Express Entry is still a major part of Canada’s immigration strategy

Minister Fraser insists that despite the slowdown in Express Entry draws being drawn, immigration is still vital to the Canadian economy.

“Our ability to retain and find workers is being outpaced by our strong economic growth.” Canada is a top choice for international talent. This fact must be used to ensure employers and businesses have the skilled workers they need in order to succeed.” – Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Canada will welcome over 1.3 million permanent residents between 2022-2024. This is the largest number of permanent residents Canada has seen since it began publishing immigration targets.

As the country deals with pandemic-era backlogs, Express Entry admissions have been reduced for 2022. Express Entry will admit more than 111,000 newcomers per year by 2024. This is the largest number of immigrants it has ever admitted in its history. Express Entry will again be Canada’s largest driver of economic migration if it achieves this goal.