Express Entry Commitment Upheld by IRCC
In an interview with CIC News, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Canada will resume all-program Express Entry draws on July 6.
According to Fraser, the IRCC is on track to normalize Express Entry draws in early July. As part of its April commitment, IRCC promised to get the Express Entry service standard back to six months once all-draws begin again.
Because of the pandemic, IRCC stopped sending Express Entry invitations to apply to Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) candidates in December 2020. It did the same for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates in September 2021.
Recent developments in Express Entry
Before the pandemic, the IRCC would usually take all of the candidates into consideration during its biweekly Express Entry draws. They would invite the candidates who scored the highest on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), regardless of their program of eligibility.
The Immigration agency changed its approach during the pandemic. FSWP and FSTP draws have been paused, since it made more sense to prioritize economic immigrants in Canada while the country was under international travel restrictions. So, for most of last year, IRCC prioritized CEC candidates and achieved its goal of landing 401,000 new permanent residents.
However, this resulted in a massive backlog of applications from other programs. To control its backlog inventory and improve its Express Entry service standard, IRCC decided to also pause Express Entry invitations to CEC candidates in September 2021.
At the same time, the IRCC has continued to offer invitations for Express Entry to candidates for Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) as a way to contribute to the economic development of provinces and territories.
How Will The All-Program Draws Affect Express Entry Candidates?
The return to all-program draws will benefit FSWP, FSTP, and CEC candidates alike.
World Education Services (WES), one of the ECA providers designated by IRCC, found that despite the pandemic’s aftermath, FSWP candidates are still very interested in going ahead with the Canadian immigration process.
Meanwhile, the resumption of draws for CEC candidates will help those currently living in Canada maintain their residency status. If an Express Entry candidate gets an invitation to apply for permanent residence (ITA), the candidate can apply for a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) as well. That allows them to maintain their legal status in Canada until the process is finalized.
Since September 2021, CEC candidates have not been able to take advantage of the BOWP. Due to this, IRCC announced in April that it would offer a work permit extension this summer to the main cohort of CEC candidates. This cohort includes those whose Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) has recently expired or is about to expire.
IRCC has not announced when it will begin accepting work permit applications from these individuals.
