For a PNP draw, the minimum CRS score requirement has dropped to its lowest level since June.

On September 15, Canada invited 521 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence.

All of the invited candidates had previously been nominated through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which resulted in an automatic 600-point boost to their Express Entry score. Candidates needed a score of at least 732 to be invited as a result of the award.

Candidates who were selected through Express Entry today have 60 days to apply for permanent residency.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited 635 candidates with scores of at least 764 in the previous PNP draw two weeks ago.

18 PNP DRAWS, MORE THAN 100,000 ITAS

IRCC has only held PNP and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Express Entry draws since the beginning of 2021. This is the year’s 18th PNP-specific drawing.

The IRCC usually holds a PNP draw on Wednesdays and a CEC draw on Thursdays. The CEC draw, which was supposed to take place on September 2, did not happen. The most recent CEC draw took place just a few days ago.

On February 13, IRCC invited every single CEC candidate in the pool, breaking the Express Entry draw pattern for the first time this year. It didn’t hold another CEC draw for over a month after that. In April and May, the IRCC held an ad hoc CEC draw.

The number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued by IRCC has nearly doubled since the same time last year. The department seeks to admit 108,500 newcomers through the Express Entry system this year.

Due to the nature of CEC and PNP-only draws, the minimum score requirements have fluctuated. Because the draws are concentrated in one group of applicants, CEC draws typically have lower cut-offs. In the Federal Skilled Worker Program, for example, they are not competing with others. As a result, larger draw sizes allow IRCC to invite more candidates, lowering the score.

With their provincial nomination, PNP candidates automatically receive 600 points, so PNP draws will always be higher than any other type of Express Entry draw.