The Review Of Express Entry For The Year 2023

2023 has brought significant changes in the Express Entry system. Well, here’s the review of Express Entry for the year 2023. In the first half of 2023, the system continued with numerous patterns established in 2022 following the resumption of Express Entry draws after an 18-month pause. Draws were either all-program, PNP, or Federal Skilled Workers. 

Draws generally took place every two weeks but sometimes took place more frequently. In addition, IRCC invited over 21,000 Express Entry applicants throughout March 2023 in four draws. This was the second-highest number of Express Entry applicants ever invited in a month. 

Category-Based Selection Rounds Of Invitations

Looking at the review of Express Entry year 023, it is vital to note that IRCC introduced six new categories for Express Entry draws in May. This was expected following the change in the IRPA in June 2022, which grants the immigration minister the authority to issue ITAs to applicants with specific attributes instead of the overall highest CRS scores. 

Moreover, the new categories target applicants with attributes to help IRCC meet its mandates to promote French outside the province of Quebec. Furthermore, it also uses immigration to strengthen Canada’s labor force & economy. The categories are: 

• Healthcare
• Trades
• Transport
• STEM Professions
• Agriculture/ Agri-Food 
• Strong French Proficiency

The first category-based draw took place on June 28, wherein over 500 healthcare professionals were invited. Since then, IRCC has invited more than 16,000 Express Entry applicants via the category-based selection. 

Draw Types 

Out of the 42 draws that took place in 2023, the majority were all-program draws that considered applicants from FSWP, FSTP, & CEC. However, IRCC did not issue any ITAs to FSTP applicants in 2023. 

In total, over 19 Express Entry draws were all-program, 5 were PNP-only, & one was FSWP-only & the remaining 17 were category-based selection draws.    

CRS Scores 

Recent data from IRCC demonstrates that many Express Entry applicants who obtained an ITA between January & September 2023 had obtained a CRS score between 451-500 & over 11,640 had scores ranging from 501-600. 

Another 12,590 applicants had CRS scores between 900 & 1200. These were most likely applicants who had obtained a nomination via the PNP, which adds 600 CRS points to an existing CRS score. 

Based on draw type, the lowest CRS for an all-program draw was 481 on March 29, wherein 7,000 applicants obtained ITAs. The highest was 561 on December 6, when 4,750 all-program applicants obtained ITAs. 

Moreover, among applicants who obtained ITAs in draws for PNP-only draws, the highest CRS score was 791 on February 15 in a draw for 699 applicants. The lowest was 691 on May 10 in a draw for 589 PNP applicants. 

There was only one draw for Federal Skilled Workers with a CRS of at least 489 on February 3, wherein over 3,300 applicants were invited. 

In addition, among category-based selection rounds of invitations, the lowest score was for applicants in the only draw for agriculture & agri-food professions, with a score of 354 on September 28. IRCC invited over 600 applicants to apply. 

The highest score for this year for a category-based draw took place twice. On July 5, over 500 applicants in STEM professions with a minimum score of 486 obtained ITAs. Moreover, on October 25, over 300 French-language proficiency applicants obtained ITAs in a draw with the same minimum score. 

Frequency Of Draws 

As far as the review of Express Entry for the year 2023 is concerned, between January & June, Express Entry draws occurred every two weeks & sometimes every week. 

Following the introduction of category-based selection draws, it became more challenging to predict when IRCC would issue ITAs. However, ministerial instructions show that since July, there has been a trend toward one week every month in which there are 3-4 separate Express Entry draws between Tuesday & Thursday. 

The highest volume of draws was in December, when there were seven draws between December 6 to 21. The second highest volume was in five draws from July 4 to 12. Moreover, September also saw five draws over two weeks & there were four draws in October; again, three of them occurred within one week. 

Draws were paused between October 26 & December 6. Moreover, IRCC did not confirm a reason. Still, there are several possibilities, such as ongoing IT glitches, staffing issues, or if the department had already reached the Express Entry targets highlighted for the year in the Immigration Levels Plan. 

Summary Of Express Entry Draws Since June 2023

Here is the outline of the latest Express Entry draws result. Take a look! 

Looking Ahead To 2024 

According to the recently released Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026, Canada will admit 110,000 new permanent residents via Express Entry in 2024. 

In addition to the review of Express Entry year 2023, IRCC targeted over 82,880 Express Entry applicants for admission. Between the first draw of the year on January 11 & the December 21 draw, the department issued 110,266 ITAs. 

This does not necessarily imply that all applicants will be admitted to Canada by the end of the year, as it can take up to six months for IRCC to process an Express Entry application. Many of the ITAs issued in 2023 will count as admissions in 2024. 

Moreover, there is a possibility that the minister will change the current categories for category-based selection. This depends upon the findings in IRCC’s yearly report to Parliament & feedback from IRCC stakeholders, like territorial & provincial governments & settlement services. 

These stakeholders are best placed to evaluate how Express Entry applicants integrate into the local labor force & economy & if they have been able to find employment in their field. 

If the minister deems that the present categories do not fulfill IRCC’s mandate to invite the applicants most likely to support Canada’s economy, he might create a different set of categories.