IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? Canada has conducted its seventh Express Entry draw of the year, issuing 3,749 invitations to apply for permanent residency. The lowest qualifying score was 441.

What does the change mean? The number of invitations issued was nearly the highest number issued since the program was introduced in January 2015. The minimum qualifying score of 441 was one of the lowest qualifying scores to date indicating that a wide pool of candidates continues to be accepted.

Background: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada made significant changes to the Comprehensive Ranking System in November. The changes benefit candidates with a valid job offer that is not supported by a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment, provided the employee has worked for the employer for a year and the job is in NOC 0, A or B occupations. The new scoring system also benefits candidates who have completed post-secondary education in Canada. Friday’s draw was the first since March 1.

There have been seven draws so far this year:

Date Invitations Score
Jan. 3 2,902 468
Jan. 11 3,334 459
Jan. 25 3,508 453
Feb. 8 3,664 447
Feb. 22 3,611 441
March 1 3,884 434
March 24 3,749 441

BAL Analysis: The latest draw continues the trend of high numbers of invitations and relatively low minimum qualifying scores since the new scoring system was introduced.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Canada. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

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