IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? Canada conducted its 18th Express Entry draw of the year Wednesday, issuing 3,264 invitations to apply for permanent residency. The lowest qualifying score was 441.

What does the change mean? The number of invitations issued and the minimum score were similar to the numbers from the previous two draws. The minimum qualifying score remained higher than minimum scores in April and May. This is likely because of a change in the scoring system that awards more points to Francophone immigrants and those with siblings in Canada.

Background: There have been 18 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
April 5 3,753 431
April 12 3,923 423
April 19 3,665 415
May 4 3,796 423
May 17 3,687 415
May 25* 143 775
May 25** 400 199
May 31 3,877 413
June 28 3,409 449
July 12 3,202 440
Aug. 2 3,264 441 

*PNP nominees only

**Federal Skilled Trades Program applicants only.

BAL Analysis: The minimum score remained high when compared with most draws since April. However, on the whole, Canada continues to issue a high number of invitations to apply for permanent residence. Canada has issued 57,771 Express Entry invitations so far in 2017, compared with 33,782 in all of 2016 and 31,063 in 2015.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

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