IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? Canada conducted its 20th Express Entry draw of the year Wednesday, issuing 3,035 invitations to apply for permanent residency. The lowest qualifying score was 434.

What does the change mean? The number of invitations remains high and the minimum qualifying score remains in the lower range compared with other draws this year.

Background: There have been 20 draws so far in 2017:

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 
Aug. 9 2,991 433
Aug. 23 3,035 434

*PNP nominees only

**Federal Skilled Trades Program applicants only.

BAL Analysis: Canada is continuing an overall trend of issuing a high number of invitations for permanent residency per draw. So far this year, the government has issued nearly 64,000 invitations, approximating the number of invitations issued in 2016 and 2015 combined.

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.

Copyright © 2017 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.