On November 05, 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 4,500 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in its most recent all-program draw.

The minimum score in this draw was 478, which was 7 points higher than the previous all-program draw. The reason for this jump in the cut off score is due to the fact that there was a 22-day gap between the current draw and the preceding draw and the French-speaking candidates in the pool have benefited due to the increase in their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points in this draw.

Last month on October 27, 2020, IRCC had announced that Francophone and French-speaking candidates will now get 25 additional points for their language skills, up from 15, and bilingual candidates will now get 50 points, up from 30. This change to the Express Entry System was implemented with an objective of making it easier for Francophone and bilingual immigrants to immigrate to Canada and help increase Francophone immigration outside Quebec.

The Comprehensive Ranking System is a score out of 1,200 used to benchmark federal economic applicants against one another. It’s a part of the Express Entry system, which was established in January 2015 to process permanent residence applications. The CRS points are calculated on for factors such as age, education, skilled work experience and proficiency in English or French.

The CRS score is used as a cut-off point in Express Entry draws. To enter the pool, candidates must be eligible under either the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Canadian Experience Class, or Federal Skilled Trades Class.

Donoso & Partners, a leading immigration law firm based in Washington, D.C., will continue to report on developments regarding the immigration law and policy through our news section of donosolaw.com.