On July 8,2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 3,900 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for the first time in more than four months in its all-program draw. This news confirms that Canada has resumed all-program Express Entry draws and is now issuing invitations to apply to candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) and Federal Skilled Trades (FST) programs.

In the July 8 invitation round, candidates needed a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 478 to be invited. This minimum score of 478 was seven points higher than the previous all-program invitation round on March 4, which had a cut-off score of 471.

We had earlier reported that due to the Covid-19 crisis in Canada, IRCC had been restricting draws to candidates from either Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) or Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

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.