This week’s Express Entry draw did not happen due to recent Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score changes made by the federal government. This post will give you an idea of why the Canada’s Express Entry Draw didn’t hold this week.
According to the federal department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the absence of the regularly-scheduled draw is a result of IRCC’s announcement on Tuesday that it will now award more CRS points to French-speaking Express Entry candidates.
The CRS scores of all profiles in the pool will be updated automatically before the next invitation round after the updates. This could take up to two weeks.
Under its Express Entry application management system, IRCC awards immigration candidates a CRS score based on their age, education, language skills, work experience, among other criteria. For some time now, IRCC holds an Express Entry draw every two weeks inviting the highest-scoring candidates to apply for permanent residence.
READ ALSO: HOW TO MIGRATE TO CANADA VIA EXPRESS ENTRY
Immigration hopefuls eagerly anticipated this week’s draw, but its absence may have created uncertainty due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, IRCC has clarified that the lack of a draw this week is not related to the pandemic.
Instead, with up to 30 more CRS points now being awarded to French-speaking Express Entry candidates, IRCC needs to update the CRS scores of candidates in the Express Entry pool. Once this update is complete, applicants can expect Express Entry draws to return to regular bi-weekly intervals.
The purpose of the CRS changes is to encourage more Francophone skilled workers to immigrate to Canada. Canada has two official languages, English and French. Therefore, the change aims to maintain a strong Francophone character, in large part by attracting Francophone immigrants. Quebec operates its own immigration system with the same objective. At the national level, IRCC has a mandate to further encourage immigration to all other provinces and territories.
IRCC has a goal of Francophones comprising 4.4 per cent of all immigrants outside of Quebec. However, this figure currently stands at 2.8 per cent. The CRS changes will help IRCC to achieve this goal.
The number of ITAs will continue to increase now. This is because that Canada aims to welcome over 400,000 immigrants per year under its 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan.
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