On December 18, 2023, the latest Express Entry draw sent out 1,325 invitations to apply for permanent in a general (all program) draw.
The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score decreased by 19 points to 542 in this draw as compared to the previous all-program draw of December 6, 2023.
In this draw, IRCC considered all 4 programs; Federal Skilled Workers (FSW), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Trades Workers (FSTW), and Provincial Nominee Program.
Latest Express Entry Draw – December 18, 2023
- Round of Invitation #275
- Express Entry Program: General (All Program)
- Number of invitations issued: 1,325
- Rank required to be invited to apply: 1,325 or above
- Date and time of round: December 18, 2023 at 16:12:22 UTC
- CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 542
- Tie-breaking rule: November 06, 2023 at 14:40:23 UTC
Tie-breaking rule: When multiple candidates have the same lowest score, the cut-off is determined by the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.
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CRS Score Distribution of Latest Express Entry Draw
This draw follows the draw of December 8, in which 5,900 candidates were issued Invitations to Apply (ITAs) in a category-based selection draw for those in STEM occupations, with a minimum CRS score of 481.
On December 7, another category-based draw targeted individuals with French language proficiency and sent invitations to 1,000 candidates from the Express Entry pool with a minimum CRS of 470.
On December 06, IRCC sent out 4,750 invitations to apply for permanent residency in a ‘general (all program)’ draw. The CRS score increased by 61 points to 561 in this draw as compared to the ‘no program specified’ draw of October 10, 2023.
This draw was the first one in more than a month. The last draw before that was on October 26, specifically for candidates in healthcare occupations, and sent 3,600 ITAs with a CRS score of 431.
Click here to see the list of Healthcare Occupations eligible for Express Entry Draws.
Pause in Express Entry Draws
IRCC didn’t confirm why they temporarily stopped the draws. However, on November 14, they tweeted that there was a problem with the Express Entry profile builder for candidates who got an ITA and were trying to submit their final application to IRCC’s website.
Two days later, on November 16, they said the issue was fixed, but the draws didn’t start again right away as many expected.
There could be various reasons for IRCC delaying an Express Entry draw, like meeting targets in the Immigration Levels Plan, IT problems, changes in staffing, or updates to the Comprehensive Ranking System.
Continuation of Express Entry Draws
IRCC usually announces Express Entry draws every two weeks, but there were no invitations between October 26 and December 5, lasting for 5 weeks.
However, between December 6th and 8th, IRCC held three consecutive draws, inviting 11,650 profiles to apply for permanent residency. Now, the fourth draw of the week is taking place.
This is good news for Express Entry candidates, although the minimum CRS cutoff score is still high.
It’s only the beginning of the week, and more invitation rounds are expected since the number of invitations in today’s Express Entry draw was low.
Since December 6, a total of 12,975 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) have been issued in four Express Entry draws. The details are listed below:
In 39 express entry draws, Canada has issued a total of 108,196 invitations to apply. Among these, 76,700 ITAs were issued during rounds where no specific program was specified.
CRS Score of Express Entry Draws 2023
Express Entry Draws 2023
Processing Times
| Program | Processing Time | Change From Last Week |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian Experience Class (CEC) | 5 months | No Change |
| Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) | 5 months | -1 month |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) | (Not updated by IRCC since March 1 as there could be no application in processing for FSTP as of now) | No Change |
| Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) via Express Entry | 8 months | No Change |
