Canada’s Express Entry annual report is published every year by IRCC. It is the government’s main program for international skilled workers to obtain PR in Canada.
Express Entry was launched in 2015 to manage three separate programs: the CEC – (Canadian Experience Class), the FSWP, and the FSTP – (Federal Skilled Trades Program). Additionally, it has a role in overseeing part of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Although candidates under the PNP must also fulfill the requirements for one of the aforementioned programs.
Canada’s Express Entry annual report data from January to December 2021 are given below.
Over 114,431 ITAs were issued for permanent residence in Canada. In total, 155,810 individuals were granted permanent residency as a result of these ITAs. On September 20, 2021, the IRCC made a significant decision to halt the issuance of all Express Entry ITAs for FHIS – (Federal High Skilled Immigration programs), which includes CEC, FSWP, and FSTP. Although the IRCC initially continued CEC draws throughout 2021, it stopped these in September after not inviting any FSWP or FSTP candidates. However, PNP draws were held regularly throughout 2021, typically occurring bi-weekly.
Canada’s Express Entry annual report – Key findings
Approximately 440,000 profiles have been submitted for Express Entry
At the end of 2021, the IRCC received 443,004 Express Entry profiles. Between 2020 and 2021, the number increased to 23%. Seventy-four percent of these profiles qualified for a program in Express Entry, while only 26 percent were rejected. Women qualified for at least one Express Entry program at a higher rate than men, 77% to 71%.
Individuals who entered the Express Entry pool primarily had CRS scores ranging from 351 to 400
Candidates are assessed based on a number of factors using the CRS. CRS scores vary with each submission of an eligible profile in the Express Entry pool, underscoring the importance of acknowledging this dynamic nature.
Moreover, the CRS score ranged between 351 and 400 for 31% of all qualified candidates. A score between 401-450 made up 27% of profiles, a score between 451-500 made up 21%, and a score between 301-350 made up 16% of profiles. In the case of the PNP-specific draw, CRS cut-off scores varied between 682 and 813 points, while for the CEC-specific draw, they ranged between 75 and 462.
A majority of eligible profiles (58% of all submitted profiles) failed to meet the points requirements. Male profiles accounted for over half (54%) of all profiles submitted. A Canadian education earned extra points for 21% of the remaining eligible profiles while having Canadian siblings earned extra points for 13% of them.
Another 12% of candidates qualified for extra CRS points if they landed a job or demonstrated their French fluency.
The number of ITAs granted increased by up to 6% from the previous year of 2020
According to Express Entry statistics, 114,431 ITAs were awarded in 2021 through 42 of its program-specific draws, an increase of six percent from 2020. Additionally, Canada’s objective to attract younger immigrants was met by 64% of all ITA recipients between the ages of 20 and 29.
In total, 23% of all ITAs were issued to applicants who applied to the CEC (17 draws, accounting for 87% of all ITAs) and the PNP (25 draws, 13% of all ITAs). Applicants for FSWP and FSTP were not invited to apply. Neither an all-program Express Entry draw nor a program-by-program draw was held in 2021.
A majority of ITA recipients worked in food service, administration, and retail
People granted an ITA in 2021 most commonly worked as “Food Service Supervisors”. Moreover, ITA grantees in total had jobs in this position. 60.4% of those in this position were women.
Nevertheless, the five jobs that ITA recipients most frequently hold are listed here, along with a breakdown of how many people work in each position in each occupation using the NOC 2021 codes.
- The number of ITAs issued to Food Service Supervisors: 13,097
- The number of ITAs issued to Administrative Assistants: 5,930
- The number of ITAs issued to Retail Sales Supervisors: 5,020
- The number of ITAs issued to Software Engineers and Designers: 4,916
- The number of ITAs issued to Cooks: 4,624
India and Nigeria were the top countries of origin for ITA recipients living outside of Canada.
In the Express Entry system, the majority of ITA recipients are Canadian applicants (102,806), but a significant number of ITA recipients are Indian (3,826) or Nigerian (1,432). The USA ranked third on this list in both 2019 and 2020, which represents a change from the previous two years.
Listed below are the top 10 countries of residence for ITA recipients in 2021, along with the corresponding number of ITAs issued to each country.
- The number of ITAs issued to residents of Canada was 102,806.
- India received 3,826 ITAs.
- Nigeria received 1,432 ITAs.
- 806 ITAs were issued to residents of the USA.
- China was allocated 687 ITAs.
- The UAE – (United Arab Emirates received) 465 ITAs.
- The UK and its Overseas Territories received 348 ITAs.
- Pakistan received 269 ITAs.
- Morocco received 235 ITAs.
- Lebanon received 215 ITAs.
The majority of ITA recipients were nationals of India, China, and Korea.
ITA recipients’ citizenship has changed only slightly over time, according to additional information. China has ranked second in both 2020 and 2021, while India has held the top spot for the last three years. Nigerian nationals were awarded 6,550 ITAs in 2020, ranking them third; however, 3131 ITAs were awarded to citizens of the Republic of Korea in 2021.
Here are the remaining countries in the top 10 list of citizenship among ITA recipients in 2021, along with the corresponding number of ITAs issued to their citizens:
- The number of ITAs issued to citizens of India was 65,565.
- 9,592 ITAs were given out to the People’s Republic of China residents.
- ITAs were issued to 3,131 citizens of the Republic of Korea.
- Nigerian nationals received 3,123 ITAs in total.
- Citizens of Brazil received 2,877 ITAs.
- ITAs were issued to 2,429 citizens of the Philippines.
- The number of ITAs issued to citizens of the United Kingdom and Overseas Territories was 2,298.
- Iranian citizens were issued 1,700 ITAs.
- The Socialist Republic of Vietnam citizens received 1,514 ITAs.
- The number of ITAs issued to citizens of the Republic of Ireland was 1,348.
The CEC has become the most favored program within the Express Entry system
The CEC program was the most preferred pathway for applicants seeking permanent residency (PR) through Express Entry. Furthermore, with 79.6% of all PR applications are submitted by principal applicants under this category. Meanwhile, 12,652 PR applications were received from Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applicants. As well as 8,245 PR applications were submitted by applicants under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP). In terms of gender, the majority of male applicants submitted their PR applications through the PNP and CEC programs (57% and 58% respectively), while 53% of FSWP PR applications were submitted by female applicants. Only three economic immigration PR applications were received from applicants under the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).
Express Entry processed 80% of applications within a timeframe of nine months
The processing time for Canadian immigration applications continues to be a concern for many potential immigrants. As in the previous year, 80% of applications were processed within nine months by the IRCC for all immigration programs in 2021. In contrast, the processing time differed depending on the program. A CEC application was processed in 7 months, while a PNP application took 21 months, an FSTP application took 23 months, and an FSWP application took 26 months.
Canada’s Express Entry annual report – The majority of Express Entry PRs wish to relocate to Ontario
Express Entry received 96,535 applications from people heading to Ontario. In terms of total people, Nunavut, Yukon, and Northwest Territories were the least popular destinations (187 each), followed by British Columbia (35,735) and Alberta (12,082).
Consequently, considering Quebec’s unique immigration policies, it is not included in this analysis the number of immigrants from Quebec.
An overview of Express Entry in 2022 and 2023
After the IRCC halted draws for the FSWP and FSTP in January 2021 and for the CEC in September 2021. As well as the IRCC resumed drawing for all programs in July of 2022. Despite this, two draws have returned to a program-specific format in 2023. A PNP-only draw was conducted by the immigration department on February 1. As well as on February 2. It was the first FSWP-only draw in Express Entry history that took place.
With this announcement, the IRCC is breaking away from its usual Express Entry draw format, which primarily prioritizes CRS-scoring candidates. During this year, the department plans to introduce category-based draws in addition to these. Candidates will be chosen based on their individual characteristics such as their occupation, language abilities, and educational backgrounds.
Additionally, it has been IRCC’s tradition to publish year-end Express Entry reports in December over the past few years. Also, it is likely that the Express Entry report for Canada 2022 will be released towards the end of this year if this trend continues.
