Programs run by Express Entry stand out as excellent routes for prospective immigrants considering Canada. This path is preferred due to its speed, which corresponds with IRCC guarantee of six months for application processing. Express Entry stands out as the best option for anyone looking for expedited permanent residency because of its simplified application process. Here are the tips for improving your CRS score while in the Express Entry Pool.
Obtaining an ITA is mostly dependent upon a candidate’s score on the CRS. The likelihood of earning an ITA increases with score. To increase your chances of receiving an invitation, it is imperative that you optimize your CRS score throughout your time in the Express Entry Pool.
A Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which is essential to the Express Entry procedure, takes into account a number of human capital components. These consist of education, work experience, age, occupation, and language ability.
The minimum CRS scores in recent Express Entry draws—especially the general ones—have exceeded 500 points. But looking at the individuals in the Express Entry pool as of February 28 offers some interesting information. Of the 211,487 candidates in the pool, 18,106 have CRS scores higher than 500.
To put this into context, less than 10% of applicants for Express Entry have CRS scores that are high enough to be eligible for selection in the current general lottery for 2024.
If your CRS score is less than 500, you might want to consider if it would be worthwhile for you to apply for the Express Entry pool. It could be questioned if following this path is still beneficial or if looking at other options for immigration to Canada would be more beneficial.
Recent selections from the Express Entry pool
With every selection round in the Express Entry system, the minimum CRS score required to receive an ITA changes depending on the kind of draw (generic, program-specific, or category-based).
There have been significant fluctuations in CRS scores over the course of the 2024 Express Entry drawings. There have been eleven draws so far as of March 12.
Six of these draws were open to applicants from all Express Entry programs and eligibility categories. For these general draws, the required CRS score varied from 525 to 541 points.
The last four draws held this year catered to candidates who met the requirements for each category-based selection.
Depending on the category, CRS ratings for these draws have generally trended lower than those for general draws, ranging from 336 to 437. In May 2023, the IRCC implemented category-based selection draws as a means of focusing on Express Entry candidates who exhibit particular desirable characteristics.
These divisions cover five occupational groups: healthcare, trades, transportation, agriculture, agri-food, and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). There’s also a category for those who have excellent French language skills.
For example, in a draw held on February 29th offering 2,500 ITAs, candidates who fell into the area of French language proficiency had the lowest score of the year, receiving 336. Candidates with a CRS of 365 received 7,000 ITAs in another draw held in the same category on February 1.
This means that applicants who do not match the requirements for category-based selection but whose CRS score is too low for a general draw still have the chance to obtain an Express Entry ITA. Through category-based drawings, the IRCC sent invitations to over 16,000 Express Entry hopefuls the year before.
Understanding Express Entry – A Gateway to Canadian Immigration
For the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Express Entry acts as an application management system.
Before submitting an application for any of these programs, applicants must determine if they are eligible. In order to obtain their CRS score, candidates must develop and submit an Express Entry profile if they meet the requirements. They then wait for the IRCC to send them an ITA.
Tips for improving your CRS score while in the Express Entry Pool
While waiting for an ITA, Express Entry applicants with lesser scores can raise their CRS score. Any modifications to their human capital factors can be updated in their profile.
Language skills
A recent Statistics Canada study examines the economic results of skilled immigrants with an emphasis on language competency. The study emphasizes that language competency is the most important predictor of effective economic integration, outweighing all other considerations. For example, research indicates that immigrants who read at a level 10 (CLB or NCLC) make 25% more money than immigrants who read at a level 7.
The highest CRS score that an applicant without a spouse can receive in the Express Entry system for language proficiency is 136 points. Each of the four examined language skills—speaking, writing, listening, and reading—accounts for 34 points toward the total score.
Candidates may take any of the IRCC-recognized language exams more than once to reach their target score in either French or English, or both. Examples of these examinations are the Canadian Language Benchmark and Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien.
The tests that qualify include:
- TCF Canada: Test de connaissance du français
- Pearson Test of English (PTE) Core
- IELTS General Training
- CELPIP General Test
- TEF Canada: Test d’évaluation de français
Education
In addition, the IRCC gives points for increased education. Those without a spouse who complete a one-year post-secondary degree will receive 90 points for education; those who complete a three-year or longer post-secondary degree will receive 120 points.
This implies that continuing education may be a useful tactic for raising a person’s total CRS score, depending on their unique circumstances.
Age
Because age affects the distribution of CRS points, prospective candidates who are thinking about applying to an Express Entry program are advised to start the procedure as soon as possible.
Applicants who enter the pool between the ages of 20 and 29 (and do not have a spouse with them) are awarded 110 points. However, this point distribution rapidly decreases with the age of the applicants. After 30 years of age, the points drop to 95, and then they continue to drop every year after that until 40 years old, at which point the maximum points for age drop to 50.
Nomination by Province
Candidates who choose to use the Express Entry system’s Provincial Nomination feature will receive an extra 600 CRS points, greatly increasing their chances of being ITA in future drawings.
Applicants who are already in the Express Entry pool can choose to apply as soon as they receive an EOI from the provincial government during a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw, or they can apply directly to the province in which they plan to settle. Nomination EOIs and ITAs for Express Entry are very similar.
Provinces designate people through the PNP who they believe have the best chance of assiduously integrating into the local workforce and supporting the province economy by filling important employment openings.
Every province provides a range of streams designed to satisfy certain needs within its borders. These could include seeking out applicants for specific positions, foreign grads, business owners, and even people who are open to working on farms or in rural areas.
Candidates seeking Express Entry should understand that the PNP functions as a separate immigration program. As a result, they have to send the nominating province a different application along with a fee.
A nomination gives a person an advantage in the PR application process, even though it is not the same as permanent residency (PR). It is a strong indication to IRCC of a candidate’s potential.
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