Candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Trades (FST) and Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) are all considered in Express Entry (EE) program to get the Invitation to Apply for their permanent Residency in Canada.
By the start of COVID-19, Express Entry draws have experienced some changes and draws were restricted to some specific programs. On March 18, 2020, the draw was done for the PNP programs and the CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited was 720. Number of invitations issued was 668. On March 23, 2020, the draw only took Canadian Experience Class for the candidates with minimum score of 467. 3232 people were invited.
As the borders were closed, we expected that no Federal Skilled Workers draws would be done for some months. There were two draws on April 09, 2020 one for PNP and another for CEC with the minimum points of 698 and 464, respectively.
All the other draws between April 15, 2020 to July 08, 2020 selected candidates from PNP and CEC categories only. On July 08, 2020, there was another draw which did not aim any specific category and 3900 candidates with the minimum points of 478 were invited to apply. Then again after July 08, 2020 to August 05, 2020, candidates in CEC and PNPs were invited. However, again for the 2nd time during this period, on August 05, 2020 Canada immigration invited candidates with the minimum points of 476 to apply for their permanent residence.
As it was predicted, Federal Skilled Worker’s draw was paused on and off and only 2 times during these months applicant could get invitations for this program. However, the minimum points have been increased which it makes another challenge for the candidates. The paused taken place in the Federal Skilled Worker draw caused the points to increase. After some draws, we are expecting again to see a decrease in the points but possibly not less than 460 for the near future.
Those who have received the ITA and could not get the required documents; there is nothing to be worried about. IRCC stated that they will not refuse incomplete applications. Therefore, you can submit the documents you have and write an explanation letter explaining the missing documents and the reasons for this. If you have received your biometrics letter, you see that the letter is giving you 30 days, but IRCC will allow you 90 days for the submission of your biometrics.
If you are not sure what the best way for you is to immigrate to Canada, please fill out our assessment form HERE and we will get back to you with your possible options.
