In the third Express Entry draw this week, IRCC has invited 3,750 candidates.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has distributed invitations to apply (ITAs) in the third Express Entry draw of the week.

The department issued 3,750 ITAs in a category-based selection draw focused on healthcare occupations.

Candidates needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 445 to qualify.

This was the second category-based draw of the week. It follows a draw on July 4 which was a category-based selection draw for 1,800 candidates in trade occupations.

IRCC also held a draw earlier this week on July 2 which considered only candidates in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The 920 invited candidates required a minimum CRS score of 739.

This brings the total number of ITAs issued this week to 6,470, the highest number of ITAs issued since April.

The recent trend of program specific draws began earlier this year. Since May 30, IRCC has held four program-specific draws, with three of them for PNP candidates.

Program-specific draws only consider candidates in the Express Entry pool who have applied through an Express Entry program such as the CEC, the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) or the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). In the case of a PNP-only draw, candidates are only considered if they have been successfully nominated through an Express Entry aligned stream of a PNP, a process known as enhanced nomination.

Until recently, this type of draw had not occurred since the introduction of category-based selection draws in May 2023. However, since January this year, IRCC has been working to stabilize the high levels of temporary residents in Canada. One method of doing so is offering temporary residents, those in Canada on a work or study permit or a visitor visa, more options to become permanent residents (PR).

Many temporary residents who have applied for permanent residence, and are currently living in Canada or have experience living in Canada, apply for PR through the CEC. The same is also true of candidates in the PNP. This means IRCC can meet its yearly target for “Federal High Skilled Workers” (Express Entry) as outlined in the Immigration Levels Plan, while also reducing the number of temporary residents in Canada.