Today Canada has become one of the top immigration destinations globally. Every year over a hundred thousand people immigrate to Canada to seek a better lifestyle and a brighter future. Canada has a lenient system of immigration, encouraging people from all over the world to apply for permanent citizenship in the country and contribute to the development of the Canadian economy. With its progressive immigration system, Canada aims to have foreign-born people as half of the workforce by the year 2031.
One of the systems designed by the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is the Express Entry. This system is used to pick out suitable candidates who can settle in Canada by applying under the following programs:
- Federal skilled working class
- Federal skilled trades
- Canadian experience class
- Provincial nominee program
Under each of these programs, each of the candidates has first to submit their profile. These profiles are ranked based on a comprehensive ranking system (CRS). In this system, the candidates are given a score out of 1200. Based on their CRS score, the candidates are assigned a rank. These ranks decide whether or not the candidate would receive the Invitation to Apply (ITA), i.e. the entry ticket to gain permanent residency in Canada. The ranks are used to determine how economically successful will the candidate be in Canada.
The applicant is chosen through a CRS draw. These draws are conducted in every two weeks by IRCC, particularly on Wednesdays. However, the gap between the current and next draw is not fixed and can be subsequently increased or decreased by the IRCC. Each of the CRS draw has a cut off score. The cut-off score represents the minimum score a candidate needs to get to secure his place for permanent residents in Canada. After receiving the ITA, the candidate gets 60 days to fill and submit the official electronic Application for Permanent Residence (eAPR).
The tie-breaking rule
A tie-breaking rule is used by the IRCC in the CRS draw. This score applies to candidates with the same lowest score. It has nothing to do with candidates having scored higher than the lowest score. Every time a draw occurs, IRCC announces a tie-breaking rule date. If you have submitted your application before or on this date, you will receive the ITA but if the application were submitted post the given date an ITA wouldn’t be sent to you.
Allotment of points for the CRS draw
Several factors affect the score of an individual in the CRS. These factors can be broadly divided into:
- Human capital factors
- Skills transferability factors
- Additional factors
Human capital factors
a) Age: An individual candidate would be allotted points up to 110 for age, whereas, a candidate with a spouse would get 100 points.
b) Education level: Points up to 150 can be allotted to the candidate based on his education level. The maximum points are awarded to an individual with a doctoral degree.
c) First language ability: The candidates are awarded points based on their ability to read, write, speak and listen to the language. The Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) is used for the allotment of points. The language test results decide the CLB level for the IELTS, TEF or CELPIP. A single applicant can receive points up to 136, and a candidate who has his partner accompanying him may earn some additional points (32 x 4 plus 5 x 4).
d) Second language ability: The score is based on the speaking, writing, reading and listening ability of the applicant. A candidate can get points up to 24 for his second language ability.
e) Work experience in Canada. Up to 100 points for a candidate with work experience in Canada.
Skills transferability factors
These points are awarded when the candidate shows exceptional performance in two areas. For a combination of two factors, 50 points are allotted and an overall cap of 100 points from among the five combinations. No additional points are awarded for an accompanying spouse. The combinations are as follows:
a) Education and Canadian work experience
b) Education and language ability
c) Language ability and non- Canadian work experience
d) Canadian and non- Canadian work experience
e) Certificate of qualification in a Trade and language ability
Additional factors
A candidate can receive a maximum of 600 points under additional factors. Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is one of these.
Improvement of CRS score
The candidates applying for the PR visa should remember that the score they receive is subject to change and can be improved through the following means:
1) Sibling in Canada: Fifteen points are awarded if you can prove that you have a relative in Canada. That relative can be anyone, your spouse, brother or sister through marriage, blood or adoption.
2) Language: Language is a valued factor in the human capital factor. By retaking their language tests, the candidate can improve their ranking. These language tests can be taken any number of times, and the results can be updated in the candidate’s express entry profile.
3) Work experience: With a valid job offer from a Canadian company, an applicant can receive 50 or 200 points based on the job profile. Work experience in and outside Canada can also earn points under the transferability skills. You require three years of skilled work experience outside Canada and five years of specialized work experience inside Canada in the past ten years to receive maximum CRS points in the work experience section. So keep working.
4) Education: Education is worth 150 CRS points, plus another 50 points when combined with Canadian work experience or language skills. Hence, with excellent education credentials, you can earn up to 200 points.
Recent data on CRS draws
The CRS draws that occurred on 10th July 2019, saw 3600 candidates being issued the ITA, the cut-off score being 460. Previously, on June 26th the score was 462, which is 8 points less since May 29th, the highest cut-off till now for the year 2019.