2019 off to a bigger start than 2018 following the first quarter
The first quarter of 2019 has officially surpassed the first quarter of 2018 with 21,200 invitations to apply for permanent residence issued to candidates in Canada’s Express Entry system.
This is a 3,700 increase from 2018’s first quarter that ended at 17,500 invitations issued.
The year 2018 set an all-time record of 89,800 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued. This is the highest number of invitations issued for any one year since Express Entry was introduced in 2015. This year is expected to be an even bigger year based on Canada’s three-year immigration levels plan.
The plan outlines rising annual admission targets for the years ahead, culminating in 350,000 admissions in 2021.
The increasing admission targets for 2019 and 2020 could mean the total number of invitations issued in 2019 may exceed the ITA record set in 2018.
The Canadian government utilizes the Express Entry system to select permanent immigration candidates from a pool of potential candidates who are eligible under one of the Federal High Skilled economic immigration programs — the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program or the Canadian Experience Class.
Express Entry profiles are assessed on ‘core human capital’, skill-transferability and additional factors. Profiles are assigned what is officially called a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. This score, out a maximum of 1,200 points, determines a candidate’s rank in the Express Entry pool.
The Government of Canada regularly conducts draws from the pool of eligible candidates where the highest-ranked are invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
