Express Entry Draw – Latest Figures

Canada invited 7,000 Express Entry candidates on March 15.

This was the largest amount of  Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued under an all-program draw. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score cut-off threshold for this draw was 490 points.

Please note: It can take up to 24 hours for an ITA to appear in your IRCC account.

PNPs are increasing

Following the Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration on March 10, Canada revealed that provinces would be given an average of 44 percent more PNP allocations this year.

Every year, IRCC allocates a certain number of nominations available for each of the provinces and territories participating in the PNP.

This year though, it was the first time that IRCC gave the provinces multi-year allocations. These figures were not released publicly, but the provinces have been sharing them at their discretion.

Canada aims to admit 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023. A total of 82,880 admissions are expected through regular Express Entry streams and an additional 105,500 through all PNP streams, including those aligned with Express Entry.

In order to meet 2023’s record-high immigration targets, IRCC will need to continue inviting Express Entry applicants in their inventory, so it could be a big year for Express Entry and PNP invitations. New draw numbers will be posted to this page as soon as they become available.

Express Entry overstaffed

A recent report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer reveals that IRCC has more than enough staff to process Express Entry applications at the service standard until 2027. Which means, new applications should be seeing their Express Entry applications processed within 6 months in 80 percent of cases.

For this year, the department is about 65 percent overstaffed, but that will even out to 4 percent by the 2026-2027 fiscal year. Canada’s PBO based this calculation on the assumption that Express Entry would continue to grow at the same rate it has since it began in 2015. If it does, the PBO estimates that 123,552 Express Entry candidates could come to Canada in 2027.

If you want to be one of the first people to find out about Express Entry updates, create a free Moving2Canada account and sign up for our newsletter.

For more information on Express Entry and other Canadian immigration options, check out these resources:

CRS score distribution of candidates in the Express Entry pool

The following table shows the recent distribution of candidates in the Express Entry pool. As of March 15, there were a total of 245,121 candidates in the Express Entry pool. The score distribution may change as people submit new profiles and other profiles expire.

Want to improve your Express Entry CRS score? See our updated guide for tips you might not have thought of yet.

When will the next Express Entry draw take place?

There is no public schedule of future Express Entry draws, so it is not possible to know for certain when the Express Entry draw will take place. However, IRCC has historically tended to conduct Express Entry draws every two weeks on Wednesdays. That being said, Express Entry draws can, and do, take place on other days of the week, and sometimes there is a longer or shorter gap between one Express Entry draw and the next draw.

The quickest way to find out when an Express Entry draw has taken place is to create a free Moving2Canada account and sign up for our newsletter.

Express Entry CRS score cut-off all-time records

In the history of Express Entry, the following CRS score cut-off records have taken place:

Lowest CRS score cut-off in any Express Entry draw:

• All programs: 413 points
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC): 75 points — this was an exceptional draw that invited all CEC candidates in the Express Entry pool
• Federal Skilled Trades (FST): 199 points

Highest CRS score cut-off in any Express Entry draw:

• All programs: 886 points
• PNP Draw: 902 points

Express Entry draw list by year