IRCC held a surprise draw today marking Express Entry draws in two consecutive weeks. IRCC has now already invited 11,000 Express Entry candidates in 2023, which is the quickest start to Express Entry ever.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued invitations to 5,500 candidates with a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 490. No program was specified, meaning eligible candidates were invited from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). All are programs that operate under the Express Entry system.

The draw was a surprise as it marked the second Express Entry round of invitations in consecutive weeks. IRCC had just held a draw last Wednesday January 11 in which it also invited 5,500 candidates. The CRS cut-off for last week’s draw was 507, meaning the CRS cut off score has dropped 17 points between draws. IRCC initially reported the score as 507 for this draw as well but it has since been updated to the correct score of 490. Last week’s draw marked the first since the November 23, 2022 draw. Express Entry draws tend to occur approximately every two weeks, usually on Wednesday. IRCC has not provided explanation on why there was a pause in draws over this period.

Nonetheless, the fact that draws have taken place in successive weeks to start 2023 indicate IRCC’s desire to land more skilled immigrants in Canada this year. The 11,000 ITAs already issued mark the fastest start to Express Entry since it was launched in 2015, eclipsing the previous record of 10,000 ITAs that were issued in January 2021.

Express Entry has a service standard of providing permanent residence to most successful candidates in just six months, which is the fastest service standard among all of Canada’s over 100 different skilled immigration pathways.

The fast start to the year for Express Entry is part of what is likely to be an eventful year for IRCC’s main skilled immigration pathway.