The Government of Canada issued 3,600 invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence to Express Entry candidates in a new draw held November 27. 

The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score required in this draw was 471. This is a reduction of one point from the previous Express Entry draw held on November 13, which had a cut-off score of 472.

The Express Entry system is Canada’s principal source of skilled foreign labour. It manages the pool of candidates for the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class, which are three of Canada’s main Economic Class immigration programs.

Eligible candidates are given a score under Express Entry’s CRS that is based on factors such as age, education, skilled work experience and proficiency in English and/or French.

A job offer is not required in order to be eligible for an Express Entry invitation to apply (ITA), though additional points are awarded if a candidate has one.

The Government of Canada holds regular draws for a set number of the highest-scoring Express Entry candidates and the minimum CRS score is determined by the size of the draw.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) applied a tie-break time and date of November 11, 2019, at 6:29:10 UTC in this draw. This means that all candidates with a score of 471 who submitted their profile before this date and time received an ITA.

Factors that can affect the cut-off CRS score include the size of the draw (larger draws can produce a lower minimum CRS score) and the time between draws (shorter periods between draws can help to lower the CRS score).