BREAKING: Canada invites Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) candidates for first time since December 2020
July 6, 2022 - Today Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited a total of 1,500 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off score was 557, which is high on the CRS curve compared to rounds of invitations held in and prior to December 2020. Candidates included those under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) category, and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) category, both of which were frozen as part of measures pertinent to the global pandemic.
In January 2021, IRCC focused on only inviting CEC candidates as they were already in Canada and were less likely to face COVID-related restrictions than other immigration candidates overseas. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning that in September 2021, IRCC paused CEC invitations to address its backlogs. In the meantime, IRCC has continued to hold bi-weekly draws only inviting Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates to help the provinces and territories address their labour market needs.
Ministerial Instructions respecting invitations to apply for permanent residence under the Express Entry system #226 – July 6, 2022
