July 6, 2022 — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited 1,500 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence today. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off was 557, well above the scores seen in draws held up to December 2020. The round was open to both Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates. Both programs had been frozen during the pandemic.
In January 2021, IRCC narrowed Express Entry to CEC candidates only, since they were already in Canada and less affected by COVID travel restrictions than applicants overseas. CEC invitations were then paused in September 2021 to help IRCC work through its backlog. In the meantime, the biweekly draws continued, but only for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates, to help provinces and territories meet labour market needs.