Monthly status of CEC and FSWP applications under Express Entry

IRCC processes over 14,000 CEC applications and less than 600 FSWP applications each month under the Express Entry program. In 2021, the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) accounted for 85% of all completed Express Entry applications. According to new IRCC statistics, the department is presently favouring Express Entry applicants. In addition, the figures show the number of Express Entry permanent residence applications that have been approved by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.

Express Entry is the primary channel through which Canada receives economic class skilled immigrants. Candidates who satisfy the requirements of an Express Entry program can upload their profile to the IRCC website. In addition, candidates are assigned a CRS score based on human capital characteristics such as age, education, language abilities, and job experience. IRCC invites the highest-scoring individuals to apply for permanent residency every two weeks. Such individuals then have 60 days to apply to IRCC for permanent residence.

When IRCC approves an application, the individual obtains a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR), which allows them to legally enter Canada as a permanent resident. A COPR holder who was previously resided in Canada as a temporary resident may be required to convert their legal status to permanent residency during the landing procedure. It can also refer to a person traveling overseas with their COPR to become a permanent resident.

When IRCC approves an application, the individual obtains a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR), which allows them to legally enter Canada as a permanent resident. A COPR holder who was previously resided in Canada as a temporary resident may be required to convert their legal status to permanent residency during the landing procedure. It can also refer to a person traveling overseas with their COPR to become a permanent resident.

This is a significant shift from previous practice since the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) accounted for around 45 percent of successful Express Entry candidates prior to the epidemic. The IRCC implemented this interim policy change for two reasons. First, it claims that because 90% of CEC applicants are presently residing in Canada during the pandemic, they are less likely to experience COVID-related obstacles that would prevent them from completing their permanent residency landings in 2021. Second, the IRCC encourages PNP candidates to assist provinces around the nation in meeting labour market demands.

Another consequence of this change is that IRCC has not invited the highest-ranking candidates from the whole Express Entry pool, as it did prior to the epidemic, but rather the highest-ranking CEC and PNP candidates. This has resulted in a decrease in total CRS cut-off scores as the department sought to invite as many CEC applicants as possible to support its immigration objective for this year.

The year's most significant draw occurred on February 13, when IRCC invited 27,332 CEC applicants to apply for permanent residency, a feat accomplished by putting the CRS cut-off score at only 75. To put this in context, this draw was approximately six times larger than the previous record (Express Entry has been in place since 2015), and the cut-off score was nearly 400 points lower than it was before the epidemic.

According to IRCC data, the CEC accounts for around 85 percent of all completed Express Entry applications this year. As a result, IRCC granted COPRs to 108,860 CEC applicants between January and October. In addition, the department has granted COPRs to 12,514 PNP candidates (about 10 percent of all COPRs issued to Express Entry applicants this year).

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FSWP candidates are the ones that suffer the most. This year, they have received only 6,795 COPRs. This is just 5% of all COPRs awarded to Express Entry candidates this year, almost 9 times fewer than previous to the epidemic. Following table presents the number of COPRs issued to Express Entry applicants between the month of January to October, 2021: 

The number of FSWP applications handled has not increased much. In September and October, IRCC finalized over 600 FSWP applications each month.

According to the IRCC, there is now a backlog of 1.8 million permanent and temporary residency applications. As of October 27, there have been slightly under 100,000 Express Entry applications. If IRCC continues at its present rate, it will have processed all of the remaining 48,000 CEC applications by January 2022. However, before restarting invites to CEC and FSWP applicants, the department has said that it would prefer to reduce its Express Entry inventory by more than half.

IRCC held 27 CEC drawings this year, but they have been halted since September 14. Meanwhile, no FSWP applicants have been picked from the pool since December 23, 2020. As a result, as of October 25, 2021, over 165,000 FSWP candidates were in the Express Entry pool, representing approximately 85% of all current Express Entry candidates.

IRCC is well on its way to meeting its immigration objective for this year. It has received about 314,000 permanent residents until October and has received more than 45,000 each month in recent months. The department is presently determining Canada's immigration number's objective for 2022 and which Express Entry plan to follow next year.

More information will be released in the following months. The issue of mandate letters to each federal minister, including immigration minister Sean Fraser, is among the significant announcements still to come. In addition, on February 10, Mr. Fraser will present Canada's Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025. The mandate letter and new levels plan will provide stakeholders greater information about IRCC's policy goals in 2022 and beyond.