IRCC invited 7500 Express Entry candidates in second draw of the week
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued more invitations to apply (ITAs) through the Express Entry system.
The immigration department issued 7500 ITAs to candidates in a French language proficiency draw.
To be considered for this draw, candidates needed a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 379, and to have created an Express Entry profile before 2:53am Universal Coordinated Time (UTC) on 6 March 2025.
Today’s round of invitations features the lowest CRS cut-off score of any Express Entry draw since February 29, 2024.
Summary of Express Entry draws in 2025
Date – Draw Type – Number of ITAs – Cut-off CRS score
March 21 – French language proficiency – 7,500 – 379
March 17 – Provincial Nominee Program – 536 – 736
March 6 – French language proficiency – 4,500 – 410
March 3 – Provincial Nominee Program – 725 – 667
February 19 – French language proficiency – 6,500 – 428
February 17 – Provincial Nominee Program – 646 – 750
February 5 – Canadian Experience Class – 4,000 – 521
February 4 – Provincial Nominee Program – 455 – 802
January 23 – Canadian Experience Class – 4,000 – 527
January 8 – Canadian Experience Class – 1,350 – 542
January 7 – Provincial Nominee Program – 471 – 793
Today’s draw is the fourth of the month and the second of the week, following draws for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) on 17 March, and French-language proficiency earlier in the month.
The most recent Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw was held on 5 February, wherein the immigration department invited 4,000 CEC candidates.
Thus far in the year, IRCC has issued a total of 30,683 ITAs to Express Entry candidates.
IRCC has also reaffirmed its commitment to prioritizing the invitations of in-Canada candidates for permanent residence. This choice align with the trend seen with IRCC draws since roughly July of last year.
While Prime Minister Mark Carney has not yet issued a formal Mandate Letter to the newly appointed Immigration Minister Rachel Bendayan, this is one of the policies that Canada’s new leader previously advocated for.
What happens to my Express Entry profile after a year?
Express Entry candidates profiles are valid for a period of up to one year. After this, the Express Entry profile expires and is no longer considered active within the system.
Candidates who wish to remain in the Express Entry pool after the expiry of their profile may submit a new profile through the IRCC permanent residence portal. IRCC also advises candidates to save their previous information for ease of input later.
Note that the date that you submit your Express Entry profile can influence your likelihood of receiving an ITA due to IRCC’s tie-breaking rule. The tie-breaking rule is a condition on Express Entry draws that requires that candidates submit their profile before the stated cut-off time to be eligible for ITAs in any given draw. If candidates meet the CRS cut-off score for a draw but do not receive an ITA, it may be because they did not create a candidate profile before the tie-breaking rule cut-off time.