First Targeted Express Entry Draw Of 2024 Sent 7,000 Invites

Last Updated On 1 February 2024, 4:44 PM EST (Toronto Time)

The first targeted Express Entry draw of 2024 sent out 7,000 invitations to apply (ITAs) for Canadian permanent residency on February 1st.

IRCC conducted a targeted draw for profiles having level 7 in French, and a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 365 or higher.

This is the lowest CRS score cutoff ever in a francophone Express Entry draw and the highest number of invitations to apply in a single targeted round of invitations.

Summary of the Express Entry Draw today:

Category: level 7 in French
Number of invitations issued: 7,000
Rank required to be invited to apply: 7,000 or above
Date and time of round: February 1, 2024, at 16:36:01 UTC
CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 365
Tie-breaking rule: September 8, 2023, at 09:47:27 UTC

Tie-breaking: If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the day and time that they submitted their Express Entry profiles.

Yesterday, IRCC issued only 730 invitations to apply in a general draw with a CRS cutoff score of 541.

Previously, on January 23, 2024, the IRCC sent out 1,040 invitations to apply in a general round of invitations to all profiles with a CRS score of 543 or higher.

Also on January 10, the first general Express Entry draw of 2024 issued 1,510 invitations to apply, with a CRS score cutoff of 546.

Latest CRS Score Distribution in the Pool

CRS score range	Number of candidates
601-1200	534
501-600	7,926
451-500	60,120
491-500	6,787
481-490	9,668
471-480	17,586
461-470	14,160
451-460	11,919
401-450	54,181
441-450	10,930
431-440	11,219
421-430	10,104
411-420	10,874
401-410	11,054
351-400	57,855
301-350	29,709
0-300	5,401
Total	215,726

CRS Score Distribution in the pool

CRS Cutoff Score Trends for 2024

Immigration Program	2024 Total Invitations	Lowest CRS Cutoff: 2024	Highest CRS Score 2024	2023 Total Invitations	Lowest CRS Cutoff: 2023	Highest CRS Score 2023
No Program Specified or General	3,280	541	546	76,700	481	561
Agriculture and Agri-food draw	0	Yet to be announced	Yet to be announced	1,000	354	386
Transport-targeted draw	0	Yet to be announced	Yet to be announced	1,670	435	435
Trades Targeted Draw	0	Yet to be announced	Yet to be announced	2,500	388	425
Targeted Draw for French Speakers	7,000	365	365	8,700	375	486
STEM Targeted Draw	0	Yet to be announced	Yet to be announced	6,400	481	486
Healthcare Targeted Draw	0	Yet to be announced	Yet to be announced	5,600	431	476
Provincial Nominee Program	0	Yet to be announced	Yet to be announced	4,396	691	791
Federal Skilled Worker	0	Yet to be announced	Yet to be announced	3,300	489	489

2023-2024 Comparison So Far

IRCC has yet to announce an Express Entry draw for targeted occupations announced in 2023.

Click here to read more about the occupations on which the IRCC is currently focusing for upcoming invitation rounds.

Which occupations are being targeted in Express Entry draws?

With a link to the full list of jobs, these are the five sectors that Express Entry is focusing on:

1. healthcare
2. science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions
3. trades, such as carpenters, plumbers and contractors
4. transport
5. agriculture and agri-food

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is the application management system for three key economic immigration programs: the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and Federal Skilled Trades (FSTP).

Express Entry employs the Comprehensive Ranking System to rate candidates based on human capital considerations.

Work experience, linguistic proficiency, education, age, and vocation are all factors to consider when assessing human capital.

Those with the highest CRS scores are more likely to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence during the next Express Entry round.

Once a candidate has obtained an ITA, they can submit an application to the IRCC.

The government has established a six-month service standard for processing Express Entry applications and issuing final decisions.

Satinder Bains

Satinder brings expertise, knowledge, and experience related to internal work flows at IRCC. She worked at Canadian Consulate in Chandigarh before moving to Canada. Her articles on “Chinook – An internal IRCC tool used to bulk process temporary applications” was one of the notable work on our news website