Launched in 2015, the Express Entry system in Canadian Immigration processes the applications under major federal economic immigration programs. There are three federal immigration programs under the EE system:
Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
Federal Skilled Trades (FST)
Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
All three programs are highly competitive. To be qualified to submit applications under these programs, one must first submit an Express Entry profile and enter in the pool of candidates. Provinces and Territories also nominate candidates through the Express Entry system. IRCC then conducts PNP specific invitation rounds to select candidates.
The candidates are then ranked against each other using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) which assigns each candidate a CRS score out of 1200 points. Those who are highly ranked, are shortlisted to get Canadian permanent residency.
Generally, the IRCC conducts an Express Entry draw every two weeks. Every CRS draw has a cut-off score that represents the lowest CRS score for the candidates to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence. Upon the receipt of the ITA, a candidate has 60 days of time to complete and submit the online application for Permanent Residence.
*Please note, IRCC has resumed all program express entry draws from 6th July 2022, IRCC withholds the information about the upcoming date of the draw, the number of ITAs to be issued, or the CRS cut-off but as per trend the draws seem to be conducted every fortnight (biweekly).