IRCC invitations Categorical Entry candidates in third draw of December…

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) have issued invites to use (ITAs) in its first draw of the week.

The division issued 1,085 invites to use (ITAs) in a PNP-only draw.

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Candidates required a minimal Complete Rating System (CRS) rating of 727 to be thought of.

Right now’s draw marks the third in December, following a draw for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates within the Categorical Entry pool on December 2, and a category-based draw for candidates with French language proficiency on December three.

Final month noticed six Categorical Entry attracts, and the issuance of 5,507 ITAs for everlasting residence (PR).

This month’s attracts appear to observe a well-known sample of alternating between the PNP, Canadian Expertise Class and French language proficiency attracts.

It is a development that’s prone to proceed with the institution of the “In-Canada” focus class launched within the Immigration Ranges Plan 2025-27, which is about to focus on candidates from the CEC, and “different regional applications”, with the doable inclusion of candidates within the Federal Expert Employee Program (FSWP) and the Federal Expert Trades Program (FSTP) as properly.

Cumulatively this class has been allotted 82,980 PR admissions in 2025—greater than 40% of all deliberate admissions subsequent 12 months.

Abstract of Categorical Entry attracts in 2024

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is a system used to manage applications for three federal economic immigration programs for Canadian permanent residency: the CEC, the FSWP, and the FSTP. In addition, candidates in an Express Entry-aligned PNP stream may also be invited through this system, in a process known as an enhanced provincial nomination.

Applicants in these programs are evaluated using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which assigns scores based on factors such as age, occupation, language proficiency, education, and work experience. A provincial nomination through an enhanced PNP stream adds 600 CRS points, substantially increasing the likelihood of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA).

Additional CRS points can be earned by having a sibling in Canada, applying with a spouse or partner, or combining education and work experience gained both in Canada and abroad.

Candidates with the highest CRS scores are most likely to receive an ITA in upcoming Express Entry draws, as long as they meet the specific selection criteria of the draw. In addition to inviting candidates by CRS scores, IRCC has also introduced category-based selections, wherein candidates with specific professional or language proficiencies that meet Canada’s labor market and demographic goals can be issued ITAs based on both their inclusion in this category and their CRS scores.

CRS cut-offs for category-based selections tend to be much lower than program-specific or general draws.

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