WHY IS THE CRS SCORE FOR EXPRESS ENTRY DECREASING?
Before kickstarting with the whys and hows, let’s try to fathom what CRS score is and how important of a role it plays. The Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score is used to rank you among hundreds of thousands of people awaiting an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residency in the Express Entry pool.Â
No minimum CRS score is required to be included in the Express Entry pool. All you need is to be eligible for one of the 3 immigration programs that use Express Entry; Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker, and Federal Skilled Trades (FST). However, since Express Entry is a points-based system, a higher CRS score means a higher chance of immigrating to Canada.
It’s used to assess your:
- skills
- education
- language ability
- work experience
- other factors
Since the start of all-program draws on July 6th, the CRS score has been steadily declining, as we have observed with prior Express Entry draws. Since every program attracts applications, 7,500 applicants have received ITAs; this number is anticipated to rise.
Each draw has seen an increase in the number of candidates invited, although the CRS cut-off score has continuously decreased as the backlog of applications in the system is being processed. A 9-point drop from 525 to 516 in the previous draw was seen in the most recent draw. In the 230th draw, ITAs were awarded to an extra 2,750 applicants.
The following draws are anticipated to see a further decline in the CRS score. Canada will start accepting candidates based on merit starting in the first quarter of 2023.
The immigration minister will be able to invite candidates based on groupings rather than just CRS ratings under Bill C-19, which was unveiled earlier this year. Combinations of work experience in a sought-after occupation or set of occupations, linguistic ability, and educational background may be grouped together. The CRS cut-off is expected to be substantially lower compared to the general draws that we have been witnessing lately because candidates will be judged against those in their group rather than the whole Express Entry pool.
