Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued a total of 589 invitations to apply (ITAs) in a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) specific draw. Candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 691.
In a PNP specific draw, candidates are already in the Express Entry pool but have also received a nomination from a Canadian province. This is the fourth PNP specific draw of 2023. The last one occurred on March 1 and invited 667 candidates. All draws since then have considered candidates from all Express Entry programs.
Proof of funds updated
On May 2, IRCC announced that that the amount of money that Express Entry applicants must have access to in Canada has changed. All Express Entry candidates must show proof of funds to demonstrate that they have enough money to settle in Canada.
Proof of funds is not required for candidates in the Canadian Experience Class or for Express Entry candidates who are authorized to work in Canada and have a valid job offer. This is true even for those who apply under the Federal Skilled Worker Program or the Federal Skilled Trades Program.
To stay eligible for Express Entry, candidates must now update their profiles to reflect that they still have the required amount of settlement funds.
IRCC updates the amount yearly. It is based on 50% of the low-income cut-off totals and varies depending on how many people a candidate must be able to support.
Express Entry so far in 2023
This draw follows the April 26 draw in which 3,500 candidates were invited with CRS scores of 483. IRCC also invited 3,500 candidates on April 12 with CRS scores of 486. This number of candidates per draw is half of what was seen over March when IRCC invited more than 21,000 candidates over four consecutive draws, three of which invited 7,000 candidates.
The total number of candidates invited in March was the second highest in Express Entry history. It is only exceeded by a draw in February 2021 in which 27,332 CEC candidates received an ITA.
April also marks a tentative return to a normal draw schedule. Typically, until late 2022 and throughout March 2023, Express Entry draws occur every second week on Wednesdays. Draws occurred weekly throughout March.
The March and April draws also showed a return to typical all-program draws. Throughout January and February this year, most draws were program specific for the Provincial Nominee Program. However, on February 2, IRCC held the first-ever program-specific draw for the Federal Skilled Workers Program.