In the coming years, new Canadian permanent residents will be primarily economic immigrants. They will be applying through the federal immigration program or a provincial nominee program using the Express Entry system. The federal programs are Federal Skilled Worker Class, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Trades Class.
The Canadian Experience Class category, or CEC, is for Skilled workers who have prior work experience in Canada. In addition, former international students who remain in Canada with postgraduate work permit may also eventually qualify to apply for permanent residence.
Learn about the Federal Skilled Worker Program.
Suppose the program you are applying to uses the Express Entry system. In that case, you should check the Comprehensive Ranking System (or CRS) scores regularly. And if you haven’t applied yet, reviewing past CRS cut-off scores will help you decide whether to continue.
Regular monitoring of the CRS points is even more critical if your application is in the Express Entry system. At the very least, you will know whether IRCC will invite you in the succeeding rounds to submit credentials for permanent residence. Once you can predict how well you will do for every express entry draw, you can improve your migration points.
We recommend that you get an overview of the Express Entry system to understand the pointing system. Knowing this would allow you to see how your can improve your standing in the pool.
Express Entry Draws
Below are the 2020 CRS Cut-off points. We will update the CRS cut-off continuously with each new express entry draw.
| Round No. | Program | Round Draw Date | Issued Invitations | CRS Cut-off | Date of Tie-breaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 170 | No Program Specified | 23-Dec-20 | 5,000 | 468 | 4-Jun-20 |
| 169 | No Program Specified | 9-Dec-20 | 5,000 | 469 | 4-Jun-20 |
| 168 | No Program Specified | 25-Nov-20 | 5,000 | 469 | 15-Oct-20 |
| 167 | No Program Specified | 18-Nov-20 | 5,000 | 472 | 27-Oct-20 |
| 166 | No Program Specified | 5-Nov-20 | 4,500 | 478 | 26-Oct-20 |
| 165 | No Program Specified | 14-Oct-20 | 4,500 | 471 | 1-Sep-20 |
| 164 | No Program Specified | 30-Sep-20 | 4,200 | 471 | 2-Mar-20 |
| 163 | No Program Specified | 16-Sep-20 | 4,200 | 472 | 9-Mar-20 |
| 162 | No Program Specified | 2-Sep-20 | 4,200 | 475 | 16-Aug-20 |
| 161 | Canadian Experience Class | 20-Aug-20 | 3,300 | 454 | 27-Jul-20 |
| 160 | Provincial Nominee Class | 19-Aug-20 | 600 | 771 | 24-Jul-20 |
| 159 | Federal Skilled Trades | 6-Aug-20 | 250 | 415 | 2-Jun-20 |
| 158 | No Program Specified | 5-Aug-20 | 3,900 | 476 | 27-Jul-20 |
| 157 | Canadian Experience Class | 23-Jul-20 | 3,343 | 445 | 23-Jul-20 |
| 156 | Provincial Nominee Class | 22-Jul-20 | 557 | 687 | 11-Nov-19 |
| 155 | No Program Specified | 8-Jul-20 | 3,900 | 478 | 11-Feb-20 |
| 154 | Canadian Experience Class | 25-Jun-20 | 3,508 | 431 | 3-Apr-20 |
| 153 | Provincial Nominee Class | 24-Jun-20 | 392 | 696 | 20-Apr-20 |
| 152 | Canadian Experience Class | 11-Jun-20 | 3,559 | 437 | 25-May-20 |
| 151 | Provincial Nominee Class | 10-Jun-20 | 341 | 743 | 14-April-20 |
| 150 | Canadian Experience Class | 28-May-20 | 3,515 | 440 | 7-Mar-20 |
| 149 | Provincial Nominee Class | 27-May-20 | 385 | 757 | 27-Apr-20 |
| 148 | Canadian Experience Class | 15-May-20 | 3,371 | 447 | 23-Dec-19 |
| 147 | Provincial Nominee Class | 13-May-20 | 529 | 718 | 19-Mar-20 |
| 146 | Canadian Experience Class | 1-May-20 | 3,311 | 452 | 10-Oct-19 |
| 145 | Provincial Nominee Class | 29-Apr-20 | 589 | 692 | 11-Mar-20 |
| 144 | Canadian Experience Class | 16-Apr-20 | 3,782 | 455 | 20-Jan-20 |
| 143 | Provincial Nominee Class | 15-Apr-20 | 118 | 808 | 18-Mar-20 |
| 142 | Canadian Experience Class | 9-Apr-20 | 3,294 | 464 | 4-Jan-20 |
| 141 | Provincial Nominee Class | 9-Apr-20 | 606 | 698 | 18-Dec-19 |
| 140 | Canadian Experience Class | 23-Mar-20 | 3,232 | 467 | 25-Nov-19 |
| 139 | No program specified | 19-Mar-20 | 668 | 720 | 19-Mar-20 |
| 138 | No program specified | 4-Mar-20 | 3,900 | 471 | 24-Feb-20 |
| 137 | No program specified | 19-Feb-20 | 4,500 | 470 | 13-Jan-20 |
| 136 | No program specified | 5-Feb-20 | 3,500 | 472 | 30-Jan-20 |
| 135 | No program specified | 22-Jan-20 | 3,400 | 471 | 9-Mar-19 |
| 134 | No program specified | 8-Jan-20 | 3,400 | 473 | 30-Jan-20 |
Notice that the Tie-Breaker Dates are the same for rounds 169 and 170? The difference is the time of the draws. For round 170 on December 23, 2020, the cut-off time is 1:39:44 PM UTC or 9:39 PM, Manila Time.
On the other hand, the tie-breaker time for Round 10 on December 9, 2020, is 10:26:05 PM UTC or 6:26:05 AM, Manila Time.
Get an overview of the Express Entry system.
The Express Entry system is used by the federal immigration classes and some provincial nominee programs. Check if you qualify to apply to the Federal Skilled Worker Program.
Tips to get higher CRS points and improve your rank for the Express Entry Draw
When you apply to Canada’s Express Entry system, you will compete with candidates worldwide. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will issue Invitations to Apply to candidates with the highest immigration scores can reach the CRS cut-off.
There are several ways to get higher immigration points.
- Search for an employer who can issue you a Labour Market Impact Assessment-approved job offer (LMIA).
- Enroll in a higher education course in your home country.
- Enroll in a study program in Canada.
- Switch places with your spouse if she or he has better qualifications than you.
- Remain working.
- Retake your language proficiency exam and aim to score higher.
- Finally, some provincial nominee streams do not require an Express Entry profile. Check these from time to time before you apply to the province directly.
Retaking a language test is the least costly way to improve your rank for you to reach the CRS cut-off per express entry draw. Language ability is worth 260 CRS points for single applicants and up to 270 points for couples.
If you intend to retake a test, you must reach a Canadian Language Benchmark, or CLB, of 9 in each ability. If your preferred test is the IELTS General Training exam, your goal is to get the following scores:
- Listening: 8.0
- Speaking 7.0
- Reading: 7.0
- Writing: 7.0
If the CELPIP general exam is your choice, though, aim for 9 in each of the four abilities.
Check the Minimum Maintenance Funds for the Federal Skilled Worker program.
Get your visa application approved with the correct information.
