3,600 invitations to apply for permanent residence in Canada were launched as part of the new Express Entry draw - the highest number of invitations issued in a draw since January 23rd. The draw CRS score in the July 10 draw was 460, a decrease of two points from the minimum of 462 in the June 26 Express Entry Draw.

The larger size of the draw reflects the higher admission targets set for 2019 and 2020 for the three highly skilled federal government immigration programs managed through the Express Entry system. These programs are the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Category and the Canadian Experience Class.

Express Entry also manages part of the Provincial Nominee Program, which also targets higher admission targets for 2019 and 2020. 

Express Entry candidates are ranked based on scores for factors such as age, education, skilled work experience, and proficiency in English or French. Top ranked applicants receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence in Canada, or ITA.

Express Entry applicants invited to this day's draw have 60 days to apply for permanent residence in Canada. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) applies a six-month processing standard for express entry requests. IRCC has now issued 45,400 ITA this year. This places the ministry just over half way, exceeding the record 89,800 ITA issued in 2018.

Today's draw represents an increase of 250 ITA from the 10 draws since January 30, each of which issued 3,350 ITAs. The lower limit score can be attributed to both its larger draw size and the fact that only two weeks have been allowed to pass between draws.

The last three draws were separated by an interval of two weeks and the limit score decreased for each from 465 to 462 and now to 460. On the other hand, the CRS cut reached 470 on May 29 after IRCC allowed nearly one month between draws for all programs.

IRCC tied the draw on July 11, 2019 at 12:27:18 UTC on July 10.

This means that all candidates with a CRS score greater than 460, as well as those with a score of 460 who entered their profile in the Express Entry group before that date and time, received an ITA. Calculate your CRS.

Here are hypothetical examples of candidates who would have won an ITA in the July 10 draw:

Ibrahim is 32 years old and holds a master's degree. He has been working as a management consultant for three years. He wrote the IELTS and got an 8 in each category. Although Ibrahim never worked or studied in Canada, his security contribution rate of 462 would have been high enough to get an ITA in the July 10 draw.

Salim is 40 years old and holds a bachelor's degree. He has been running his own e-commerce business for 15 years. He is married to Hannah, who is 32 years old and holds a bachelor's degree and an additional post-secondary certificate. Hannah has worked as a teacher for four years in the last ten years. Salim and Hannah both have advanced English language skills and neither Salim nor Hannah have ever worked in Canada. They entered the Express Entry group with Hannah as lead applicant and scored CRS 460, which was high enough to get an invitation to apply for the July 10 draw.

"We were expecting an increase in the size of the draws given Canada's higher admission targets for programs managed by the Express Entry system. It was great to see this happen at last, " said David Cohen, senior associate at Campbell, Cohen, Cohen Canadian immigration law firm in Montreal.

"If this continues, the second half of 2019 could be another for the record books."