January 10, 2019

Higher admissions targets in 2019 and 2020 could produce another ITA record in the new year

Canada’s Express Entry system had a banner 2018, and the coming year could be even more exceptional.

Express Entry, which manages the pool of candidates for Canada’s three Federal High Skilled immigration programs, issued a record 89,800 invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence in 2018 — the most issued in a single year since Express Entry’s introduction in January 2015.

2019: Bigger draws or more draws, more frequently?

If Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is to issue more ITAs in 2019 than it did in 2018, draw sizes will need to expand, or IRCC will have to hold more draws more frequently than the current interval between draws, which is typically every two weeks.

In order to meet its increased admissions target for 2019 and 2020, IRCC may hold draws less than two weeks apart on a more regular basis in the new year.