By admin (August 12, 2024)
Annual Express Entry report is released by IRCC
The just released Express Entry Year End report for 2023 reveals that more than double the number of Invitations to Apply in 2023 compared to 2022. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada issued 110,266 ITAs through 42 Express Entry draws between January 11 and December 21, 2023 representing a 136% increase over the previous year when only 46,539 ITAs were issued in 2022. A total of 488,571 profiles were submitted of which 343,875 (67%) were eligible, and 144,696 (33%) were not.
Express Entry is the system through which the following Federal Immigration Programs under the Economic Category will be processed Federal Skilled Worker Program, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Trades Program. It evaluates the potential of every applicant to be economically successful by allotting a score out of 1200 grades in the Comprehensive Ranking System the best score given the best chance of getting an Invitation to Apply.
In addition, category-based selection draws were implemented from the year 2023. Even though these types of draws cater to the applicants of any Express Entry programs, they focus more on some occupations or linguistic abilities.
Who received the ITAs?
The findings show that the majority of the ITAs were provided to the candidates of the CEC program, and yet another 26,445 ITAs fell below the Provincial Nominee Program and 17,898 ITAs fell below the FSWP.
Only 8 ITAs were issued under the FSTP category. In this regard, IRCC commented about the priority that for example with someone having eligibility in the CEC and FSTP they will respond to an invitation brought on the CEC stream. Perhaps this clarified why so very few ITAs were issued under the FSTP way.
In the period following the release of the Category-Based Selection Rounds in June. IRCC released 25,870 ITAs of the total ITAs released in its PE initiatives. These were made up of 12,073 CEC candidates, 13,790 FSWP candidates and 7 FSTP candidates.
CRS scores
The pool distribution of the CRS scores stood at 93% between the ranges of 300-550.
Following a category-based selection, the minimum CRS score for all-program/general draws rise above 500.
| Draw Type | Minimum Score | Maximum Score | Score Range to Receive an ITA |
| Generic (includes FSWP, CEC, and FSTP) | 484 | 561 | 484 – 561 |
| Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) | 691 | 791 | 691 – 791 |
| Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP) | 489 | 489 | 489 (Only one draw in 2023) |
| CBS Healthcare Occupations | 431 | 476 | 431 – 476 |
| CBS Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) | 481 | 486 | 481 – 486 |
| CBS French Proficiency | 375 | 486 | 375 – 486 |
| CBS Trades Occupations | 388 | 425 | 388 – 425 |
| CBS Transport Occupations | 435 | 435 | 435 (Only one draw in 2023) |
| CBS Agriculture Occupations | 354 | 386 | 354 – 386 |
Gender
The data indicates that, overall, a greater percentage of Express Entry applicants were men. In fact, 57% of ITAs were issued to men, whereas 43% were issued to women. On the program level, more men received ITAs under the CEC 52% and PNP 26% programs, In 2022 higher numbers of women received an ITA through the FSWP at 33% vs 22%, respectively.
Education
In previous years most of the ITAs candidates had post-secondary education. 46% for post-secondary credential for 3 years or longer and 43% had a master degree or entry to practice professional degree.
| Education Level | ITAs Issued in 2023 |
| High school or less | 810 (0.7%) |
| One or two year post-secondary credential | 7,819 (7.0%) |
| Post-secondary credential of three years or longer | 50,294 (45.6%) |
| Master’s Degree or entry-to-practice professional degree | 47,529 (43.1%) |
| PhD | 3,814 (3.4%) |
| Total | 110,266 (100%) |
Country of residence and country of citizenship
In 2023 candidates most received ITAs listed Canada as their country of residence 76,791. India once again was second place 7,394. In a shocking development, Cameroon made third place for the most ITAs with 3,828, just six ITAs more than Nigeria at 3,822. Lebanon was out of the top ten as well and Pakistan had 1,173 ITAs, not a top 10 country in 2022.
| Country of Residence | ITAs Issued in 2023 |
| Canada | 76,791 (69.6%) |
| India | 7,394 (6.7%) |
| Federal Republic of Cameroon | 3,828 (3.4%) |
| Nigeria | 3,822 (3.4%) |
| United States of America | 2,526 (2.2%) |
| Morocco | 1,681 (1.5%) |
| Algeria | 1,349 (1.2%) |
| Pakistan | 1,173 (1.0%) |
| United Kingdom and Overseas Territories | 1,157 (1.0%) |
| United Arab Emirates | 1,051 (0.9%) |
| Other | 9,494 (8.6%) |
| Total | 110,266 (100%) |
These are the ITAs issued for country of residence not for country of citizenship. India is one of the biggest sources of express entry ITA for citizenship and below it is followed by Nigeria and China as well.
| Country of Citizenship | ITAs Issued in 2023 |
| India | 52,106 (47.2%) |
| Nigeria | 7,263 (6.5%) |
| People’s Republic of China | 5,854 (5.3%) |
| Federal Republic of Cameroon | 4,335 (3.9%) |
| Iran | 2,693 (2.4%) |
| Philippines | 2,593 (2.3%) |
| Pakistan | 2,565 (2.3%) |
| Morocco | 2,049 (1.8%) |
| Brazil | 1,777 (1.6%) |
| Algeria | 1,592 (1.4%) |
| Other | 27,439 (24.8%) |
| Total | 110,266 (100%) |
Occupation
Work experience comes as one of the eligibility criteria to Express Entry. More importantly, some occupations would be more in demand or more likely to receive an ITA. In 2023, large pieces of the ITAs went to Express Entry candidates working in computer occupations, tech occupations, and finance occupations. But 48% of all ITAs went to candidates in “other” occupations not outlined in the report.
Software engineers and designers remained in first place, unchanged from the previous year, at 7,259, followed closely by software developers and programmers at 5,183. Of the 15 occupations listed in the report, 10 are TIER 1 occupations under the National Occupation Classification (NOC). Generally requires a university degree in this occupation.
| Primary Occupation | Ranking of Training Education Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) | ITAs Issued in 2023 |
| NOC 21231 Software engineers and designers | 1 | 7,259 (6.5%) |
| NOC 21232 Software developers and programmers | 1 | 5,183 (4.7%) |
| NOC 62020 Food service supervisors | 2 | 3,277 (2.9%) |
| NOC 21222 Information systems specialists | 1 | 2,951 (2.6%) |
| NOC 13110 Administrative assistants | 3 | 2,538 (2.3%) |
| NOC 21223 Database analysts and data administrators | 1 | 2,151 (1.9%) |
| NOC 11202 Professional occupations in advertising, marketing, and public relations | 1 | 2,142 (1.9%) |
| NOC 11100 Financial auditors and accountants | 1 | 2,090 (1.8%) |
| NOC 22221 User support technicians | 2 | 1,844 (1.6%) |
| NOC 20012 Computer and information systems managers | 0 | 1,841 (1.6%) |
| NOC 13100 Administrative officers | 3 | 1,747 (1.5%) |
| NOC 21211 Data scientists | 1 | 1,654 (1.5%) |
| NOC 21221 Business systems specialists | 1 | 1,600 (1.4%) |
| NOC 12200 Accounting technicians and bookkeepers | 2 | 1,599 (1.4%) |
| NOC 21230 Computer systems developers and programmers | 1 | 1,475 (1.3%) |
| Other | 70,915 (64.3%) | |
| Total | 110,266 (100%) |
Language
Canadian language benchmark (CLB) requirements may vary between express entry programs. According to 2023 the data shows 78% of express entry candidates had a CLB score in between (24%) and 9 (31%). Another had a maximum score of 18% CLB 10 but it still shows a drop of 2% from 2022 to 21%.
| First Official Language (English or French) Level | ITAs Issued in 2023 |
| CLB/NCLC 4 | 5 (<1%) |
| CLB/NCLC 5 | 1,192 (1.0%) |
| CLB/NCLC 6 | 3,849 (3.4%) |
| CLB/NCLC 7 | 26,173 (23.7%) |
| CLB/NCLC 8 | 25,214 (22.8%) |
| CLB/NCLC 9 | 33,872 (30.7%) |
| CLB/NCLC 10 | 19,961 (18.1%) |
| Total | 110,266 (100%) |
With a focus on specific occupations and skills. The majority of ITAs went to Canadian Experience Class candidates and there was notable growth in tech and finance sectors.