Category-Based Express Entry Selection 2024
The Express Entry system, known for its efficiency and effectiveness in managing Canada’s immigration applications for skilled workers, has evolved to include category-based rounds of invitations. Complementing the General and Program-specific rounds, these category-focused rounds aim to identify and invite top-ranking candidates meeting specific economic requirements of Canada.
The Category-based selections in Canada’s Express Entry system, empower the country to extend Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to potential applicants who possess particular skills, training, or language proficiencies. Initiated in 2023, these category-based draws are set to continue with the same classifications in 2024, as announced by IRCC.
Complementing the General and Program-specific rounds, these category-focused rounds aim to identify and invite top-ranking candidates meeting specific economic requirements of Canada. Selection criteria include proficiency in an official language, relevant work experience in key sectors, and educational qualifications.
Such a strategic approach by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) underscores a commitment to fulfilling distinct economic objectives. It involves selecting eligible candidates from the Express Entry pool based on defined category requirements, thereby streamlining the immigration process to align with Canada’s economic needs.
Current Categories
This targeted approach focuses on six key categories, each playing a crucial role in bolstering Canada’s economic landscape:
- French-language proficiency: Encouraging candidates who are proficient in French, reflecting Canada’s commitment to bilingualism and the need for French-speaking professionals.
- Healthcare occupations: Addressing the critical demand for healthcare professionals and supporting the robustness of Canada’s healthcare system.
- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) occupations: Fostering growth in these innovative and ever-evolving sectors.
- Trade occupations: Recognizing the importance of skilled trades in driving the economy.
- Transport occupations: Ensuring the efficiency and reliability of Canada’s transport sector.
- Agriculture and agri-food occupations: Supporting the agricultural sector, vital for the country’s food security and economic health.
The categories can change on a yearly basis based on what is reported to parliament. Each year the IRCC will report:
- the categories they chose from the previous year
- why and how they chose them
- the instructions to establish a category
- the number of invitations issued for each category
Who is eligible?
To be eligible for an invitation through a category-based round, all requirements for that round must be met. There are also specific conditions that must be met depending on the category that is being targeted. For the 2023 categories, eligibility includes:
French-language proficiency: Must have a French-language test result that shows a minimum score of 7 in all 4 language abilities on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens.
Healthcare occupations: Have accumulated within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in one of the 35 targeted NOC codes.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations: Have accumulated within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in one of the 24 targeted NOC codes.
Trade occupations: Have accumulated within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in one of the 10 targeted NOC codes.
Transport occupations: Have accumulated within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in one of the 10 targeted NOC codes.
Agriculture and agri-food occupations: Have accumulated within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in one of the 3 targeted NOC codes.
You can find the specific professions and their National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes on our dedicated pages. These pages are updated with the latest information for each category’s draw. Please check the list below for more details.
| Draw | Date | Category | Number of ITAs | CRS Cut Off | Tie-Breaking Rule |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 329 | December 3, 2024 | French language proficiency (Version 1) | 800 | 466 | November 26, 2024 at 02:44:59 UTC |
| 328 | December 2, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 676 | 705 | November 27, 2024 at 18:15:17 UTC |
| 327 | November 20, 2024 | Healthcare occupations (Version 1) | 3,000 | 463 | October 21, 2024 at 16:12:39 UTC |
| 326 | November 19, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class | 400 | 539 | July 08, 2024 at 01:41:37 UTC |
| 325 | November 18, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 174 | 816 | August 28, 2024 at 05:12:34 UTC |
| 324 | November 15, 2024 | French language proficiency (Version 1) | 800 | 478 | November 07, 2024 at 13:12:03 UTC |
| 323 | November 13, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class | 400 | 547 | April 10, 2024 at 03:58:05 UTC |
| 322 | November 12, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 733 | 812 | March 02. 2024 at 01:58:34 UTC |
| 321 | October 23, 2024 | Trade occupations (Version 1) | 1,800 | 433 | March 12, 2024 at 14:30:36 UTC |
| 320 | October 22, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class | 400 | 539 | October 19, 2024 at 21:53:18 UTC |
| 319 | October 21, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 648 | 791 | August 13, 2024 at 20:04:52 UTC |
| 318 | October 10, 2024 | French language proficiency (Version 1) | 1000 | 444 | September 27, 2024 at 18:56:32 UTC |
| 317 | October 9, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class | 500 | 539 | February 20, 2024 at 02:57:40 UTC |
| 316 | October 7, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,613 | 743 | March 22, 2024 at 18:36:54 UTC |
| 315 | September 19, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class | 4000 | 509 | November 06, 2023 at 07:17:35 UTC |
| 314 | September 13, 2024 | French language proficiency (Version 1) | 1000 | 446 | August 28, 2024 at 17:07:19 UTC |
| 313 | September 9, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 911 | 732 | March 13, 2024 at 19:56:16 UTC |
| 312 | August 27, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class | 3300 | 507 | June 05, 2024 at 01:08:58 UTC |
| 311 | August 26, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1121 | 694 | August 03, 2024 at 18:54:27 UTC |
| 310 | August 15, 2024 | French language proficiency (Version 1) | 2,000 | 394 | July 07, 2024 at 09:46:10 UTC |
| 309 | August 14, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class | 3,200 | 509 | March 01, 2024 at 19:23:21 UTC |
| 308 | August 13, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 763 | 690 | April 26, 2024 at 10:59:30 UTC |
| 307 | July 31, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class | 5,000 | 510 | June 30, 2024 at 20:39:14 UTC |
| 306 | July 30, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 964 | 686 | May 27, 2024 at 07:07:21 UTC |
| 305 | July 18, 2024 | French language proficiency (Version 1) | 1,800 | 400 | March 08, 2024 at 19:51:40 UTC |
| 304 | July 17, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class | 6,300 | 515 | February 03, 2024 at 13:01:06 UTC |
| 303 | July 16, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,391 | 670 | May 04, 2024 at 13:27:31 UTC |
| 302 | July 8, 2024 | French language proficiency (Version 1) | 3,200 | 420 | May 30, 2024 at 03:37:43 UTC |
| 301 | July 5, 2024 | Healthcare occupations (Version 1) | 3,750 | 445 | May 07, 2024 at 21:27:04 UTC |
| 300 | July 4, 2024 | Trade occupations (Version 1) | 1,800 | 436 | July 16, 2023 at 15:44:59 UTC |
| 299 | July 2, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 920 | 739 | February 02, 2024 at 11:38:43 UTC |
| 298 | June 19, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 1,499 | 663 | January 19, 2024 at 10:10:40 UTC |
| 297 | May 31, 2024 | Canadian Experience Class | 3,000 | 522 | March 19, 2024 at 18:58:58 UTC |
| 296 | May 30, 2024 | Provincial Nominee Program | 2,985 | 676 | January 19, 2024 at 18:32:21 UTC |
| 295 | April 24, 2024 | French language proficiency | 1,400 | 410 | April 07, 2024 at 02:06:46 UTC |
| 294 | April 23, 2024 | General | 2,095 | 529 | November 08, 2023 at 17:50:29 UTC |
| 293 | April 11, 2024 | STEM occupations (2024-1) | 4,500 | 491 | February 25, 2024 at 11:55:12 UTC |
| 292 | April 10, 2024 | General | 1,280 | 549 | March 21, 2024 at 03:37:24 UTC |
| 291 | March 26, 2024 | French language proficiency | 1,500 | 388 | March 10, 2024 at 20:06:26 UTC |
| 290 | March 25, 2024 | General | 1,980 | 524 | February 25, 2024 at 14:42:38 UTC |
| 289 | March 13, 2024 | Transport occupations | 975 | 430 | July 31, 2023 at 13:27:26 UTC |
| 288 | March 12, 2024 | General | 2,850 | 525 | March 12, 2024 at 15:56:42 UTC |
| 287 | February 29, 2024 | French language proficiency | 2,500 | 336 | January 18, 2024 at 09:15:46 UTC |
| 286 | February 28, 2024 | General | 1,470 | 534 | January 16, 2024 at 03:51:05 UTC |
| 285 | February 16, 2024 | Agriculture and agri-food occupations | 150 | 437 | January 29, 2024 at 03:32:58 UTC |
| 284 | February 14, 2024 | Healthcare occupations | 3,500 | 422 | January 30, 2024 at 02:39:54 UTC |
| 283 | February 13, 2024 | General | 1,490 | 535 | February 11, 2024 at 15:26:56 UTC |
| 282 | February 1, 2024 | French language proficiency | 7,000 | 365 | September 08, 2023 at 09:47:27 UTC |
| 281 | January 31, 2024 | General | 730 | 541 | July 15, 2023 at 10:52:08 UTC |
| 280 | January 23, 2024 | General | 1,040 | 543 | January 21, 2024 at 07:43:47 UTC |
| 279 | January 10, 2024 | General | 1,510 | 546 | December 31, 2023 at 18:23:22 UTC |
Will the CRS still be a factor for Express Entry?
Applicant’s Comprehensive Ranking System score (CRS) will still count, and be an important factor for Express Entry draws. Category-based rounds of invitations will invite the top-ranking candidates in the pool who are eligible for the category being targeted for that round.
This will give candidates a better chance as their CRS score will only be ranked with those in that selected category rather than the entire Express Entry pool.
What should I do if my occupation is not listed?
In their announcement, IRCC confirmed that the category-based rounds of invitation will add to general and provincial rounds, suggesting all program draws will continue to take place. If your occupation does not appear on the demand list, you can still be considered for these general draws.
Furthermore, provinces and territories will continue to use the Express Entry pool to source applicants. Candidates who have secured a provincial nomination have demonstrated they have the skills, education and work experience to contribute to the province or territory’s economy, therefore they will receive an ITA via the all program or provincial Express Entry draws.
Will Express Entry still have other types of draws?
Yes, Express Entry will hold different types of draws throughout the year, not just category-based draws. There will be 3 types of rounds:
- General round of invitations: General rounds of invitations invites the top-ranking candidates in the Express Entry pool who are eligible for 1 of the 3 Express Entry Programs. The 3 programs include the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
- Program-specific rounds of invitations: Program-specific rounds invite the top-ranking candidates who are eligible for a specific Express Entry program. For example, the IRCC often has draws specifically for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), where only candidates who are eligible for a PNP are invited.
- Category-based rounds of invitations: The Minister of Immigration will establish specific categories to meet specific economic goals across Canada. Once the categories are established, the top-ranking candidates in the pool who are eligible for this category will receive an invitation.
Category-Based Selection Will Help to Meet 2024 – 2026 Immigration Targets
Immigration has been a key strategy for the Canadian government to help address labour market shortages. The current immigration plan also aims to attract the skills required to fill critical sectors, such as health care, skilled trades, manufacturing and technology sectors. Category-based draws will help to address these shortages by allowing the government to target roles and industries facing the most severe shortages.
What is Express Entry and How Can I Apply?
Express Entry is a system used by the Canadian government to manage applications for Canadian permanent residency. Express Entry uses a point-based system, the CRS, to rank candidates’ profiles. The system manages three main programs:
- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW);
- Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST); and
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
Applying to Express Entry is a two-step procedure. The first step is to submit your profile with the required documents. Required documents usually consist of language test results, educational credentials and passport or travel documentation.
After you submit a profile and receive an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence, you can submit your complete application for the IRCC to review. Your complete application should include supporting documents such as reference letters, additional identity documents, police clearance certificates, and results of a medical examination.
Interested in learning more about your options to enter the Express Entry pool? Complete our free online assessment form today!
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