Canada: First STEM Express Entry draw of 2024 issued 4,500 PRs
Canadian experience class candidates with work experience in Canada to be prioritized for immigration
Dubai: In the latest Express Entry draw, the first of 2024, which focused on 24 STEM occupations, 4,500 invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residency were sent out.
This STEM-targeted round of invitations was long-awaited and took around four months. As a result of its delay, the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score required for an ITA increased to 491, which is higher than the previous STEM-only draw.
Below are the details of the STEM Express Entry draw today:
Category: STEM occupations
- Number of invitations issued: 4,500
- Rank required to be invited to apply: 4,500 or higher
- Date and time of the invitation round: April 11, 2024, at 1:23:42 PM UTC
- CRS score of the lowest-ranked candidate invited: 491
- Tie-breaking rule: February 25, 2024, at 11:55:12 AM UTC
The Minister of Immigration recently announced that the department will prioritise candidates with Canadian work experience under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). This means that the focus will be on individuals with work experience in Canada. A draw is expected to be explicitly soon held for CEC candidates.
Summary of all the Express Entry draws in March 2024
IRCC has sent 7,305 invitations to apply for Express Entry in March, divided into four draws.
| Description | March 26, 2024 | March 25, 2024 | March 13, 2024 | March 12, 2024 |
| Draw Type | Targeted draw for profiles with high proficiency in English | General or all program draw | Targeted draw for 10 transport occupations | General or all program draws |
| Invitations | 1,500 | 1,980 | 975 | 2,850 |
| CRS Cutoff | 388 | 524 | 430 | 525 |
| Tie-breaking Rule | March 10, 2024, at 20:06:26 UTC | February 25, 2024, at 14:42:38 UTC | July 31, 2023, at 13:27:26 UTC | March 12, 2024, at 15:56:42 UTC |
Express Entry Draw: March 2024
CRS Score Distribution in the Pool
| CRS Score Range | Number of Candidates |
| 601-1200 | 534 |
| 501-600 | 7926 |
| 451-500 | 60,120 |
| 491-500 | 6,787 |
| 481-490 | 9,668 |
| 471-480 | 17,586 |
| 461-470 | 14,160 |
| 451-460 | 11,919 |
| 401-450 | 54,181 |
| 441-450 | 10,930 |
| 431-440 | 11,219 |
| 421-430 10,104 | 10,104 |
| 411-420 | 10,874 |
| 401-410 | 11,054 |
| 351-400 | 57,855 |
| 301-350 | 29,709 |
| 0-300 | 5,401 |
| Total | 215,726 |
CRS Score Distribution in the pool
| NOC Code | Occupation |
| 20010 | Engineering Managers |
| 20011 | Architecture and science managers |
| 20012 | Computer and information systems managers |
| 21200 | Architects |
| 21201 | Landscape Architects |
| 21202 | Urban and land use planners |
| 21203 | Land surveyors |
| 21210 | Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries |
| 21211 | Data scientists |
| 21220 | Cybersecurity specialists |
| 21221 | Business systems specialists |
| 21222 | information systems specialists |
| 21223 | Database analysts and data administrators |
| 21230 | Computer systems developers and programmers |
| 21231 | Software engineers and designers |
| 21232 | Software developers and programmers |
| 21233 | Web designers |
| 21234 | Web developers and programmers |
| 21300 | Civil Engineers |
| 21310 | Electrical and electronics engineers |
| 21311 | Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) |
| 21321 | Industrial and manufacturing engineers |
| 21322 | Metallurgical and materials engineers |
| 41400 | Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers |
Occupations eligible for STEM-targeted draws
What is the Express Entry?
The Canadian government manages the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class applications through Express Entry, an application management system.
All candidates from these programs are ranked against each other within the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which awards points based on various human capital characteristics such as age, work experience, education, occupation, and language proficiency.
The candidates with the highest cumulative scores have the best chance of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residency status from the IRCC.
The IRCC has a service standard that states candidates should receive a response within six months of submitting their final application.