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Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued Invitations to Apply (ITA) in a new Express Entry round of invitations today. The department invited 3,000 candidates in an all-program draw. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score to receive an ITA was 504. This draw follows multiple rounds during the week of September 18. IRCC invited 3,200 candidates on September 19 in an all-program draw. The following day, on September 20, it invited 1,000 candidates in the first-ever category-based draw for Express Entry candidates in a transport occupation. Get a Free Express Entry Assessment Summary of Express Entry draw results since June 2023 Date Draw Type Number of ITAs Minimum CRS Sept 26 All-program 3,000 504 Sept 20 Transport occupations 1,000 435 Sept 19 All-program 3,200 531 Aug 15 All-program 4,300 496 Aug 3 Trade occupations 1,500 388 Aug 2 French language proficiency 800 435 Aug 1 All-program 2,000 517 July 12 French language proficiency 3,800 375 July 11 All-program 800 505 July 7 French language proficiency 2,300 439 July 6 Healthcare occupations 1500 463 July 5 STEM occupations 500 486 July 4 All-program 700 511 June 28 Healthcare occupations 500 476 June 27 All-program 4,300 486 June 8 All-program 4,800 486 What is category-based selection In May this year, IRCC announced that it would begin holding some draws for Express Entry candidates based on one specific attribute rather than their overall CRS score. The introduction of categories was expected to take place this year following a change to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in 2022 that gives the immigration minister the authority to select Express Entry candidates who are likely to help Canada meet its mandate to strengthen the economy and promote the French language outside of Quebec. To that end, six new categories were created for in-demand occupations and newcomers with strong French-language abilities. The five occupation-based categories are: • Healthcare; • STEM professions; • Trades; • Transport; and • Agriculture and agri-food Since the first category-based draw for healthcare workers on June 28, IRCC has held draws in each of these categories except for Agriculture and agri-food. The highest number of category based ITAs (6,900) have been issued to candidates with strong abilities in French. Those who wish to immigrate to Canada through category-based selection must be in the Express Entry pool and meet a minimum CRS score. What is Express Entry? Express Entry is an application management system for economic immigration candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Each of these programs uses the Comprehensive Ranking System to evaluate and rank candidates according to specific human capital factors such as work experience, occupation, education, age, and language ability. Each attribute has a specific point value and the candidates who obtain the highest overall scores are the most likely to receive an invitation to apply in an upcoming Express Entry draw. Eligibility for Express Entry depends on the program. For example, the FSWP and the FSTP program have different minimum Canadian Language Benchmark requires and while the FSTP and FSWP require a minimum amount of settlement funds, the CEC does not require that candidates have them.