Canada’s Annual Report on Express Entry 2021

Annual Report on Express Entry – Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) publishes an annual report on Express Entry, the federal government’s primary immigration pathway for foreign skilled workers seeking permanent residence in Canada (PR).

Express Entry, which debuted in 2015, manages three distinct programmes: the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). It also manages a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), but PNP candidates must also be eligible for one of the programmes listed above.

There were 114,431 Invitations to Apply (ITA) issued for Canadian PR. 155,810 people (principal applicants + accompanying family members) obtained permanent residence through all ITAs. Despite IRCC’s significant decision to halt Express Entry ITAs for all Federal High Skilled immigration programmes (CEC, FSWP, and FSTP) on September 20, 2021.

Over 440,000 Express Entry profiles have been submitted.

By the end of 2021, IRCC had received 443,004 Express Entry profile submissions in total. This represents a 23% increase over 2020. Nearly 74% of these profile submissions were deemed eligible for at least one Express Entry programme, while approximately 26% were deemed ineligible. In total, 77% of women were eligible for at least one Express Entry programme, compared to 71% of men.

Over 440,000 Express Entry profiles have been submitted.

By the end of 2021, IRCC had received 443,004 Express Entry profile submissions in total. This represents a 23% increase over 2020. Nearly 74% of these profile submissions were deemed eligible for at least one Express Entry programme, while approximately 26% were deemed ineligible. In total, 77% of women were eligible for at least one Express Entry programme, compared to 71% of men.

Nonetheless, 31% of all eligible candidates had a CRS score of 351 to 400 points. The following CRS score ranges were the most common among eligible candidates: 401-450 (27% of profiles), 451-500 (21%), and 301-350 (16%).

CRS cut-off scores for PNP-specific draws ranged from 682 to 813 points, while CEC-specific draws ranged from 75 to 462 points (more on program-specific draws later).

Annual Report on Express Entry

At the time of submission, more than half of all eligible profiles (58%) did not meet the criteria for additional points. More than half (54%) of these profiles were submitted by men. Of the remaining eligible profiles, 21% received bonus points for Canadian education, while 13% received bonus points for having Canadian siblings.

The majority of ITA recipients worked in food service, administration, or retail.

“Food Service Supervisor” was the most common primary occupation among those who received an ITA in 2021. This job’s National Occupation Classification (NOC) 2021 code is 62020. There were 13,097 ITA recipients who worked in this role. Women made up 60.4% of those in this position.

The five most common occupations among ITA recipients are listed below in alphabetical order, along with their NOC 2021 codes and the number of people in these jobs who received ITAs.

1. Supervisors of Food Service (NOC 2021: 62020) – 13,097 ITAs were issued.
2. Administrative Support Personnel (NOC 2021: 13110) – Total number of ITAs issued: 5,930
3. Retail Sales Managers (NOC 2021: 62010) – Total number of ITAs issued: 5,020
4. Software Designers and Engineers (NOC 2021: 21231) – Total number of ITAs issued: 4,916
5. Cooks (NOC 2021: 63200) (NOC 2021: 63200) – Total number of ITAs issued: 4,624

Outside of Canada, the majority of ITA recipients lived in India and Nigeria.

The majority of Express Entry ITA receipts came from Canada (102,806). However, the majority of foreign applicants who received an ITA were from India (3,826) or Nigeria (1,432). This is a significant change from 2019 and 2020, when the United States of America (USA) ranked third on the list.

The following are the top ten countries of residence among 2021 ITA recipients (in terms of the number of ITAs issued):

1. Canada: 102,806 ITAs have been issued.
2. India: 3,826 ITAs have been issued.
3. Nigeria: 1,432 ITAs have been issued.
4. The United States has issued 806 ITAs.

People’s Republic of China has issued 687 ITAs.

The United Arab Emirates issued 465 ITAs.

The majority of ITA recipients were Indians, Chinese, and Koreans.

According to additional data, the top countries of citizenship among ITA recipients have also shifted slightly over time. India has topped the rankings for the last three years in a row. The People’s Republic of China ranked second on this list in 2020 and 2021. Finally, while Nigerian citizens received the third most ITAs in 2020 (6,550), citizens of the Republic of Korea received the third most (3,131) in 2021.

The seven countries listed below round out the top ten countries of citizenship among ITA recipients. The number of ITAs issued to citizens of each country in 2021 is listed next to their name.

Principal applicants seeking entry to Canada through the CEC accounted for nearly four-fifths (79.6%) of all Express Entry applications for PR. Meanwhile, PNP applicants accounted for 12,652 Express Entry PR applications, while 8,245 FSWP applicants applied for Canadian PR. Across all three programmes, men applied for PR in Canada through the PNP and CEC (57% and 58% of all PR applications, respectively), while women submitted 53% of all FSWP PR applications.

FSTP applicants submitted three economic immigration PR applications in total.