New ITAs for the Canadian Experience Class: points keep dropping!

On July 8, 2025, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued new Invitation to Apply (ITA) for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), with the score getting lower and lower. This time, it sent out 3000 ITAs and the minimum required score was 518. Good news for skilled foreign workers in Canada looking to obtain permanent residency this year!

Lower CEC draw scores are part of IRCC's strategies to manage immigrants who already live and have work experience in Canada. So, if you are applying for permanent residence through Express Entry, read to the end to learn the importance of understanding the score and why striving to accumulate the highest CRS score possible is the key to success. Let's get started!

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Express Entry 355 Drawing Details - CEC

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Date: July 8, 2025

Type of round: Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

Number of ITA: 3000

Minimum CRS score required: 518

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Comparison with the latest CRS scores since the beginning of 2025: 

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As can be seen, the 355th draw score is the lowest required since January of this year. 

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Why does the CRS score drop in these rounds of the CEC?

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This decline may be due to several factors, including Canada's overall immigration strategy and the dynamics of the Express Entry pool itself.

Some of the main reasons are:

Priority for candidates "within Canada".

The Canadian Experience Class is designed for people who already have qualified work experience in Canada. The priority is that they are already integrated into the Canadian labor market and society, which facilitates their transition to permanent residency and ensures a great contribution to the country's economy in the long term. 

Volume of ITAs issued

When IRCC conducts large draws for the CEC, such as this one, in which it issued 3000 ITAs, this tends to lower the cut-off score. By inviting more candidates, it "empties" the top of the Express Entry pool more quickly, leading IRCC to lower the point threshold to reach the desired number of ITAs. 

3. Fluctuations in the Express Entry pool

The pool is an online database containing eligible profiles, and these are ranked according to a point system (CRS). Candidates with the highest scores are periodically invited to apply for permanent residence.

The cutoff CRS reflects the candidates currently in the pool.

4. Labor market needs

Canada uses immigration to meet the needs of the labor market. If there is a particular demand for workers with Canadian experience in certain sectors, or if the government is looking to strengthen the existing workforce, it may adjust the cut-off scores for the CEC and facilitate the immigration of these individuals.

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Success lies in accumulating the highest CRS score possible. 

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Why do we at Immiland emphasize this so much? Simple: you never know when IRCC will lower the cut-off score for Express Entry drawings. What is a winning score today may not be a winning score tomorrow and vice versa. The uncertainty of what the minimum required score will be each round is part of the process, and the only way to play it safe is to constantly improve your profile and accumulate more and more points.

It is very common to see people working intensely to gather their documents, present their profile and be in expectation of a new round. You have to know that, to minimize this anxiety, the thing to avoid is having a score just above the current cut-off. This will only leave you with your mind set on the next draw and whether the cut-off will go up and you will be left out.

On the other hand, if you improve your profile and know the right tool to calculate the score before applying without knowing in which level of competitiveness you are, the probability of being selected will increase exponentially, regardless of fluctuations. Immiland Canada, has the Express Entry CRS Express Entry CRS calculator that can help you.

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Basic recommendations to improve your Express Entry profile

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Here is what you should be aware of when you start your application process for permanent residence in Canada on the fast track:

• Proficient in English and/or French.
• Evaluate your credentials and years of experience to ensure that they are properly reflected.
• Obtain a provincial nomination, which adds 600 direct points to your CRS, and virtually guarantees an invitation to apply.
• Having a job offer supported by a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), that can also give you a nice boost (remember that the LMIA no longer adds up to CRS points).

Visit the latest latest Express Entry sweepstakes here.

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The most important thing to understand in Canadian immigration is that you should not settle for a "good enough" score. On the contrary, the score must be higher and higher, higher and higher than the cut-off of each previous round. Proactivity is the determining factor.

If you want to know your Express Entry profile score and boost it to have more chances to receive an ITA in the next draws, remember to check your score. 

For more information, contact us and we will be happy to assist you. You can also schedule an immigration consultation with a CICC regulated consultant from Immiland Canada.

I hope this topic will be useful and help you understand the importance of improving your score for Express Entry and the next rounds through the CEC.

Thanks for reading! See you in the next blog!

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With love, 

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Immiland Canada