Each year, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) unveils an annual report on the Express Entry system, with the 2022 edition being the latest installment.
Express Entry serves as the name for the application management system employed by the Canadian federal government to attract foreign skilled workers seeking permanent residence (PR) in the country.
Introduced in 2015, the Express Entry system comprises three primary programs:
- The Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
- The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
- The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
Notably, this system also oversees a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). However, candidates from the PNP must meet the eligibility criteria for at least one of the three programs mentioned above to apply for Express Entry to Canada.
Please bear in mind that all data presented in this article pertains to the period from January to December 2022.
2022 Sees Slight Dip in Express Entry Profile Submissions Compared to 2021
Express Entry received 428,391 profiles across all programs in 2022. This marks a modest decrease of 3% compared to the previous year but reflects a noteworthy increase of 19% compared to 2020. Among these submitted profiles, at least 74% remained eligible for one or more of the immigration programs administered by Express Entry, a statistic consistent with 2021.
The data indicated that men submitted more profiles (238,382) than women (189,881). The distribution of profile submissions between men (56%) and women (44%) remained consistent with the proportions seen in 2021. Notably, while the percentage of profiles eligible for at least one program remained stable for men at 71% from 2020 to 2022, there was a slight uptick for women in 2022, reaching 78%, indicating a positive trend in their eligibility for Express Entry programs.
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The Majority of Express Entry Submissions Fall Within the CRS Score Range of 301-500
CRS assesses and ranks Express Entry candidates based on age, language proficiency, education, work experience, and more. The report highlights the dynamic nature of the Express Entry pool, where the distribution of CRS scores evolves with each new eligible profile submission.
Nevertheless, the CRS scores of eligible candidate profiles at the time of submission consistently cluster within the 301-500 range each year, despite a slight decline in the total number of eligible profiles submitted in 2022.
Additional CRS points can be awarded to candidates who have studied in Canada, possess French language proficiency, or have siblings in Canada. Among those who submitted profiles in 2022, the majority (55%) did not meet the criteria for any additional points. However, this marks a gradual decrease from 2020 (63%) and 2021 (58%), indicating a growing number of candidates eligible for at least one type of additional point. Notably, candidates most frequently met the criteria for education in Canada (23%) and having siblings in Canada (14%).
Leading Occupations for 2022 ITA Recipients Centered Around the Technology Sector
In 2022, there were notable changes in the primary occupations of candidates who received Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residency through Express Entry, marking a departure from previous years.
In 2021, there was a shift towards specific rounds of invitations for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), resulting in a significant increase in candidates with Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) 2 occupations. These are occupations typically requiring a college diploma or involving two or more years of apprenticeship training, including supervisory roles. However, candidates with TEER 1 occupations, typically necessitating a university degree, constituted a significant portion of ITAs in 2022.
Notably, occupations predominantly related to the technology industry dominated the landscape in 2022. Specifically, roles such as software engineers and designers, information systems specialists, and computer systems developers and programmers emerged as the most prevalent occupations, comprising a substantial proportion of candidates invited to apply through Express Entry.
Furthermore, food service supervisors and cooks featured prominently among the top occupations for candidates invited to apply in 2022.
Canada, India, and Nigeria Maintain Their Positions as Top Residence Countries for 2022 ITA Recipients
In the most recent year, the majority of candidates who received Invitations to Apply (ITAs) through the Express Entry system were residents of Canada (31,486). This marks a consistent trend over the past few years, with Canada also ranking as the primary country of residence among ITA recipients in 2021 (102,906) and 2020 (68,061). Among foreign applicants in the Express Entry pool who obtained ITAs, the largest numbers hailed from India (3,787) and Nigeria (1,730). Remarkably, these two countries held the same positions in the top three a year ago.
Here is the complete list of the top 10 countries of residence for 2022 ITA recipients, along with the number of ITAs issued to residents of each country:
- Canada (31,486)
- India (3,787)
- Nigeria (1,730)
- Cameroon (1,063)
- United States of America (842)
- Morocco (793)
- United Arab Emirates (683)
- Lebanon (559)
- Algeria (550)
- France (381)
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India Leads in Citizenship Among ITA Recipients, Followed by Algeria and China
Additional data reveals some shifts in the top countries of citizenship among candidates who received Invitations to Apply (ITAs). With India consistently occupying the leading position for the past three years. In 2020 and 2021, the People’s Republic of China held second place in this ranking. Notably, in 2021, while Nigerian citizens accounted for the third-largest group of ITA recipients with 6,550 ITAs, citizens from the Republic of Korea emerged as the third-largest group with 3,131 ITAs.
Below is the comprehensive list of the top 10 countries of citizenship among 2022 ITA recipients, along with the number of ITAs issued to citizens of each country during the past year:
- India (20,769)
- Algeria (2,909)
- People’s Republic of China (2,456)
- Cameroon (1,218)
- Iran (1,210)
- France (1,069)
- Morocco (978)
- United States of America (939)
- Philippines (934)
- Pakistan (923)
Express Entry Application Processing Times Slower in 2022 Compared to 2021
Furthermore, for the second consecutive year, the processing times for most Express Entry applicants have increased. In 2022, the total processing time for applications across all programs stood at 21 months, a significant rise from the 8 months recorded in 2021. Notably, the increase primarily results from the average processing time. Defined as the number of months it takes the IRCC to finalize 80% of Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) applications. In 2022, the processing time for FSTP applications jumped from 23 months in 2021 to 63 months.
Besides, breaking it down by program, the processing time for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) applications in 2022 notably increased from 6 months in 2021 to approximately 19 months, with about 80% processed within this timeframe. Similarly, applications for the FSWP took 29 months in 2022, up slightly from 28 months in 2021. In the case of Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applications, they took an average of 13 months to process in 2022. It’s worth mentioning that PNP applications had an average processing time of 21 months in 2021.
