Business Phone
051 8439995, 042 35911332
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has conducted its third Express Entry draw of the week, issuing Invitations to Apply (ITAs). The draw took place on the 5th of July 2024.
This draw focused on healthcare professionals. A total of 3,750 healthcare professionals received invitations to apply for permanent residency in this draw.
Lowest CRS Score
Candidates required at least a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 445 to be eligible.
Previous Express Entry Draw Details
This was the second category-specific draw this week. It followed a July 4 draw that targeted trade occupations, inviting 1,800 candidates.
Earlier this week, on July 2, IRCC conducted a draw exclusively for candidates in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). In this draw, 920 candidates were invited, each needing a minimum CRS score of 739.
In total, 6,470 ITAs have been issued this week, marking the highest number since April.
Role of Program-Specific Draws in Canadian Immigration
The trend of program-specific draws started earlier this year. Since May 30, IRCC has held four such draws, with three focusing on PNP candidates.
Program-specific draws consider only those in the Express Entry pool who have applied through an Express Entry program such as the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), or the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP). For PNP-only draws, only candidates who have been nominated through an Express Entry-aligned stream of a PNP, known as enhanced nomination, are considered.
Transitioning Temporary Residents to Permanent Residents
Until recently, this type of draw had not taken place since the category-based selection draws were introduced in May 2023. However, since January, IRCC has been striving to stabilize the high number of temporary residents in Canada. One way they are achieving this is by providing more opportunities for temporary residents, such as those with work or study permits or visitor visas, to transition to permanent residency (PR).
Many temporary residents applying for PR, who are either currently living in Canada or have previously lived here, use the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). The same applies to candidates in the PNP. This approach allows IRCC to meet its annual targets for “Federal High Skilled Workers” (Express Entry) as stated in the Immigration Levels Plan while also decreasing the number of temporary residents in the country.
Invited Healthcare Occupations
Here is the list of invited health occupations along with their respective NOC codes:
| Occupation | NOC code |
| Audiologists and speech language pathologists | 31112 |
| Chiropractors | 31201 |
| Dentists | 31110 |
| Dieticians and nutritionists | 31121 |
| Education counsellors | 41320 |
| General practitioners and family physicians | 31102 |
| Instructors of persons with disabilities | 42203 |
| Kinesiologists and other professional occupations in therapy and assessment | 31204 |
| Licensed practical nurses | 32101 |
| Massage therapists | 32201 |
| Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations | 33101 |
| Medical laboratory technologists | 32120 |
| Medical radiation technologists | 32121 |
| Medical sonographers | 32122 |
| Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates | 33102 |
| Nurse practitioners | 31302 |
| Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors | 31300 |
| Occupational therapists | 31203 |
| Optometrists | 31111 |
| Other assisting occupations in support of health services | 33109 |
| Other practitioners of natural healing | 32209 |
| Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating | 31209 |
| Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment | 32109 |
| Paramedical occupations | 32102 |
| Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants | 33103 |
| Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals | 31303 |
| Physiotherapists | 31202 |
| Psychologists | 31200 |
| Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses | 31301 |
| Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists | 32103 |
| Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine | 31100 |
| Specialists in surgery | 31101 |
| Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies | 41301 |
| Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists | 32200 |
| Veterinarians | 31103 |