Nine days after Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada rewrote the Express Entry points grid to award bonus marks for high-wage Canadian work experience and LMIA-exempt job offers, no invitation rounds have been held. As noted in World Visa Academy’s November 12 daily bulletin, IRCC had indicated the pause could last “up to two weeks” while every profile in the pool is rescored. The silence has consultants and applicants on edge. Historically, draw gaps of more than two weeks have signalled major changes—most recently during the 2024 category-based launch. Third-party trackers speculate that the first post-reset draw will target Provincial Nominee Program candidates, followed quickly by a Canadian Experience Class round, but IRCC has confirmed nothing. Practically, the pause is a window for employers and candidates to verify that newly-introduced ‘labour-market integration’ points (worth up to 150 CRS) have been correctly applied. Profile errors discovered now can still be fixed before invitations resume; mistakes after the next draw could cost applicants an entire application cycle. For HR teams relying on Express Entry to fast-track foreign hires, the message is to temper expectations. The recalibration is intended to privilege candidates with proven Canadian labour attachment, which should lower scores for many abroad-based applicants even as it raises domestic ones. Recruiters may therefore need to lean more heavily on employer-driven streams or provincial tech programmes until the new scoring dynamics stabilise. IRCC’s next move will be closely watched: a large invitation round at an unfamiliar cut-off could create backlogs in medical and security screening later in the year. Advisers are counselling clients to expect volatility through the first quarter of 2027.
Source: World Visa Academy
