Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has not issued an Express Entry invitation since 28 October, leaving thousands of candidates in limbo as the department recalculates Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores under its new Labour Market Integration factor. The pause, which began on 3 November, entered its eighth day on 12 November with no restart date announced. Under the rule change, candidates can now earn up to 150 points (single applicants) or 140 points (with a spouse) for high-wage Canadian work experience or a qualifying job offer, pushing the maximum CRS score to 1,270. IRCC says it halted draws to avoid issuing invitations based on soon-to-be-obsolete scores. The department previously stated that rescoring could take “up to two weeks,” implying a possible resumption window of 16–17 November, but officials have offered no guarantees. The freeze is the longest since a similar recalculation in June 2026 and has intensified competition in provincial nominee pools, where provinces continue to select candidates even as federal draws are suspended. Analysts predict the first post-pause Canadian Experience Class round could require a cutoff between 530 and 555 points—well above recent thresholds—although any forecast is speculative until new data emerge. For employers that rely on Express Entry to secure foreign talent, the delay complicates workforce planning and onboarding timelines. Recruiters are advising candidates to update their profiles with the new job-offer wage tiers and to pursue provincial nominations or employer-specific work permits as risk-mitigation strategies. Consulting firms also warn against paying third-party “prediction” services that claim to know the next draw date. The pause does not affect Canada’s overall immigration targets: Budget 2026 kept permanent-resident admissions at 380,000 per year and capped new international-student arrivals at 150,000. However, prolonged uncertainty could push high-skilled candidates to competing destinations such as Australia, Germany or the United States if IRCC cannot provide clearer timelines.
Source: NorthCheck News
