The Truth About CRS Cut-Off Scores in Express Entry

The Government Does NOT Decide the Cut-Off Score First

First of all, when Canada conducts an Express Entry draw, the government does not decide the CRS cut-off score beforehand.

Instead, something else happens.

What Actually Happens in a Draw

In reality, the government first decides how many candidates they want to invite.

For example, they may decide to invite 3,000 people.

After that, they simply select the top 3,000 highest-scoring profiles from the Express Entry pool.

As a result, the CRS cut-off score becomes the score of the last (lowest-ranked) person who got invited.

So, the cut-off score is the result, not the starting point.

The Cut-Off Depends on the Pool

Therefore, the CRS cut-off score completely depends on:

• How many people are in the pool
• How high their scores are
• How many invitations are being issued

In other words, the pool’s situation at that moment decides the cut-off.

Profiles Are Chosen Because They Are Highest, Not Because They Cross the Cut-Off

Importantly, Candidates are not invited because they are above the cut-off.

Rather, they are invited because they are among the highest-scoring profiles.

The cut-off score simply shows where the last invited profile stood.

What Happens in a Tie?

Sometimes, two or more candidates may have the same CRS score at the cut-off point.

In that case, the government uses a tie-breaking rule.

Specifically, they check the date and time of profile submission.

• Profiles submitted before the tie-breaking date get invited.
• Profiles submitted after that date do not get invited.

Therefore, timing also matters.

Why Does the Cut-Off Score Increase?

Now, you might wonder why CRS cut-offs sometimes go up.

This can happen because:

• The government invites fewer candidates, or
• Draws happen less frequently, or
• More high-scoring candidates enter the pool, or
• Existing candidates improve their scores

As a result, competition increases, and the cut-off rises.

What Decisions Does the Government Actually Make?

Finally, the government mainly decides:

• How many invitations to issue
• What category of candidates to invite
• When to conduct the draw

However, the cut-off score is simply the outcome of these decisions.

Final Simple Understanding

To sum up, the government does not choose a cut-off score first.

Instead, they choose how many people to invite and the cut-off score automatically becomes the score of the last selected candidate.

That’s how Express Entry draws really work.

Get in touch with SPS Global

Receive advice on any of your questions regarding Immigration Get in touch with us, experienced immigration consultants from SPS Global. For additional information, contact support@spscanada.com (Canada) or support.amd@spscanada.com (Ahmedabad), or by phone at (1) 905-362-9393 (Canada) or +919586226232 (Ahmedabad).