Invitations to Apply (ITA) History

ITAs (Invitations to Apply) are official invitations sent by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to candidates in the Express Entry pool. When you receive an ITA, you have 60 days to submit a complete application for permanent residence. The number of ITAs issued varies based on Canada's immigration targets and program-specific allocations.

Express Entry draws are typically held every 1-2 weeks, though the frequency can vary based on IRCC's operational capacity and immigration targets. Since the introduction of category-based draws in 2023, there are now both general draws and category-specific draws (e.g., Healthcare, STEM, French language proficiency, Trades).

ITA numbers fluctuate based on several factors: Canada's annual immigration targets, the number of candidates in the pool, processing capacity at IRCC, program-specific needs (PNP, CEC, etc.), and strategic priorities like French language proficiency or specific occupations. General draws typically have higher ITA counts (2,000-10,000+), while category-specific draws usually have smaller numbers (150-3,500).

General draws invite candidates from all Express Entry programs based solely on CRS score. Category-based draws (introduced in 2023) target specific groups such as Healthcare workers, STEM professionals, French speakers, Trades workers, Transport occupations, and Agriculture & Agri-food. These category draws often have lower CRS cutoffs and help Canada address specific labor market needs. You can be invited in either type of draw depending on your profile.

Use the filters to identify trends in your target category (e.g., if you're a healthcare worker, filter by Healthcare draws). Monitor the average ITAs issued for your category to understand invitation frequency. Compare recent trends with historical data to anticipate future draw patterns. Check if your category has consistent draw schedules. Cross-reference ITA counts with CRS cutoff scores on our CRS Trends page to gauge your invitation probability.

The "Highest" badge marks draws with the maximum number of ITAs issued in the entire dataset, while "Lowest" marks draws with the minimum ITAs. These outliers are significant: highest ITA draws often occur during major immigration pushes or backlog clearances, while lowest counts typically indicate category-specific or highly targeted draws. Understanding these extremes helps contextualize typical draw sizes.