
"What's your CRS score?" The question that has dominated the Express Entry Conversation for years.
That question is still important in 2025, but it no longer provides the complete answer.
One thing was evident from this year's Express Entry draws: Canada's immigration system is transitioning from a points race to a priority-driven selection process. You might be overlooking the greater issue if your primary focus is on raising your CRS score.
If you are planning to make Canada your home in 2026, Let's examine the most important takeaways from Express Entry in 2025 and its implications for future candidates.
One of the greatest trends observed in 2025 is continuous dominance of category based draws which allows applicants to apply based on their specific profiles. For 2025, the candidates in the following categories received invitations to apply which would not have been a case with a general draw of Express Entry.
The biggest lesson you can learn from 2025 is to understand the opportunity that comes from entering the pool at its earliest. You can not take advantage of an opportunity if you are not a part of it. Usually candidates with a lower CRS score do not stand a chance in a federal draw, However, during category based draws unexpected events have taken place. Furthermore, four out of two major draws happened during the last two years which also reflects upon a lower cut off CRS score. This is where you take the lead. Get expert consultants like TVG MIgration and take the first step. Let us help you guide today so you can enter the pool at earliest.
In 2025, applicants who invested in French Language not only gained a long term strategic advantage but also an access to lower cut off scores in a category based draw.
It has given applicants a competitive advantage as French Language is not a substitute that gives extra points but a pathway that allows you to gain access to your dreams in Canada through another door.
In 2025, Express Entry acted more like a policy instrument than a rating system.
Reflected drawings:
This implies that selection is based on who meets Canada's current needs rather than just who is the best candidate on paper.
The IRCC uses a tie-breaking rule in each round of invites.
The system prioritizes candidates who submitted their Express Entry profiles earlier, depending on the date and time of submission, if many candidates have a CRS score equal to the cut-off CRS score for that draw.
This emphasizes how crucial it is to submit your Express Entry profile as soon as possible and to keep updating and renewing it as needed. Even if you meet all other selection requirements, you may lose out on a significant chance if you submit your profile after the deadline.
If Express Entry 2025 has taught has us one thing, It is
The smartest Applicants are not chasing scores - they are aligning profiles.
Instead of focusing on how to increase your CRS Score
Ask yourself, How can you gain Canadian Work Experience? Or Should I start learning French? Do I fit in the category based draws?
These are the questions that reflect the true sense of lessons we learned from Express Entry 2025 draws.
Express Entry 2025 draws reflect that CRS Scores are just a big piece of the huge puzzle. Express Entry Canada is no longer the race for the highest scorer in the room. It is about being the right applicant at the right time.
Under this shift, adapting to these changes and reflecting your profile to it makes you the best applicant.
Ready for the next big move in 2026? Let’s talk.
TVG - Makes it Happen.