Canada set a new record for an invitation to participate on Wednesday in a draw with the lowest minimum score of 2018.

The December 19 latest express entry draw sent out 3,900 invitations to apply for permanent residence in Canada for express-entry candidates with scores as low as 439. which breaks the record of the total number of invitations sent in a single year.

Express Entry manages the pool of candidates for Canada’s three highly skilled federal economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Category and the Canadian Experience Class.

The previous record was established last year 2017, with a total of invitations issued of 86,023 ITA. In 2018, IRCC set a new record for invitations sent to 89,800 ITA. The Canadian government established this invitation at 74,900 ITA, but exceeded their expectations and the invitations sent this year were 6,500 more than the target set.

Eligible applicants receive a Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) rating based on factors such as age, education, work experience, and proficiency in English or French. This score determines your position in the Express Entry group and a fixed number of top ranked candidates receive invitations to request, or ITAs, through normal draws.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizens of Canada (IRCC) used its tie-breaking rule in the December 19 draw. The time stamp was used on February 6, 2018 at 7:31:37 UTC. This means that all candidates with a CRS score of more than 439, who entered their profile in the Quick Entry group before February 6, 2018 at 19:31:37 UTC, received an ITA with this invitation.

The 3,900 ITA raffles today total 2018 to 89,800, the highest number of ITAs issued in a single year by the Express Entry system. The previous record was established in 2017, when the IRCC issued 86,023 ITA.