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By: Alex Nikotina
Published On: June 8, 2017Since its first introduction in 2015, Express Entry system has evolved significantly, becoming one of the main systems for the foreigners who would like to become Canadian permanents residents.
As of June 6, new changes were introduced to the Express Entry to ensure that more candidates are able to apply based on their skills, experiences and human capital factors.
An electronic, point-based system, Express Entry welcomes the candidates from the Economic Programs category: Federal Skilled Workers (FSW), Federal Skilled Trade (FST), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), as well as some candidates applying through Provincial Nominee programs. The system was created to mainstream, ease and speed-up the immigration process for qualified candidates.
“Express Entry was created to invite new immigrants that are likely to succeed and establish themselves in Canada, as well as to positively contribute to the Canadian economy,” –Nevena Djuricic, RCIC.
All the candidates enter the Express Entry pool, where they are ranked against each other based on their age, education, language proficiency, work experience in Canada, work experience outside of Canada, and a combination of those factors. They receive a Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) and are selected to apply by the Canadian government based on their CRS points, which are different during each round of invitations. Selected candidates receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Permanent Residency.
There are also several ways to make additional points, including an employment offer, provincial nomination, or post-secondary education in Canada.
As of June 6, 2017, several more ways to get additional points were introduced:
Another change that the candidates now see is not related to the CRS score, but to the Job Bank. Previously, registration with the Job Bank was mandatory for all Express Entry applicants without a job offer or a provincial nomination. As of June 6, registration with the Job Bank is optional for the candidates in the Express Entry pool.
We are still to see what effect the new June changes will have on the Express Entry pool. These updates are not reducing any points for the candidates in the pool, but have a potential to award additional points to the candidates. Even though the changes are not as drastic as the earlier improvements that were introduced to Express Entry, they still have a possibility to influence the minimum selection score for ITAs. Furthermore, as the Canadian government is gradually meeting the target number for 2017, the minimum scores may, in fact, increase.
So far, the most recent Express Entry Draw was 413, the lowest this year (apart from the May 26 selection of FST with a minimum CRS score of 199). The scores have been gradually dropping in early 2017 due to several factors, such as higher target number for immigrants in 2017 (as set by the Canadian government), decrease of paper-based applications (pending from before the introduction of Express Entry), and the November 2016 changes to the Express Entry CRS points and waiting times.
The information contained in this post is considered true and accurate as of the publication date. However, the accuracy of this information may be impacted by changes in circumstances that occur after the time of publication. Ashton College assumes no liability for any error or omissions in the information contained in this post or any other post in our blog.
