The Future of Express Entry

A recent internal IRCC memo revealed that there won't be any Express Entry invitations for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST) or Canadian Experience Class (CEC) for the first half of 2022, at least. One of the reasons is that IRCC wants to tackle their backlog of applications which doubled amid their strategy to focus on providing permanent residence to candidates in Canada (e.g. the TR to PR pathway). Data from December 2021 revealed a backlog of more than 1.8 million applications in the queue.

Currently, only provincial nominees are invited to apply under Express Entry. With FSW and FST on hold since the beginning of the pandemic and the last CEC draw in September 2021, there are now close to 200,000 candidates in the Express Entry pool. These numbers suggest that minimum scores for invitations could rise well above 500 points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), once invitations restart for the three regular streams.

Since the internal memo first become public, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced that “we do need to resume, in the near future, draws for federal skilled workers”. He also stated that he was looking to add more flexibility under the Express Entry system, such as responding to short-term needs of high demand sectors or inviting newcomers into smaller communities. While there is not set date, Minister Fraser hinted that regular Express Entry draws will resume in the near term. It is expected that the Express Entry system will return to normal in the coming years.

Express Entry is an electronic system that manages immigration applications for its three regular programs as well as a portion of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP). The three regular Express Entry streams are the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST). 

Skilled workers are chosen based on their skills and ability to contribute to Canada’s economy, in other words, human capital factors. These factors include age, education, work experience and language skills, and are quantified using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). This points-based system is used to assess and score the candidates' profiles and rank them in the Express Entry pool. During every round of invitations, only the candidates with the highest scores are invited to apply for permanent residence in Canada. 

If Express Entry was your chosen pathway to come to Canada this year, contact us to see which other options may be available to you.

Popular posts from this blog

How Express Entry works

Image
The Express Entry online system is used to manage applications for Permanent Residence under three separate programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program Federal Skilled Trades Program Canadian Experience Class Each program has its own eligibility criteria. Candidates need to meet all requirements for at least one program to apply under Express Entry, and can't mix and match criteria from different programs. The following table shows the eligbility requirements for each of the three programs: Eligibility Criteria Canadian Experience Class Federal Skilled Worker Program Federal Skilled Trades Program Language skills English or French skills CLB 7 for TEER 0 or TEER 1 occupations CLB 5 for TEER 2 or TEER 3 occupations English or French skills CLB 7 English or French skills CLB 5 for speaking and listening CLB 4 for reading and writing Type/Level of work experience Canadian work experience in an occupation
Read more

What's a CLB?

Image
In most cases, applicants for permanent residence in Canada need to prove their language skills in English or French. To do so, they must take an approved language test. There are five language tests accepted for immigration to Canada; three for English and two for French: •   Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program ( CELPIP) •   International English Language Testing System ( IELTS) •   Pearson Test of English ( PTE)  •   Test de connaissance du français ( TCF) •   Test d’évaluation de français ( TEF) IRCC will use the test results as proof of an applicant's language skills. In order to be valid, test results must be less than two years old at the time of application for permanent residence. There are provisions if a candidate cannot complete one or more sections of the language test because of a disability. The Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) (or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien (NCLC) for French) was created to assess language skills of permanent residen
Read more

Updated Settlement Funds for Express Entry

Image
Settlement funds required to immigrate to Canada increase as of May 28, 2024. These numbers are updated every year, based on 50% of the low income cut-off totals. The table below shows how much money you need to settle in Canada. If you are invited to apply for permanent residence under the Express Entry system, written proof is required that these funds are readily available to you.  Number of family members Funds required (CAD) 1    $ 14,690 2    $ 18,288 3    $ 22,483 4    $ 27,297 5    $ 30,690 6    $ 34,917 7    $ 38,875 For each additional family member    $ 3,958 Family Size The minimum settlement funds required depends on the size of your family that you support. To determine your family size, you must count: yourself, your spouse or common-law partner, your dependent children, and your spouse or common-law partner's dependent children. You must includ
Read more