Canada Revamps Express Entry: Canada’s Express Entry draw, which grants permanent residency to selected people, has resumed with much fanfare after a long hiatus. There were two draws in May 2024 and only one the following month. Since then, the lottery cycle has increased, as before. Canada’s Immigration Minister Marc Miller had said: as part of our efforts to help temporary residents transition to permanent residency, we will be conducting more national draws for ourselves and for the provinces.
We also ask that you do the same for territories covered by the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) on Wednesday, in terms of allocations. In other words, it was clear that the future focus would be on the PNP draw and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws, which are targeted at skilled workers who have work experience in Canada and wish to obtain permanent residence.
Canada Revamps Express Entry
Express Entry is the system used by the Canadian government to manage permanent residence (PR) applications from qualified professionals under three economic immigration programs. These are the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Occupation Program. Canada’s immigration agency, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), explains on its website the different types of draws that take place throughout the year.
- General invitation round: The top-ranked candidates in the pool who meet the requirements to take part in any of the three programs administered through Express Entry are invited.
- Program-specific invitation round: The top-ranked candidates who meet the requirements of a particular Express Entry program, such as PNP are invited.
- Category-based invitation round: The Minister designates a category for this invitation round in order to achieve a certain economic objective. Then, invitations are extended to the top-ranked applicants who fit this description, such as medical experts, health professionals.
CRS Score
In each draw, candidates are ranked relative to each other based on their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. Those who achieve the minimum score receive an invitation to apply and obtain permanent residence, which is similar to a US Green Card and provides a path to future Canadian citizenship. The CRS score is partitioned into two sections:
- The core score can reach a maximum of 600 points and is determined based on the candidate’s age, education, official language proficiency, work experience, etc.
- Secondly, candidates are given up to 600 points if they meet certain guidelines or other goals such as provincial recommendation, qualifying employment arrangement, Canadian educational qualification, French language proficiency, or having siblings in Canada.
How to Apply for Canada Revamps Express Entry?
- Candidates who receive an invitation to apply can decline it within 60 days or submit an online application for permanent residence to IRCC.
- After due process, the applicant and their accompanying family members become permanent residents.
- Immigration experts point out that the cut-off scores remain high (500 points or more) except for categorical draws, French language proficiency-based draws and work-related draws.
- Recently, IRCC also announced a pilot project to offer French-speaking students a direct path to permanent residence.
