Canada to Resume Express Entry Draws

Canada’s immigration minister Sean Fraser recently announced that Express Entry invitations to the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates will resume by “early July.” This is the long-anticipated news for those waiting to get that golden invitation to come to Canada.

?? Minister Sean Fraser made several other major announcements, such as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will be offering an open work permit extension of up to 18 months to Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) holders.

Some of the key statements made were:

?? Express Entry invitations to FSWP, CEC, and FSTP candidates will resume in early July.

?? The vast majority of new Express Entry applications will be processed within the six-month service standard.

?? Applicants who also apply for an open work permit while they wait for their permanent residence application to be processed will be able to get work permits that are valid until the end of 2024.

?? To support family reunification, the immediate family members included in a principal applicant’s permanent residence application, who are outside of Canada, will be eligible to get their own open work permit.

?? Applicants will no longer be required to remain in Canada while their applications are being processed.

Speaking of draw resumption, the draws for provincial nominee candidates continue with the most recent on April 27, where 829 PNP candidates received invitations to apply for permanent residence in Canada.

All invited candidates had previously received a nomination from a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) and had a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) of at least 772. Without the nomination, the lowest-scoring candidates would have had 172 base points. In the previous invitation round, IRCC invited 787 PNP candidates with scores of at least 782.

Now, here is an update on some recent immigration draws:

MANITOBA

The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) invited 303 candidates to apply on April 21. The invitations were divided across three immigration streams:

• Skilled Workers in Manitoba — 201 invitations with a minimum score of 707;
• Skilled Workers Overseas — 61 invitations with a minimum score of 708; and
• International Education Stream — 41 invitations with no score requirement.

Out of all who were invited to apply, 46 had profiles in the Express Entry system.?

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND

The Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP) invited a total of 141 immigration candidates last week, on April 21.

• Express Entry and Labour Impact candidates received the most invitations, with a combined total of 130. The remaining 11 invitations went to Business Impact candidates who had provincial scores of at least 62 points.

PEI holds about one draw per month and releases its schedule for the year in advance.

ALBERTA

Alberta announced that the province issued 250 NOIs to apply for Provincial Nomination! ????????

Alberta PNP is popular for inviting Express Entry candidates with low CRS scores through its Express Entry linked stream, and this draw was no exception: Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score requirement was relatively low at just 356 CRS points.

After this latest invitation round, Alberta's PNP has now issued a total of 1,950 NOIs to the Express Entry candidates in 2022, in total 6 AINP draws opened this year!

BRITISH COLOMBIA

On April 26, BC PNP (British Columbia PNP) Draw invited 148 applicants to apply for PR as the province held four (4) draws under the Skills Immigration (SI) and Express Entry BC (EEBC) programs, for targeted Tech, Healthcare and Education related, occupation.

• The first draw invited candidates from selected categories: SI – Skilled Worker, EEBC – Skilled Worker, SI – International Graduate, EEBC – International Graduate, resulting in 112 invitations with a minimum score of 85. For the list of selected Targeted Tech occupations, check the B.C. website.
• Another draw invited candidates from selected categories: SI – Skilled Worker, EEBC – Skilled Worker, SI – International Graduate, EEBC – International Graduate, & SI – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled, resulting in 8 invitations with a minimum score of 65.
• A third draw invited candidates from selected categories: SI – Skilled Worker, EEBC – Skilled Worker, SI – International Graduate, EEBC – International Graduate, resulting in 23 invitations with the same minimum score of 65.
• Finally, another draw invited candidates from selected categories: SI – Skilled Worker, EEBC – Skilled Worker, SI – International Graduate, EEBC – International Graduate, resulting in 5 invitations with the same minimum score of 65.

This is not the first time BC holds a draw targeting specific occupational profiles.

How excited are you for Canada's resumption of FSWP and CEC draws?!

About Kay Wilson

Kay is a Canadian Immigration Consultant and Foreign Worker Recruiter who helps people from over 30 different countries live, work, and study in Canada. She is a licensed member in good standing with the?College of Citizenship and Immigration Consultants (CICC)?and the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants.

Find out your options for moving to Canada and the best route possible for you by completing our?pre-assessment. Schedule a one of one?virtual consultation?meeting with Kay for personalized guidance and support with your immigration process.