Invitations to Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination on the rise

According to new data from the Government of Canada, invitations issued to Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination for permanent residence are up this year.

Out of 62,500 Express Entry candidates invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence between January and September, 12 per cent had a provincial nomination.

During the same period in 2017, Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued to Express Entry candidates nominated by a Canadian province, stood at just over 9 per cent of all invitations issued.

Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) works to spread the benefits of immigration more evenly across Canada by allowing participating provinces and territories to nominate a set number of economic immigration candidates for permanent residence each year.

Every province and territory with an immigrant nominee program now has at least one immigration stream that is linked to the federal Express Entry system, which manages the pool of candidates for Canada’s 3 main economic immigration programs – The Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class, and the Canadian Experience Class.

The rising number of candidates in the Express Entry pool with a provincial nomination and the 600 points may be partly responsible for the increase that has been seen in the Express Entry minimum scores in 2018, which haven’t gone below 440.

If the trend continues, obtaining a provincial nomination may now be one of the best bets for receiving an ITA for Express Entry candidates with scores below 440.

Exponentially growing PNP

The increase in ITAs issued to provincial nominees reflects the growing importance of the PNP to the federal government’s overall immigration strategy.

Canada’s new multi-year immigration level plan has admissions through the PNP set to rise by 6,000 next year, to 61,000.

By 2021, these admissions are expected to reach 71,300 – an increase of nearly 30 per cent over 2018’s target of 55,000.

In its 2018 report to Parliament, IRCC noted that the PNP has grown ‘exponentially’ since its implementation in 1996 – from 233 admissions in 1996 to 49,724 in 2017.

Of the nearly 50,000 new permanent residents admitted through the PNP in 2017, 13,531 were Express Entry candidates and their family members. IRCC said this was an increase of 73 per cent over Express Entry admissions in 2016.

New Brunswick reopens its Express Entry Labour Market Stream

The province of New Brunswick has reopened its Express Entry Labour Market Stream under the New Brunswick’s Provincial Nominee Program (the NBPNP) on November 28 to eligible Express Entry candidates after closing it temporarily in September.

The Express Entry Labour Market stream allows province to nominate eligible candidates in the federal Express Entry system for Canadian permanent residence.

The federal Express Entry system manages the pool of candidates for Canada’s three major Federal High Skilled economic immigration programs:  the Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSW), Federal Skilled Trades Class (FST) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination from New Brunswick receive an additional 600 points toward their comprehensive ranking score, which effectively guarantees an invitation to apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence.

The New Brunswick’s Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) set five important criteria that Express Entry candidates must meet to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) during this latest opening and submissions that do not meet all five criteria will be rejected. These include:

·         The applicant must have an Express Entry profile and a valid Express Entry profile number and Job Seeker validation code;

·         The candidates should currently be living and working in New Brunswick, and needs to submit a letter of employment from the employer along with his/her EOI;

·         The National Occupational Classification code for their current job must be for an occupation rated NOC Level 0, A, or B, and this code must be included with the EOI;

·         The applicant must have valid language test scores (IELTS, CELPIP, or TEF Canada) equivalent to CLB 7 in all four language competencies and he/she must submit a copy of these test results with the EOI;

·         The candidates must have a valid Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) that attests to a minimum equivalent of a Canadian high school diploma.

The recent NBPNP’s update did not indicate work experience in a priority occupation, which was an important requirement in previous Express Entry openings.

The New Brunswick’s Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP) is one of Canada’s popular Provincial Nominee Programs, through which provinces nominate individuals for Canadian permanent residence.

Applicants must score at least 67 points under the Express Entry Labour Market Stream points grid to enter into the EOI pool of candidates.