Express Entry is Canada’s newest immigration program that was just launched in January of 2015, and now Canada’s provinces are taking up the popular program. Saskatchewan and British Columbia recently became the first provinces to use Express Entry.
The federal Express Entry program manages the applications for a number of existing economic immigration programs such as the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class.
Through the Express Entry Program, potential immigrants who meet the criteria of one of the above programs will be placed into a special pool of candidates, and the federal and provincial governments as well as Canadian employers will then select candidates from this pool.
Candidates with the highest scores in the pool will then be issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA). In order to be awarded a high score, candidates will be assessed based on the presence of a job offer and/or provincial nomination and their skills and experience, including factors that contribute to their success in Canada.
Provinces will be able to nominate a certain number of immigrants through the Express Entry program to meet their local needs. Provinces will also set the criteria that they will use to nominate these Express Entry candidates. Candidates may either choose to enter the pool first and then be nominated by a province or they can choose to be nominated by a province first and then complete an online Express Entry profile.
This past month, two provinces, British Colombia and Saskatchewan, started using the Express Entry Program for their provincial Nomination Programs (PNPs). The Express Entry program will now allow the province of British Colombia to nominate 1,350 more candidates for Canadian permanent residence than was the case in 2014. The program also allows additional candidates for Saskatchewan as 775 new spaces have been allocated.
These new spaces are particularly exciting as individuals now do not necessarily need a job offer in order to apply for Canadian permanent residence but rather can receive a provincial nomination or enter based on their skills and experience. All in all, this is welcome news for individuals looking at entering into Canada and ultimately become citizens.
FWCanada is a Montreal-based immigration law firm that provides professional legal services on Canadian immigration. For more tips and updates on Canadian immigration, follow FWCanada on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.
