On November 10, 2016, the Government of Canada announced that it would be changing how points are calculated in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (“IRCC“) Express Entry program.
The most significant change is that having a qualifying offer of arranged employment that is supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (“LMIA“) will no longer guarantee an Invitation to Apply (an “ITA“) for permanent residency.
However, foreign nationals who completed post-secondary education in Canada, as well as certain closed work permit holders in the International Mobility Program, will benefit.
The changes will take effect on effect on November 19, 2016.
Overview of the Current Comprehensive Ranking system
Under Express Entry, a potential applicant to one of Canada’s three main economic immigration programs must complete an online Express Entry profile where they provide information about their skills, work experience, language ability, education, and other details. That individual is then entered into a pool of Express Entry candidates where they are given a score out of 1200 using a Comprehensive Ranking System (“CRS“) based on the information that they provided when creating their Express Entry profile.
Under IRCC’s current CRS, an individual gets 600 points if they have an offer of full-time employment that is either supported by a provincial nomination certificate or by a LMIA. Since Express Entry was launched in January 2015, anyone who possessed a work permit that was supported by a provincial nomination certificate and/or a LMIA met the minimum points threshold because of these 600 points, and was guaranteed an ITA.
This will no longer be the case.
Provincial Nomination Points as of November 19, 2016
As of November 19, 2016, individuals who are nominated by provincial nomination programs in their respective Express Entry programs will continue to receive 600 points.
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