Immigration, Refugees, Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has implemented significant changes to the Express Entry Selection System which is a very famous program for applying for Immigration To Canada. They have shared important information related to it by going over the past trends and predicting the future of the program after the new changes have been made.
After reviewing the first year of Express Entry being in operation, IRCC revealed that 16 percent of all invited candidates belonged from occupations such as cooks or food service supervisors. This was mainly because during that time a job offer was weighted heavily under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The latest amendments made to job offers under the CRS, however, are targeted towards allowing a more fair spread of occupations among candidates invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
These new amendments were announced during the 24th Annual Immigration Law Summit and have been outlined below. Among the information shared at the Summit, it was revealed that in the year 2016, approximately one quarter of all the candidates received an Invitation to Apply (ITA). This was followed by some more good news for all the potential candidates thinking of Applying for Canadian immigration in 2017, as IRCC plans to issue even more ITA’s as compared to the year 2016. They will do so by giving more weight to human capital, skills and experience.
Amendments made to Job Offers
A job offer isn’t one of the primary requirements in order to enter the Express Entry Pool or to receive an ITA.
Until November 19, 2016, 600 CRS points were allotted to candidates with a qualifying job offer which was supported by a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LIMIA). However, ever since the new improvements were revealed on November 19th, many changes have been enforced to the qualifying job offer factors, which have been listed below:
- A qualifying job offer will now be worth 200 points if the offer is in an occupation contained in a Major Group 00 of the National Occupational Classification.
- 50 points will be awarded for a job offer in any other skilled position.
- Some non-LIMIA-based job offers, such as workers in Canada on a NAFTA work permit or as an Intra –Company transferee, will now be awarded points for the first time. This is only applicable for those workers who have worked in Canada for one year at least and had received the job offer by the same employer named on the work permit.
- The job offer duration has also been changed from ‘indeterminate’ to at least one year in duration.
During the presentation at the Immigration Law Summit, a ‘snapshot’ from the pool as of October 3, 2016 was shared by an IRCC representative. According to this snapshot, around two-thirds (66 percent) of candidates with qualifying job offers had claimed core CRS points of 300 or less. As a result, a larger number of job offer candidates had core CRS scores that placed them among the bottom 7 percent of candidates in the distribution, even though these candidates were well positioned to receive an ITA.
Consequently, IRCC plans to, “balance the Comprehensive Ranking System to put greater weight on human capital, skills and experience.” The CRS has been changed to ‘better reflect the empirical value of arranged employment,’ with the expected result that:
- Candidates with high levels of human capital will now be granted a greater share in ITA’s which will enhance immigrant economic outcomes and enable employers to fill high-skilled job openings.
- Fewer candidates will now be invited with offers of arranged employment in low wage occupations.
- Even though a job offer will no longer guarantee an ITA, it will significantly increase the chances of being invited to apply.
Changes to happen to the CRS threshold
Despite a steep reduction in the number of CRS points to be awarded for a job offer, there has been an increase in the number of candidates who may be in a position to claim these points. This is due to the fact that there have been relaxations in the requirements for job offers, such as the inclusion of candidates holding an employer specific work permit in Canada.
Thus, we may see a temporary rise in the CRS cut-off points in the first few draws to take place after the implementation of these changes, as more candidates with job offers will claim additional points. However, IRCC expects a fall in the CRS cut-off point after this group of candidates has left the pool. The prediction is that candidates without a job offer are likely to have a better chance of receiving an ITA and it should be seriously noted by the Stakeholders. From January to September, 2016, 35 percent of ITAs were issued to candidates without a job offer or provincial nomination; IRCC expects this figure to increase over time.
Additional points to be allotted to students and graduates
There is good news for all the students who have completed their education from a Canadian Institution as the IRCC has decided to increase the number of international students to receive an ITA and also to provide an additional incentive for foreign nationals to study in Canada. In the past, these students could not avail any additional points for being a graduate from a Canadian University. However, after these latest developments, they will now be awarded up to 30 additional points.
Canada’s Minister of Immigration, John McCallum, said that “International students have been shortchanged by the Express Entry system. They are the cream of the crop, in terms of potential future Canadians.” As a result of these changes, IRCC expects that former international students will make up closer to 40 percent of all invited candidates in future draws from the pool.
Changes implemented to the Provincial Nominee Programs
According to the 2015 year-end report on the Express Entry Program released by IRCC, around 13 percent of the candidates issued ITA’s last year had obtained a provincial nomination certificate through one of the many Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) that contain a category in alignment with Express Entry.
However, in the first nine months of 2016, there was an increase in the percentage of candidates invited to apply having obtained a provincial nominee certificate to 23%. This was an indication of the significance of these programs.
According to the Immigration Plan for the year 2017 released by the IRCC, the government of Canada plans to welcome approximately 51,000 new immigrants through the various different Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), aiming for a 7% increase compared to the target set for 2016.
To read more about the additional points to be granted to graduates of Canadian universities and changes implemented to the PNP programs, read our previously publish article.
For more information on Immigration to Canada from Pakistan, please visit our website Lalani & Associates.
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