CANADA – Express Entry Program to Launch on January 1st, 2015
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has recently released more details on its new Express Entry program, which is a new online system that handles applications under four economic immigration programs: Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST), and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Under the new program, applicants must first create a detailed online profile, which requires both an Educational Credential Assessment and a language test. These requirements may take a significant amount of time to complete. The profile will then be scored based on “core human capital” factors. Those who meet the criteria of one of the four economic immigration programs will then move into a pool of candidates. Please note that entry into the pool does not guarantee that an invitation to apply for permanent residence will be granted.
Applicants who have made it to this pool with again be given a score of up to 1,200 based on four “core human capital” factors: skills and experiences, spousal information, skill transferability factors, and a qualifying job offer or provincial or territorial nomination. Only those with the highest scores will be drawn from the pool and be granted an invitation to apply for permanent residence. Applicants can expect these draws to be made on a regular basis, with the first happening in January 2015. Upon receiving invitation to apply for permanent residence, candidates have only 60 days to submit their application for permanent residence. Applicants should receive a decision on their application within six months of its submission, which is an improvement from the current wait times of a year or longer.
It is important to note that having a valid Labor Market Impact Assessment-based work permit, an offer of permanent employment supported by an LMIA, or a nomination certificate from a provincial or territorial government will most likely have enough points to receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence. Candidates who do not have any of the former will be required to register with the Canadian Job Bank within 30 days of creating their Express Entry profile, which will allow them to both view available jobs in Canada and promote themselves to employers and recruiters in Canada. Later in the year, the Job Bank will match candidates from the Express Entry program with eligible employers who have not found a Canadian or permanent resident to fill their position.
Foreign nationals may begin applying on January 1st, 2015 at 12 PM EST. All candidates who wish to apply for permanent residence under one of these four economic immigration programs must use the Express Entry program. Lastly, please note that any permanent residence applications filed before the implementation of the Express Entry program will be processed according to the rules at the time of submission.
To see CIC’s update and/or to sign up for Express Entry email updates, click here.