Canada invites 919 PNP candidates to apply for Express Entry
Immigration Minister Sean Fraser has hinted at a PGWP work permit renewal
On March 30, Canada welcomed 919 Express Entry applicants to apply for citizenship.
In the current invitation round, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) solely invited individuals from the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). Candidates needed a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) of at least 785 to be invited. Because PNP candidates got an automatic 600 point boost when they obtain their nomination, the minimum score was relatively high. The lowest-scoring nominees would have received 185 base points if they had not been nominated.
Candidates who have been invited to apply for permanent residency in Canada now have 60 days to do so.
IRCC invited a total of 924 PNP individuals to apply for Canadian immigration in the previous round of invitations.
Minister alluded to a possible expansion of the PGWP or a similar provision.
On March 24, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser appeared before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration to answer questions about the current state of the immigration system.
Fraser, when asked when the draws for Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates would restart, said there was no set date. Since September 2021, Express Entry drawings for CEC applicants have been halted. As a result, potential CEC candidates in Canada have been unable to apply, and some are on the verge of losing their work permits. These temporary employees, who frequently have a non-extendable Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), will be unable to obtain a Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) and extend their stay without an Express Entry draw. Instead, they may have to apply for a work permit backed by the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), abandon their positions, or possibly leave Canada.
IRCC has made no public announcements to date to prevent otherwise qualifying CEC or Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) candidates’ status from expiring. Fraser, on the other hand, indicated that PGWPs may be expanded or replaced with a comparable approach.
“It is my aim to do everything I can to allow people to stay,” Fraser said during the committee meeting. “It is my purpose to do everything I can to allow them to stay by prolonging post-graduate work permits or some other proxy that will achieve the same result and may be as effective.”
“We need to finish a little bit of policy formation before we can roll out the kinds of changes I’m talking about, but our aim is to allow those who are here operating to stay and continue working until they have a chance to achieve the PR process, whether it’s through a federal skilled worker or CEC draw,” says the official.
Since December 2020, no FSWP candidates have been asked to apply. Since then, there has been no indication about when FSWP candidate draws will resume, save in public records obtained through access to information requests.
In 2021, the IRCC’s goal of admitting as many in-Canada candidates as possible resulted in a massive backlog in the FSWP. With the existing inventory, IRCC predicts that processing some FSWP applications could take up to 36 months. IRCC has kept the halt on Express Entry draws for FSWP candidates in order to get the processing time back to the six-month standard. According to internal briefing documents, clearing the backlogs will require the first six months of 2022. Drawings are expected to resume in the spring, according to Fraser.
What is Express Entry, and how does it work?
The Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program are all part of the Express Entry application management system. In the Express Entry pool, PNP candidates have already qualified for one of these programmes.
Express Entry ranks candidates’ profiles using a points-based mechanism known as the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Candidates with the highest scores receive an Invitation to Seek (ITA), which they can use to apply for permanent residency.
After a candidate submits an application, an IRCC officer reviews it and makes a decision. The officer will seek biometrics and may schedule an interview or require additional paperwork.
IRCC issues a Confirmation of Permanent Residence if the application is approved (COPR). Permanent residents who have been approved can then finish the landing process. If they are outside of Canada, they can take advantage of pre-arrival services to assist them in taking the first steps toward settling in.
Who was invited?
The following is an example of someone who might have been selected in the new Express Entry draw.
Anh is 32 years old, has a master’s degree, and has spent the last five years working as a software developer. She took the IELTS and received an 8 in each section. Anh has never lived in Canada and has never performed or studied there. With a score of 462, she entered the Express Entry pool as a Federal Skilled Worker. Anh’s CRS score increased to 1062 when she received a provincial nomination from Ontario. She was then selected for the new Express Entry draw and received an ITA.