Express Entry is simply the name of Canada’s online system used to cumulatively manage skilled worker applications from three different programs — the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the Federal Skilled Trades Program ( FSTP). Express Entry is also Canada’s primary method of attracting international skilled workers to this country through permanent residency. Get a free Express Entry assessment Therefore, it is important to share the proposed changes expected to be implemented with Express Entry in Q1 2023.
How is Express Entry changing?
As the country struggles to better address the specific labor shortages and needs of the Canadian economy, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has shared its intention to begin conducting targeted Express Entry draws starting in 2023. These Express Entry draws, made possible by the recently passed Bill C-19, will purposefully target applicants based on their occupation, language and/or education to find Canadian Permanent Residency (PR) candidates who help better for Canada to grow and prosper. According to Immigration Minister Sean Fraser, the current lotteries for all Express Entry programs do not adequately help Canada attract foreign nationals who are better aligned with the skills and qualifications most needed in the country. Undecided at the time of writing about the specific categories of professional, language or educational credentials it will use to inform the structure of these new draws, IRCC says it will “consult a wide range of stakeholders to inform the new categories in Express Entry ” to finally decide on the details of the new format.
What does this mean?
For now, IRCC will continue to conduct Express Entry draws as usual. Once approximately every two weeks, a dynamic number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for Canadian PRs will be given to applicants who applied through any of the three Express Entry programs — CEC, FSWP and/or FSTP — based on scores CRS. CRS scores have long been Canada’s primary driver for selecting Express Entry candidates. These scores are currently used to rank applicants for immigration to Canada based on a number of factors — including but not limited to age, official language proficiency and Canadian work experience — and ITAs are sent accordingly. As early as the first quarter of 2023, however, the Express Entry system will move away from focusing on CRS scores and holding lotteries that allow Canada to welcome immigrants that help the country better focus on addressing specific areas of labor market needs and weaknesses . The ultimate goal of these targeted draws is to strengthen Canada’s labor market and hopefully “see a potential increase in retention rates [amongst people who settle in specific communities] because people come where they know they have opportunities because that was the basis of their invitation to apply,” according to Minister Fraser. Get a free Express Entry assessment © CIC News All rights reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.
