The second article in a series of three on Canada’s Express Entry system, written by Miho and Matthew of Canada Immigration Partners (Vancouver).
Express Entry – Reviewing The Scoring System
In the second part of our three-part series on Canada’s new Express Entry system, we look at what you need to succeed. We examine the Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) system and discuss the advantages of a validated Canadian job offer showing you how you can be ranked at the top of the pile.
Also in this part we provide analysis on the draws thus far and our opinions on how low we could see the Express Entry cut off score go in 2015.
Why Express Entry?
The purpose of Express Entry is to select immigrants who demonstrate desirable characteristics such as language, recognized credentials and specific skills sets, which are known to be beneficial for the settlement and integration of new immigrants and for effective contribution to the Canadian economy. As a result of Express Entry’s active selection, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is able to control applications for permanent residency allowing for faster processing times. CIC claims that 80% of applications will be processed in six months or less.
Your first point of consideration for Express Entry will be whether or not you qualify under a Federal Immigration category. If yes, then your next step is to assess if you have a competitive CRS score, the optimization of your CRS score and whether you have a Canadian job offer. This could mean the difference of being selected and not being selected.
Your “core human capital” score is calculated based on your age, education, language and work experience. The maximum score for this section is 600 points.
You can double your score if you have a ‘validated job offer’ in the form of a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or Provincial Nomination (PN), giving you an additional 600 points. The former means a Province has nominated you because of the skills you can bring to Canada, and the latter means that your new Canadian employer has proven that there is a genuine labour shortage and that a Canadian citizen cannot be found to fill the position.
In theory, with a validated job offer, the maximum anyone can receive is 1200 points with a perfect CRS score. To-date, the lowest score required to receive an Invitation to Apply has been 453 points out of a possible 1200 points.
Reviewing The Requirements
You will need to provide information about your marital status (single, married or common-law) as well as any dependents you might have (children). You will also be asked about your education and work experience as well as your language skills. Canada has two official languages: English and French, so speaking one or both of these will give you a higher score.
When it comes to immigration, one of the Government’s main concerns is to ensure that its citizens are not losing employment opportunities to foreign workers. By having a LMIA or Provincial Nomination with your application you are showing the need for your immigration, as it will benefit the Canadian economy.
The Lower the Score, the Higher the Invitations
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has set the 2015 target for economic class immigration at 185,000 applicants. Accounting for family members, a conservative estimate is that 90,000 to 100,000 people will need to receive an Invitation To Apply in 2015 in order for the Federal Government to reach its targets. This means as the year progresses and they still have tens of thousands of invitations to submit, the cut off score must decrease in order to allow for these invitations to be processed.
This is what we have been seeing month-over-month. At the beginning of the program, the cut off CRS was over 900 points, yet less than 800 invitations were sent out. And the more draws they went through, the lower the score (on average). We have also seen that as the score decreased (as low as 453 points), more invitations were submitted (over 1600).
What Does This Mean For New Applications?
It means as we near the fall and winter, we are likely to continue to see the CRS decrease as an overall trend, though by smaller increments and we may even see the CRS go below 400. As a result, we will likely see the number of invitations continue to increase, enabling the government to meet their annual quota.
Although the CRS score requirement is trending down, you still need to ensure you have the highest score possible. Because this is a ‘pool’ system, like a lottery, you still want to make sure you have a high score, as you don’t know what the cut off score will be.
Remember To Be Honest!
The Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) is there to rank all the different applicants based on several criteria. The higher your score the better your chances of receiving an ‘Invitation To Apply’ for residency in Canada.
If you receive an ‘Invitation To Apply’, then it is your duty to submit proof of all the information you’ve claimed on your online application, as well as other documentation. Should it become evident that you have embellished or misrepresented your skills, experience or education you could receive a 5 year ban from applying to be a permanent resident in Canada. But be warned, the reality is once the government knows you’ve misrepresented yourself, it is very difficult to have a successful application.
So, the most important thing to take away is that your Express Entry online application needs to be entirely truthful and accurate otherwise you will come into some issues down the road.
Do I Qualify?
In the last six months we have received inquiries from people around the world wondering if they have what it takes to submit an Express Entry online application. The reality is Express Entry is not for everyone. There is a way to determine if you are eligible for Express Entry and if it’s an option for you, or if you should pursue other immigration avenues.
You can take our free online assessment to determine if your score will place you high enough in the pool of applicants, or if you should consider other options. Alternatively, you can always call us to schedule a one-on-one consultation and either Miho or Matthew of Canada Immigration Partners can assess your eligibility for Express Entry and immigration to Canada.
More Information / Contact
Click here to see how Miho and Matthew of Canada Immigration Partners can help you.
– Written by Miho and Matthew of Canada Immigration Partners, for the Working In Blog