IRCC is on the way to maintain Express Entry commitment.
The immigration minister of Canada Sean Fraser said that IRCC is on the way to the standardized Express Entry draw in early July. The IRCC made the commitment in April and also promised to bring back the Express Entry service standard by six months when all programs start.
In December 2020, the IRCC suspended the ITA for permanent residence for candidates of the Federal Skilled Trade Program – (FSTP) and Federal Skilled Worker Program – (FSWP). IRCC also paused Express Entry draw for CEC (Canadian Experience Class) in September 2021.
Developments in recent Express Entry
Before the pandemic, IRCC thinks about all candidates in its semiweekly Express Entry draw. This means that IRCC will invite candidates with the highest Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores, irrespective of their schedule of eligibility.
Due to the pandemic, IRCC changed its approach for a short time. The pause in the draw of FSWP and FSTP was explained on the grounds that giving priority to immigration candidates of economic class in Canada makes an important sense, while the country had international travel restrictions. Last year IRCC gave priority to CEC candidates so that the country was able to complete its goal of immigrating 401,000 new permanent residents by the end of 2021.
However, its accompanying other developments resulted in a significant increase in the list of applications in IRCC. In order to keep its list under control and improve its express admission service standard, IRCC also decided to stop express admission invitations for CEC candidates in September 2021. Meanwhile, express admission invitations for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates are on hold throughout the pandemic.
Effect of all programs on Express Entry
A return to the all-program draw for FSWP, FSTP, and CEC candidates will be welcomed.
From its inception in 1967 until the start of the pandemic, the FSWP was the main route for economic class immigrants to Canada. Pre-pandemic, it accounted for about 45 percent of all people invited for permanent residency through express entry.
Research by World Education Services (WES), one of the IRCC-designated Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) providers, shows there remains a strong demand for FSWP candidates to proceed with the Canadian immigration process, caused by the pandemic.
In the meantime, the resumption of the draw for CEC candidates will help those living in Canada maintain their legal status to stay in the country.
After receiving an ITA by IRCC candidates are able to submit their application for permanent residency and they can apply for a BOWP (Bridging Open Work Permit) as well. BOWP enables them to maintain their legal status in Canada while their permanent residency is being processed.
CEC candidates have not been able to benefit from BOWP in the absence of ITA since September 2021. Recognizing this, the IRCC also announced in April that it would be offering an open work permit extension for the core group of CEC candidates, effective this summer. This group is the ones that have recently seen or are set to soon expire, their Postgraduate Work Permit (PGWP). There is no word yet on when IRCC will start accepting open work permit applications for these individuals.
Work of Express Entry
Introduced in 2015, Express Entry is an application management system for FSWP, a part of FSTP, CEC, and PNP.
Qualified candidates have to upload their profiles on the website of IRCC. Then they will be awarded a score which is based on their human capital factors like their education, age, work experience, and language skills. When the all-program resumes, the IRCC is expected to invite those with the highest CRS scores to apply for permanent residency, as was the norm before the pandemic.
Looking ahead, the IRCC is proposing a major change to Express Entry that would give the Department the Ministerial Directive Authority to issue ITAs to certain groups that it believes would do well to support Canada’s diverse economic needs. will be deployed.
The minister explained the rationale for this proposal, explaining on the Collision’s forum, “If we can introduce the necessary skills in the next 20 to 30 years, we can bring in people who can run on the ground and have a huge economic impact.” can put.”
However, the Minister stated in his interview with the media that the proposal is still under review in the Parliament and Senate of Canada, and therefore, he is not in a position to provide a time frame at this time that the IRCC will take this new approach.
