Immigration News - Canada Express Entry draw limited to provincial nominees Share this article LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) November 30, 2016 IMPACT – MEDIUM What is the change? Canada conducted an Express Entry draw Wednesday, but limited its invitation to apply to provincial nominees only. A total of 559 invitations to apply were issued to provincial nominees with a minimum qualifying score of 786 points. What does the change mean? Because the draw only included individuals selected by provincial nominee programs, it is not an indicator of how new changes to the comprehensive ranking system will affect Express Entry candidates in coming months. Implementation time frame: Ongoing. Visas/permits affected: Permanent residency through Express Entry. Who is affected: Foreign nationals nominated under the Provincial Nominee Program. Business impact: This draw only affects provincial nominees, who earn 600 bonus points under the comprehensive ranking system. Express Entry Draws in 2016: Date Invitations Score Date Invitations Score Jan. 6 1,463 461 June 29 773 482 Jan. 13 1,518 453 July 13 747 482 Jan. 27 1,468 457 July 27 755 488 Feb. 10 1,505 459 Aug. 10 754 490 Feb. 24 1,484 453 Aug. 24 750 538 March 9 1,013 473 Sept. 7 1,000 491 March 23 1,014 470 Sept. 21 1,288 483 April 6 954 470 Oct. 12 1,518 484 April 20 1,018 468 Oct. 19 1,804 475 May 6 799 534 Nov. 2 2,080 472 May 18 763 484 Nov. 16 2,427 470 June 1 762 483 Nov. 30 559 (PNP nominees only) 786 June 15 752 488 Background: Canada recently made substantial changes its Express Entry scoring system. The changes benefit candidates who already hold employer-specific work permits that are exempt from a Labor Market Impact Assessment and have worked at least one year for that employer, as well as graduates of Canadian post-secondary educational institutions. Under the new system, 600 points are no longer awarded for LMIA-approved job offers. B·A·L Analysis: Today’s draw was highly anticipated as the first draw since new changes to the Express Entry scoring system took effect on Nov. 19. However, the invitations to apply in today’s draw were not based soley on human-capital factors and thus provide little insight into how the changes will affect Express Entry selections and minimum scores in the long term. This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Canada. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney. Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.