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.

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