The end-of-year rush on Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Express Entry nominations being issued continues, with Saskatchewan having announced on December 16, 2015 that, effective immediately, 500 additional applications will be accepted under the ‘International Skilled Worker – Express Entry’ sub-category of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP).

Saskatchewan also announced a corresponding increase to the year’s application quota for this sub-category, from 2,500 to 3,000.

As this is an enhanced immigration stream, a successful nomination will result in applicants being awarded 600 points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) and receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) at a subsequent draw from the Express Entry pool.

The latest SINP announcement marks the second time this month, and fourth time this year, that the International Skilled Worker – Express Entry sub-category has opened. Each time this sub-category has opened it has also filled quickly. The previous intake period lasted just four days, and the current application intake is also expected to be filled quickly.

This sub-category is limited to candidates in the Express Entry pool who, in addition to meeting the requirements of a federal immigration program (Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class or Canadian Experience Class), must also satisfy the requirements of the SINP International Skilled Worker Express Entry sub category. This includes obtaining 60 points on Saskatchewan’s point assessment grid. 

In addition, candidates must:

• demonstrate proficiency in either English or French; and
• have completed a minimum of one year of post-secondary education or training that has resulted in a degree, diploma, certificate, or a certificate equivalent to a trade certificate and which is comparable to the Canadian education system, as verified by an Educational Credential Assessment.

A potential candidate must also demonstrate a minimum level of work experience related to his or her field of education or training. This work experience may be either:

• at least one year of work experience in the past 10 years in a skilled profession (non-trades); or
• at least two years of work experience in a skilled trade in the past five years; or
• at least one year of skilled work experience in Canada in the past three years (trades and non-trades). This work experience must be in a high skilled occupation (NOC “0”, “A” or “B”) that is considered to be in-demand in Saskatchewan.

A complete list of in-demand occupations can be found at the end of this article.

The application process

Candidates eligible for and interested in applying to the Saskatchewan Express Entry sub-category should follow these steps:

1. Submit an online profile on CIC’s Express Entry immigration selection system and get accepted into the Express Entry pool.
2. Apply to the SINP for provincial nomination. Documents and all forms need to be attached to the SINP application. If approved for a nomination, the SINP will enter the details of the nomination into CIC’s Express Entry system and send a nomination letter to the candidate explaining the next steps.
3. After the SINP enters the nomination information into a candidate’s Express Entry profile, he or she will be awarded an additional 600 points for a nomination under the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System  and receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence at a subsequent draw from the pool. From the moment a candidate receives an invitation to apply for permanent residence, he or she will have 60 days to submit an application for permanent residence.

End-of-year PNP rush

At the 23^rd Annual Immigration Law Summit held in November in Toronto, Ontario, a spokesperson for Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) stated that an increase in the CRS point requirement in order for candidates to receive an ITA was largely due to the fact that many provinces did not open their Express Entry Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams, through which successful candidates may obtain an additional 600 CRS points, until months after the system was launched. As a result, there has been a rush of PNP certificates being issued to proactive candidates in the Express Entry pool.

Another example of the end of year PNP Express Entry rush is Ontario. On November 24^th Ontario announced that as a result of a glitch, candidates who were eligible for the Ontario Immigration Nominee Program (OINP) Express Entry streams should re-submit their Express Entry profiles in order to be visible to the province. Since then, Ontario has quickly invited some of these candidates to apply under its Express Entry PNP streams.

Both the SINP and OINP only issue nominations or notifications of interest to candidates who have a profile in the Express Entry pool.

To find out if you are eligible for any of over 60 Canadian immigration programs, including the federal economic programs that are processed under Express Entry and the various PNPs, please fill out a free online assessment today.

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In-Demand occupations for the SINP ‘International Skilled Worker – Express Entry’ sub-category:

*Mandatory (compulsory) certification or licensing is required for certain occupations.

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