Ontario issues first Express Entry-linked invitations of 2020

Ontario issued its first Express Entry-linked invitations of the new year on Friday, inviting 242 candidates to apply for a nomination for Canadian permanent residence through its French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream.

The stream is one of three Ontario immigration pathways that are aligned with the Express Entry system, which is Canada's main source of skilled foreign workers.

Express Entry manages the pool of eligible candidates for Canada's three federal high-skilled immigration programs — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class and Canadian Experience Class.

Candidates in the Express Entry pool are ranked based on a score awarded under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which considers factors such as age, education, skilled work experience and proficiency in English or French.

The Government of Canada invites a set number of the highest-scoring candidates to apply for Canadian permanent residence through regular draws from the Express Entry pool.

A provincial nomination results in an additional 600 CRS points, raising the recipient's score well above the typical score threshold for Express Entry draws and effectively guaranteeing an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

About the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream

Ontario's French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream allows the province's immigrant nominee program, the OINP, to search the Express Entry pool for candidates who meet the stream's eligibility requirements.

Among other requirements, candidates must be able to understand, read, write and speak French at a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 or higher. They must also be able to understand, read, write and speak English at CLB level 6 or higher.

The OINP said the 242 Express Entry candidates who were issued a Notification of Interest (NOI) in the January 9 draw also had Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores ranging from 433 to 472.

The high end of this score range is one point lower than the minimum score of 473 in the latest Express Entry draw conducted January 8.

With a provincial nomination, however, their scores would jump by 600 points and they would receive an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence in a subsequent draw from the Express Entry pool.

In order to be considered for a nomination through Ontario's French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream, the first step is to find out if you are eligible for the Express Entry pool.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs