Alberta invites Express Entry candidates with CRS scores of 300

Alberta held its fourth Express Entry draw of 2020 on February 20, inviting immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination for Canadian permanent residence.

The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) invited a total of 150 Express Entry candidates with Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores as low as 300.

Immigration candidates do not necessarily need to have job offers in the province to be invited to apply for a provincial nomination through the Alberta Express Entry Stream. However, they do need to have profiles in the federal Express Entry system.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs

Express Entry manages applications for three of Canada’s main economic class immigration programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, and Canadian Experience Class.

Candidates who are eligible for Express Entry are ranked on human capital factors such as work experience, education, official language proficiency, and age. They are then given a CRS score.

The highest-scoring candidates are selected to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence in regular Express Entry draws.

Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination from Alberta receive an automatic 600 additional CRS points toward their overall score.

The additional points effectively guarantee that they will receive an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence. If a candidate in the Express Entry pool with 300 CRS points obtains a provincial nomination their new CRS score will be 900, which is more than enough to qualify for an ITA in a subsequent Express Entry draw.

In order to receive an ITA in the latest federal Express Entry draw, candidates needed a CRS score of 471.

Eligibility for the Alberta Express Entry Stream

Express Entry candidates need to be working in an occupation that supports Alberta’s “economic development and diversification priorities” in order to be eligible for an invitation through the AINP stream.

The AINP does not provide a list of eligible occupations.

While it is not necessary to have a job offer in Alberta for this stream, the AINP says it may give priority to candidates who meet the following three criteria:

a job offer and/or work experience in Alberta;
a degree from a Canadian post-secondary institution and a valid job offer; or
a parent, child or sibling already living in the province.

So far this year, Alberta has issued 651 invitations to Express Entry candidates. In 2019, Alberta issued a total of 11,137 invitations through the Alberta Express Entry Stream.

Find out if you are eligible for any Canadian immigration programs