CRS falls to 300 in latest Alberta PNP draw

Alberta has released the details of the Alberta Express Entry Stream draw held on May 13.

The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) invited 191 Express Entry candidates to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence.

Candidates only needed a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of 300 in order to receive a Notification of Interest (NOI) from Alberta.

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NOI recipients now have the chance to receive a provincial nomination from Alberta. Express Entry candidates who get nominated from a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) are awarded an additional 600 points toward their overall score.

Provincial nominees are effectively guaranteed to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in a subsequent federal Express Entry draw, such as the one that took place on May 27.

As the coronavirus still presents an imminent health risk to the public, Alberta is only considering candidates for a provincial nomination if they are already living and working in the province. Normally it is not required to have a job offer to receive an NOI through the Alberta Express Entry Stream.

Alberta is offering some flexibility for PNP candidates who cannot submit all documents due to service disruptions that are a result of the pandemic. The AINP will accept copies of documents, and if the candidate satisfies the necessary requirements, their file will be held for 60 calendar days.

Eligibility criteria for Alberta Express Entry Stream

The first step to immigrate to Canada through the Alberta Express Entry Stream is to create a profile in the federal Express Entry system. Candidates need to have work experience in an eligible occupation that supports the province’s economic development and diversification priorities. The AINP does not provide a list of eligible occupations, rather they provide a list of occupations that they will not consider. Ineligible occupations include those in the government’s high-wage and low-wage occupations in the province of Alberta, and the Alberta Opportunity Stream Ineligible Occupations list.

With special coronavirus measures in place, the AINP now requires candidates to meet the following criteria in order to receive a nomination:

be currently working in Alberta, even if they are working from home;
have a work permit authorizing them to work in their current job;
have a job that is full-time, paid, meet the provincial minimum wage, exceed Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) requirements; and they must work in an eligible occupation.

Candidates who were working full time prior to the coronavirus pandemic, and those who are working in a regulated occupation who cannot meet licensure requirements will have their applications on hold for 60 calendar days.

If candidates have no recent employment history in the province, their applications will not be processed until further notice.

So far this year, Alberta has issued 1,598 invitations to Express Entry candidates. In 2019, the Albert Express Entry Stream rendered 6,884 invitations. Alberta’s provincial nomination allocations for 2020 have not yet been released.

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