French-speaking Express Entry candidates now eligible for more points

Francophone and French-speaking Express Entry candidates are now eligible for more points toward their immigration application.

Canada's immigration minister, Marco Mendicino, announced that French-speaking and bilingual candidates will receive additional points under the Express Entry system.

French-speaking candidates will now receive 25 additional points for their language skills, up from 15. Bilingual candidates will now get 50 points, compared to 30 from before.

Canada aims to admit 4.4 per cent of French-speaking immigrants outside of Quebec by 2023. This new initiative is meant to help Canada reach this target once travel restrictions eventually ease, according to a government media release.

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In 2019, the percentage of French-speaking immigrants admitted to Canada outside Quebec was 2.82 per cent.

“Supporting the development of Francophone minority communities outside of Quebec is part of this government’s plan for economic growth and long-term prosperity throughout the country," read a quote attributed to Mendicino, "It is also the right thing to do to help support Francophone communities right across Canada. We will continue to attract Francophone immigrants to make sure that Francophone minority communities flourish.”

Today, we’re changing the highly-successful Express Entry System to make it easier for Francophone and bilingual immigrants to come to Canada – creating good, local jobs while helping Francophone communities flourish in all corners of our country. 👇https://t.co/44wqPH7I67 pic.twitter.com/9Sgs5MRt7P

— Marco Mendicino (@marcomendicino) October 27, 2020

More than 60,000 French-speaking immigrants came to Canada between 2003 and 2019. In 2019, that number was 8,645 new French-speakers alone.

IRCC is investing $40.8 million over five years to support the consolidation of a Francophone integration pathway and horizontal policy development.

About the Express Entry system

Express Entry is an application management system for three federal immigration programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class.

Eligible candidates are given a score based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Points are awarded for human capital factors such as age, work experience, education, and language ability in English or French.

The highest scoring candidates are given Invitations to Apply (ITAs) through regular Express Entry draws.

Once a candidate receives an ITA, they can then apply for Canadian permanent residence.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) typically holds Express Entry draws every two weeks.

Recently, IRCC has been holding bigger draws than ever before. The draw on October 14, issued 4,500 ITAs to Express Entry candidates. As of this date, there have been 82,850 ITAs issued this year.

The proportion of French-speakers invited to apply for permanent residence reached 5.6% in 2019, up from 4.5% in 2018.

The province of Quebec has its own immigration system that targets French-speaking immigrants.

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