Express Entry: Canada holds largest PNP draw since March

Canada invited 932 Express Entry candidates to apply for permanent residence on June 8.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) only invited Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates in the new draw. As a result, the minimum score required to be invited in this draw was 796. The score was relatively high because PNP candidates get an automatic 600 Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points added to their base score.

The new invitation round is the largest since Canada invited 1,047 PNP candidates on March 2. In the previous Express Entry draw, IRCC invited 589 PNP candidates with scores of at least 741.

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What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is the application management system for Canada’s three most popular immigration programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. PNP candidates in the Express Entry pool have already qualified for at least one of these programs.

Express Entry uses a points-based system, the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), to rank candidates’ profiles. The top-scoring candidates receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), and can then apply for permanent residency.

After the candidate applies, an IRCC officer reviews the application and makes a decision. The officer will ask for biometrics and may set up an interview or request more documents.

If the application is approved, IRCC issues a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR). Approved permanent residents can then complete the landing process. If they are outside Canada, they can access pre-arrival services to help them with the first steps of settling in Canada.

Who was invited?

The following is a hypothetical example of someone who may have been invited in the new Express Entry draw.

Eve is 39, holds a bachelor’s degree and has been working as a construction manager for six years. Eve has an advanced English language proficiency and has never worked or studied in Canada. She entered the Express Entry pool with a CRS score of 386. She recently obtained a provincial nomination through Alberta’s Express Entry stream. Her new CRS score of 986 would have been high enough to obtain an ITA during the new Express Entry draw.

16 new occupations to be eligible for Express Entry

National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021 will come into effect in November, allowing the following 16 occupations to become eligible for Express Entry:

Payroll administrators;
Dental assistants and dental laboratory assistants;
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates;
Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants;
Elementary and secondary school teacher assistants;
Sheriffs and bailiffs;
Correctional service officers;
By-law enforcement and other regulatory officers;
Estheticians, electrologists and related occupations;
Residential and commercial installers and servicers;
Pest controllers and fumigators;
Other repairers and servicers;
Transport truck drivers;
Bus drivers, subway operators and other transit operators;
Heavy equipment operators; and
Aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors.

There will also be three occupations that will become ineligible, including:

other performers;
program leaders and instructors in recreation, sport and fitness; and
tailors, dressmakers, furriers and milliners.

These three occupations may still be eligible for other Canadian immigration programs.

Currently, occupations are only eligible for Express Entry if they fall under NOC skill levels 0, A, and B. The new system outlines the level of Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (TEER) required to enter each occupation. It will be replacing the current four-category “skill level” structure with a new six-category system. The 16 occupations that were previously ineligible are becoming eligible due to this recategorization.

The following table shows how the new NOC's six-category system compares to the skill levels of the current NOC 2016.

NOC 2016	NOC 2021
Skill Type 0	TEER 0
Skill Level A	TEER 1
Skill Level B	TEER 2
Skill Level B	TEER 3
Skill Level C	TEER 4
Skill Level D	TEER 5

Statistics Canada says there are two reasons why the skill type model is being replaced by the TEER system. First, the TEER system aims to clarify the level of education and work experience required to work in an occupation. Second, the skill-type model creates artificial categorizations between low- and high-skilled jobs. Implementing TEER is intended to give stakeholders a better sense of the skills required for each occupation.

This Statistics Canada tool allows you to see how your current NOC corresponds with NOC 2021.

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