New Express Entry report shows Federal Skilled Worker invitations jumped by 400% in 2017
As per the year end report on Canada’s Invitation to Apply here is an account on how the candidate of Express Entry pool the federal skilled worker class and Canadian experience class are benefited with a shift in the way federal economics immigration system pool are awarded points and comparisons of the shift in the number of invitations issued.
According to this report Invitations to Apply, or ITAs, issued to candidates in the Federal Skilled Worker Program rose from 8,332 in 2016 to 41,364 in 2017 while invitations issued to Canadian Experience Class candidates rose from 15,102 in 2016 to 35,020 in 2017. The federal skilled workers were also benefited with faster processing time, In 2017, 80% of Federal Skilled Worker Applications were finalized in 4 months or less, down from 6 months or less in 2016.
In year 2017 Express Entry issued a total of 80.023 Invitation to Apply in comparison to years 2015 and 2016 which saw Invitations of 32,063 and 33,782 respectively.
The year 2017 also saw lowest CRS Score 413 as on date 31st May 2017.
The IRCC says Express Entry pool is the main source of PR application for Canada multi level immigration program.
In 2017, 86,022 invitations were sent, 109,497 applications were received, 93,596 visas were issued and 65,401 permanent residents and their families were admitted into Canada. These figures of 2017 were highest noted with this we expects it will see higher admissibility through its Express Entry in upcoming years of 2018, 2019 and 2020.
CRS changes had big Impact
In the yearend report of IRCC observations are made that 90 per cent of Express Entry candidates who received an ITA for permanent residence in the first half of 2017 did not have a Canadian job offer.This was up from 62 per cent in the 11 months before November 19, 2016, when IRCC introduced targeted improvements to the way candidates are ranked.
These improvements were and resulted in as a reduction in the number of points awarded for a job offer from 600 to either 50 or 200, depending on the position, this change considerably shifted the number of ITAs for Canadian permanent residence in favor of candidates with higher human capital scores, namely candidates in Express Entry’s Federal Skilled Worker Class.
Factors like age, proficiency in English and French, education, and work experience. Combined together provide what is known as a candidate’s core Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which can reach a maximum of 600 points.
Additional factors are also considered and award bonus CRS points. They are:
- Provincial Nomination (600 points)
- Arranged Employment (maximum 200 points)
- Canadian Educational Credentials (maximum 30 points)
- French-language Proficiency (maximum 30 points)
- Sibling in Canada (15 points)
Fifty per cent of Express Entry candidates invited in 2017 did not claim extra points. Of the 50 per cent that did claim extra points, 22 per cent had a provincial nomination.
Most Canadian provinces and territories admitted a higher number of newcomers through Express Entry in 2017 than in 2016, with the total admissions increasing from 33,411 to 65,401.
Impact on Occupations due to the changes
According to IRCC reducing the points for a job offer has worked to favour candidates with higher core human capital scores.
“The Arranged Employment extra points are now balanced with the core CRS (that is, human capital), which means that candidates with a qualifying arranged employment need a sufficiently high core CRS to receive an invitation,” IRCC said.
The report also noted that 43 per cent of the 8,195 invited candidates in 2017 with Arranged Employment points benefited from a Labour Market Impact Assessment exemption.
Given below image depicts the top 10 countries of residence of invited candidates in 2016 and 2017, India and the United States remained the top two foreign countries of residence. China, which was third in 2016, was replaced by Nigeria and dropped to eighth place in 2017. Canada was ranked first overall both years, but the percentage of people living in Canada who received ITAs dropped from 64 per cent in 2016 to 49 per cent in 2017.