The Federal Skilled Worker Program

Six Selection Factors

How Express Entry Works

The Canadian Immigration System

Express Entry

Immigration to Canada: Tips for Improving Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System Scores

 by David Cohen

In January of 2015, the government of Canada introduced a system called Express Entry to manage applications for three popular Canadian immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC), Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC), and Canadian Experience Class(CEC).

Whereas the old system treated applications on a first-come, first-served basis, Express Entry involves the government selecting candidates from a pool on a priority basis, according to a ranking score, using a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Points are awarded differently under the CRS than under the three immigration programs, and candidates have a large incentive to gain as many ranking points as possible. Doing so increases their chances of receiving the all-important Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence.

Express Entry candidates should know that increasing their score beyond the eligibility requirements is key, and that being eligible to enter the pool is a different thing than having enough points to obtain an ITA.

Distribution of Points within the CRS

The CRS awards points for a candidate’s age, level of education, language ability in English and/or French, work experience (both in Canada and abroad), whether he or she has a job offer in Canada, and whether a Canadian province has issued him or her a nomination certificate through one of the enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) categories. Additional points may be awarded to candidates who obtain a province-recognized certificate of qualification in a trade.

Certain factors, as well as combinations of factors, are rewarded more than others. Moreover, candidates with an accompanying spouse, common-law or conjugal partner (hereafter ‘spouse’) see a slight difference in how the various factors are weighted, as certain spousal factors are also taken into account.

There is a total of 1,200 points available, of which 600 may be awarded for a job offer or provincial nomination. Of the remaining half, up to 500 are available for human capital factors in their own right, and 100 for skills transferability combinations of those human capital factors. Of the 40 Express Entry draws that have taken place so far, 35 draws have seen ITAs issued to candidates who had neither a job offer nor a provincial nomination.

Increasing CRS Score

The nuances of the system dictate that there are numerous ways in which a candidate in the pool can increase his or her ranking. These nuances are important, as even a seemingly slight change in one factor—for example, improving a language ability from intermediate level to initial advanced—can have hugely positive effects on one’s ranking. Although many potential improvements may seem obvious, others are not so obvious.

Education

Let’s first look at education, a highly valued factor under the CRS. There is much to consider on this front, but we’ll begin with candidates who enter the pool under the CEC program. Although FSWC candidates who studied outside Canada must prove their education credential(s) by way of an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA), CEC candidates may enter the pool without an ECA or Canadian credential. Some CEC candidates might enter the pool, sit back, and wait for an ITA. They could be waiting a long time, however, and often in vain, but they can increase their score by having their level(s) of education assessed. Doing so can bring up to 200 points—150 for human capital, with a bonus 50 in combination with Canadian work experience and/or language ability. Having a bachelor’s degree assessed can bring up to 170 points. So, educated CEC candidates in the pool with no ECA, I have a simple question: what are you waiting for? Get your ECA as soon as possible.

There are other potential ways in which candidates from all three programs may claim additional points through education. For candidates with more than one post-secondary credential, getting each credential assessed is recommended. Canadian equivalencies may vary from one credential to another, the CRS awards points for multiple credentials, and any credential may help a candidate become eligible under a PNP. If an Express Entry PNP category opens and you need to react quickly, it is crucial to have a fully updated education section in your profile. Proving all your education, and not just what might be deemed the highest level, can be important in this regard.

Furthermore, completing an additional level of education can also be beneficial. Some candidates are only a few courses or months away from completing a degree, diploma or certificate that, when assessed, would help to improve their ranking under the CRS. Other proactive candidates may consider enrolling in a higher level of education, knowing that completing the program would increase their chances of realizing their Canadian immigration goals.

Language

Language is another crucial factor, as it is worth up to 260 points. Fluent English and/or French speakers may have maximized their points potential on entry to the pool. Candidates with room for improvement in language test results, however, should consider preparing for and re-taking a test. Any improvement across any of the four abilities (speaking, writing, reading, and listening) may bring a corresponding improvement in CRS ranking, but the big payoff occurs when a candidate reaches initial advanced level (Canadian Language Benchmark 9) across the board. When this happens, he or she may trigger a higher threshold in the combination factors and receive up to 100 points, in addition to the points received for the language factor in its own right.

A final note on language—bilingual candidates should take language tests in both English and French. By not doing so, they are leaving up to 24 points on the table, unclaimed.

Work

Although Canadian work experience is more valued than non-Canadian work experience, the latter is nonetheless a factor within the combinations. For example, a candidate with strong language skills (CLB 9 or better across the board), but who only has one or two years of skilled work experience outside of Canada, may be awarded 25 points. As soon as he or she adds a third year of experience, however, an additional 25 points may be awarded. So, a word to the wise—keep working!

For candidates with Canadian work experience, similar principles apply, only the potential for obtaining points is greater because of two things: Canadian work experience is valued as a factor in its own right (i.e., not only in combination with something else, as non-Canadian work experience is), and points may be gathered for up to five years of experience. If you’re working a skilled job in Canada, keep at it and ensure you maintain your legal work status throughout.

I would also advise candidates to update their profile with any additional work experience, even if it does not directly increase CRS score. I say this because doing so may help to make a candidate eligible for a PNP category. You may not increase your score by a few points today, but you may increase it by 600 points tomorrow.

Couples Increasing Their Chances

The improvements outlined above are applicable to all candidates, whether they have an accompanying spouse or not. Candidates with a spouse, however, may have additional potential for improving their CRS score because the spouse’s level of education, language ability, and Canadian work experience may all be rewarded. Up to 40 points may be awarded for the spouse’s factors, 20 of which may be awarded for language ability (and 10 each for education and Canadian work experience). Having a spouse sit a language test and/or obtain an ECA could bring hugely valuable points. Moreover, some PNP categories reward the spouse of an applicant for his or her education, work or study experience and/or language ability.

Furthermore, every couple should carefully review who should be the principal applicant. Indeed, there is nothing to stop both partners from each creating a profile. Consider the following scenario: a 36-year-old rocket scientist and his or her 29-year-old partner, who works as a cook, want to immigrate to Canada. The rocket scientist may appear to be the superior candidate, but, other things being equal, it is, in fact, the cook who would be awarded more points, simply because he or she is younger. We could substitute surgeon for rocket scientist and plumber for cook and the result would be the same. In addition, it should be noted that three years of skilled work experience is worth the same as 10 or 15 years, as the number of points awarded ‘caps out’ at three years. With this in mind, it is worth seeing if a candidate’s spouse can obtain more points as the principal applicant.

For more information please read more at https://www.wes.org/advisor-blog/canada-improving-express-entry-scores/

Trump's refugees: Fleeing a xenophobic America

by Travis Lupick on December 6th, 2017 at 4:00 PM

Antonio Mejia traveled more than 7,500 kilometers to get to Vancouver. By train, by bus, and some of it on foot. For one stretch, he waded through the water, across the Rio Grande under the cover of night.

Many years ago, in 1999, he sent a member of the notorious MS-13 gang to prison. When that man was released in 2009, he wanted payback, Mejia said.“I worked for the police department, in El Salvador,” Mejia began, recounting his journey in an interview with the Georgia Straight.

In the years in between, he had gotten married and fathered two children. He had no desire to go a second round with MS-13. Mejia left the police force and his family relocated from Soyapango, a suburb east of the capital of San Salvador, to Santa Tecla, on its far west.

The death threats ceased. But one day the gang came for his eldest son.

“Now the banditos were trying to recruit my kid,” Mejia said.

“We’re all going to leave,” he told his wife.

In 2015, the couple and their children fled El Salvador for Guatemala. Mejia continued north, to look for work in America. For two years, he found odd jobs, first in Texas and then California, trying to establish a new life in the United States. Then came November 8, 2016.

“When Trump won, everything changed,” Mejia said, interviewed with the assistance of a translator.

“There was no way I was ever going to get legal status there,” he explained. “There was never going to be a fair decision. So I began to prepare everything to leave.”

Read more at https://www.straight.com/news/1004451/trumps-refugees-fleeing-xenophobic-america

Missed immigration opportunity: Canada's international students

 by Sarah Wayland and Huyen Dam Hamilton Spectator
The number of international students choosing to study in Canada has doubled from 2007 to 2016. We would do well to see these students as future citizens, innovators, and contributors to the knowledge economy who have connections to global firms and markets.

Survey research by the Canadian Bureau of International Education indicates that a majority of international students intend to apply to immigrate to Canada after graduation. With their youth, Canadian post-secondary credentials, fluency in an official language, and time already spent in Canada, international students represent an optimal immigration source for this country. Moreover, their ties to the communities in which they study could be leveraged as a vehicle for attracting new immigrants to areas in need of skilled workers.

Despite the lure of Canada to international students, despite the promotion of immigration prospects by post-secondary institutions, and despite our federal government has identified them as "ideal immigrants," international students have been declining as an immigration source, both proportionally as well as in actual numbers. In 2007, previous study permit holders who had applied for permanent residence under the Economic Class comprised 8.7 percent of Canada's entrants. This proportion dropped to 5.3 percent by 2016. International students were 4.8 percent of all new permanent residents in 2007, but this figure also declined over the past decade to a low of 2.8 per cent in 2016, even as overall immigration numbers have risen.

Federal policies have inadvertently created barriers for international students wishing to become permanent residents of Canada. Specifically, the new Express Entry processing system effective January 1, 2015, has left international students in Canada in precarious situations at risk of losing their ability to work and to permanently immigrate. The creation of unfair conditions for international students undermines Canada's immigration and economic success.

In many cases, international students reside in communities where they would be happy to continue living and working if provided the opportunity. A long-standing interest in dispersing immigrants outside of Canada's biggest cities could be accomplished by allowing students who already have ties to university and college communities to remain in these places where their presence is needed.

Under Express Entry, applicants receive points for various criteria such as education, work experience, and age. The beauty of this "continuous improvement" system is that points and criteria can be manipulated to achieve desired outcomes. In this vein, we suggest a few simple policy tweaks that would enable international students to more easily qualify for permanent residence:

1. Award points to candidates for all work experience — including "high-skilled" and "low-skilled" — with candidates receiving a higher number of points for "high-skilled" work.

2. Allow Canadian work experience gained during their studies to count under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). At present, many international graduate students have valuable research and teaching experience that receives no consideration in their applications under CEC.

3. Extra points should be awarded to job offers for work outside of Canada's largest cities. This is a simple yet tangible means of encouraging the regionalization of immigration.

At present, there is little awareness of and few resources for helping international students transition to permanent residence after they graduate. The thousands of international students who do wish to immigrate to Canada often face uncertainty and policy barriers precisely at the moment when they are making important life decisions.

Educational institutions recruiting overseas for students dangle immigration prospects as a reason to study in Canada, but they are selling a false hope to many students. Employers looking for STEM talent or to increase global connections could do worse than to look at recent international student graduates as a source of labour.

International students represent the convergence of policy areas of education and immigration, and an opportunity to help Canada craft long-term labour market goals that could be fulfilled through international students. Researchers, policy-makers, educational institutions, and local governments have a critical role to play in shaping the future of immigration policies and advocating for the retention of international students locally. The status quo is in no one's interest.

Sarah Wayland, PhD, works in the City of Hamilton's economic development division. Huyen Dam, MA, is a PhD candidate in geography at McMaster University. They are both affiliated with Global Hamilton Connect, a young professionals group that works to help international students transition to post-graduation life in Hamilton.

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