Today, we’re discussing the new changes in the express entry scoring system.

My name is Alex Khadempour – Let’s talk Canadian Immigration!

On November 19th, the changes in the express entry system were implemented. Things moved quickly between the announcement and the implementation of the points, which is a change compared to what we have seen in the past from immigration Canada when it came to bringing in updates. As expected, there are some questions and issues, which should be resolved in due time.

There are a few Express Entry updates, but the main ones that I’ll touch on are on the points received for job offers and international students who have graduated in Canada.

There have been many discussions about giving students who have graduated in Canada some incentive in their immigration application process. It was either going to be a new stream for graduating students, or extra points in the express entry pool, and of course, the latter was chosen.

Here is how Canadian graduates can receive points:

For those with one or two year post secondary education with a certificate/diploma – they will receive 15 points extra

For those who have graduated with a three year or longer education OR a master’s, or PhD of at least one academic year: 30 points will be added to their Express Entry points

And there were also changes made in how a person can receive points under a job offer:

Before the changes, someone with an LMIA, and a permanent job offer would receive 600 points, which guaranteed selection from the Express Entry pool. However, those points have now been reduced. At the same time, points for job offers also include applicants with “qualifying offer of arranged employment”, providing the person has at least one year of work experience with the same employer who has provided the job offer. In other words, the name of the employer must be on your work permit and you must have worked for that employer for at least a year, in order to be eligible to get the extra points. Since post graduate work permits and most IEC work permits, like working holiday visa, are open work permits, they do not qualify for extra points.

Here is how those with work permits can receive points:

Those under skill levels 0, A or B, would receive 50 points and those under skill level 00, such as executives, would receive 200 points.

These changes and updates will make a difference in many applicants’ immigration plans, especially those who relied on the magical 600 points they would have received under LMIA. Due to that change, we will see a gravitation towards provincial programs and Provincial Nominations, which still give applicants 600 points under Express Entry.

We will all be looking at the minimum threshold in points in Express Entry, which have not gone below 470 for some time now. The next few rounds of invitations should give us a good indication of how much of an effect these changes will have and what the minimum invited points will be.

My recommendation to anyone with an Express Entry profile is to go into it or get their representative to do so, and update the information. Be sure to save the profile. Your points should update, eventually.

There are still some issues with how points are being tallied in the online application. If you notice issues with your total score, then click on ‘Report a Technical Issue’ under the Express Entry profile. It’s not unusual to come across problems when something is first implemented. These will be fixed as time goes by.

Please stay tuned for our next podcast for more information on Canadian Immigration where we continue to cover a variety of topics and questions. As always, you can visit cicsimmigration.com to get even more information.

I’m Alex. Until next time!