Category Archives: Express Entry

British Columbia’s latest Tech Pilot Draw invited 80 immigration applicants

The British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program invites applicants who have successfully created and filed for immigration to Canada via the Express Entry pathway program. On April 6, 2021, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) held a Tech Pilot draw wherein 80 invitations were issued by British Columbia for permanent residency for the Express Entry BC and Skills immigration categories.

Fast Track Immigration Pathway

Applicants selected are from the Skilled Worker and International Graduate subcategories and need a provincial score of at least 80. This particular draw is a fast-track immigration pathway for tech workers and international students who are in demand in the province. Initiated in 2017 the project has been extended many times and most lately until June 2021.

Eligibility Criteria

· Applicant need to be registered in one of British Columbia’s provincial immigration streams

· Should have a lawful job offer of a minimum of 12 months in one of the Tech Pilot’s 29 entitled professions

How to Apply

Applicants looking forward to applying for the Skills Immigration or Express Entry BC categories need to develop a profile through the BC PNP’s online portal and must register under SIRS (Skills Immigration Registration System)

Evaluation Process

Candidates’ profiles are evaluated and given a score based on the following key factors:

1.    Qualification

2.    Total direct work experience

3.    Job offer in B.C.

Express Entry

Express Entry applicants having received a nomination from British Columbia will receive an additional 600 points to their existing Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. Such applicants have an extremely high probability of securing an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in the upcoming Federal Express Entry draw. These draws are usually held twice a month and have previously sent invitations to around 5,000 potential immigrants. Ask a Options Abroad for FREE how you can Successfully Fast Track your Immigration Journey to Canada.   

Canada inviting immigrants, enthusiastically

Considering various facts and figures of the previous years, the Canadian provinces that have welcomed the highest number of migrator workers have witnessed tremendous economic growth, especially in small cities.   

Canadian Government is all set to welcome a large number of immigrants post-pandemic for economic recovery. During the past decade, Canada’s workforce that has augmented by 1.95 million is a contribution of migrators. 

Influences like; aging population, and elderly labor force, deteriorating natural population as number of deaths are higher than the number of births, etc., is continuously encouraging provinces to invite immigrants. 

671 candidates invited under Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

March 8, 2021, brought good news for 671 aspiring Canadian migrators as the Canadian Government has sent an invite to apply for permanent residency. The candidates invited under this particular draw by IRCC had the least score of 739. The invited applicants already had their profiles submitted in the Express Entry pool. This selection under PNP will help candidates to take their ranking in the Express Entry Pool upward.

The selected applicants had already received a nomination under PNP (Provincial Nominee Program) that has given a lift of 600 points to their total human capital score. Thus, the candidates having the least score of 739 had a score of 139 in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) minus the provincial nomination.   

A second draw invited 126 candidates under OINP through FSSW stream

On March 3, a new draw was held by Ontario through which French-speaking Express Entry candidates were invited to apply for provincial nomination.

There are 126 aspiring permanent residents invited in the second draw through the French-Speaking Skilled Worker (FSSW) stream under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). Earlier on January 13, the province invited 146 candidates through the FSSW draw. With two draws held by Ontario so far in 2021, the province has invited more than 250 candidates through the same stream under OINP.

Express Entry broke all records in 2020

Even though Canada faced many obstacles in reaching its immigration targets due to global pandemic, 2020 was still the biggest year in the Express Entry system’s history. In 2020, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada issued 107,350 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to aspiring candidates who submitted their profiles in the Express Entry Pool. 

The year 2020 holds both biggest and smallest draws, breaking all records of the previous years. There were 36 rounds of invitations held by IRCC in 2020. In the early months of the COVID 19 outbreak, the IRCC targeted Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) candidates to issue invitations to those who are already staying in Canada.