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Yet another month passed with encouraging results for immigration candidates.
Closely adhering to its immigration levels plan for 2021-2023, the federal and provincial governments have issued nearly 15,000 invitations to apply for permanent residence in Canada were issued to eligible candidates in March 2021.
This can be seen as a sign of relief and more new aspirants can be expected to immigrate to Canada very soon.
Read Immigration Minister Merco Mendicino as he speaks on the current state of Canadian immigration during the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
ITAs For Canada PR Under Express Entry
Canada Express Entry is a long-drawn two-step process.
As it manages the application database for three federal immigration programs – the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), the Federal Skills Trades (FSTP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) – aspirants are first required to qualify for individual program requirements. Such eligible profiles are assessed and ranked on a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Core human factors such as age, education, language skills, and work experience are used to calculate a CRS profile score.
The second step will involve the fortnightly nomination draws held by IRCC. The high-ranking candidates based on the CRS score get invitations to apply (ITA) for permanent residence (PR).
| Express Entry Draws – March 2021 | ||
| Nomination Draw Date | Qualifying CRS | ITAs issued |
| March 08 | PNP-specific: 739 points | 671 |
| March 17 | PNP-specific: 682 points | 183 |
| March 18 | CEC-specific: 449 points | 5,000 |
| March 31 | PNP-specific: 778 points | 284 |
| April 01 | CEC-specific: | 5,000 |
Express Entry has already issued nearly 50,000 ITAs for Canada PR. It is almost half of the expected annual target of 108,800 ITAs in 2021.
Take this free assessment online to determine your eligibility to qualify for Express Entry.
Provincial Nominations To Qualify For Canada PR
Yet another month passed by and Canada immigration remained upbeat with provincial programs issuing nominations to eligible candidates to apply for permanent residence in Canada.
The unique arrangement between the federal and provincial/territorial governments in Canada allows the nomination of foreign candidates separately based on the unique labor demand of each province. Later on, these provincial nominations allow eligible candidates to apply for permanent residence.
Canadian provinces such as Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island had remained active by conducting nomination draws to invite eligible candidates to apply for a provincial nomination. Thereon, getting a permanent residence in Canada becomes easier.
Further, candidates with an active Express Entry and a provincial nomination are at an extreme advantage. Under their nomination, they are awarded an additional 600 points towards their overall CRS score. This would effectively guarantee them an ITA for Canada PR in a subsequent Express Entry draw.
Here is an outlook on active Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) in March 2021.
| Provincial Nominee Program Draws- March 2021 | ||
| Province | ITAs issues | Eligible Immigration Streams |
| Alberta – March 02 | 200 | Candidates invited under the Alberta Express Entry stream needed a CRS score of at least 301. Further, they were also required to have work experience in any occupation that supports the province’s economic development and diversification priorities |
| March 26 | 300 | |
| British Columbia – March 02 | 444 | Select candidates that include Entrepreneurs, Skilled Workers & International Graduates under the Express Entry BC (EEBC) and Skills Immigration streams. The minimum scores for the largest draw ranged between 83 and 97 points.
There was also a separate draw conducted for retail and wholesale trade managers (NOC 0621) and restaurant and food service managers (NOC 0631), where 26 invitations were issued to candidates with scores of at least 118. |
| March 09 – Tech Pilot Draw | 95 | Skilled worker and international graduate subcategories needed a qualifying provincial nomination score of 80, in addition to qualifying for one of 29 in-demand tech occupations |
| March 16 | 506 | 428 invitations to apply for provincial nominations were issued to candidates in the Skilled Worker, International Graduate as well as Entry Level and Semi-Skilled sub-categories of SI and EEBC streams in the first draws.
The remaining 78 invitations went to candidates having work experience as retail and wholesale trade managers, restaurant and foodservice managers in another draw. |
| March 23 – Tech Pilot Draw | 95 | Candidates with a provincial score of 75 points under Express Entry British Columbia (EEBC) and Skills Immigration (SI) categories.
British Columbia also announced the extension of its Entrepreneur Pilot program. |
| March 30 | 374 | 330 invitations to apply for provincial nominations were issued to candidates in the Skilled Worker, International Graduate as well as Entry Level and Semi-Skilled sub-categories of SI and EEBC streams in the first draws.
There was also a separate draw conducted for retail and wholesale trade managers (NOC 0621) and restaurant and food service managers (NOC 0631), where 44 invitations were issued to candidates with scores of at least 113. |
| Saskatchewan – March 11 | 248 | International Skilled Worker category through two subcategories: Express Entry, and Occupations In-Demand. |
| March 24 | 418 | |
| Ontario – March 02 | 754 | Express Entry candidates whose Comprehensive Ranking System scores ranged between 463 and 467.
Further, candidates with at least one year of work experience and only in the 10 selected jobs qualified for this draw including nurses, investment managers, and accountants. |
| March 03 | 271 | Invitations to Express Entry candidates were issued under the Human Capital Priorities stream and having CRS scores between 455 and 467.
All the invited candidates went through the Express Entry French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream. |
| Manitoba – March 11 | 299 |
Further, a total of 20 LAAs went to Express Entry candidates. |
| March 25 | 335 |
A total of 49 invitations, also known as Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs), went to Express Entry candidates. |
| Nova Scotia – March 29 | 329 | Express Entry candidates invited Nova Scotia Labour Market Priorities Stream |
| Prince Edward Island – March 18 | 150 | Eligible candidates were invited under Express Entry, Labour Impact and
Business Impact categories. |
Canada will target at least 200,000 ITAs for Canada PR every year through various economic-class pathways – Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Programs, various Business Immigration streams. Going by the present trend, we expect the country to surpass its target well before time.
In fact, new studies have found improved retention rates for immigrants in Atlantic Canada, which otherwise was not much popular among immigrants until now.
You may also be interested in reading about the new entrepreneur immigration pathway for international graduates to apply for Canada PR.
As an aspirant to migrate and settle in Canada, now is the best time for you to apply. Further, you are also being informed that any misrepresentation on your visa application can cause a ban of up to five years.
You can avoid it by consulting a genuine immigration consultant like CanApprove.
Talk to our consultant today!
