Ranking System for Canada’s Express Entry Program to change in June

Ranking System for Canada’s Express Entry Program to change in June

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that French speakers and candidates who have a sibling in Canada will receive supplementary points for the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). These changes will take effect on June 6, 2017.

These changes will not alter the entire make-up of the pool in a profound way, but the supplementary points have the chance to make a positive difference to those who may obtain these points.

Additionally, the Canada Job Bank registration will become voluntary.

The current form of the CRS will continue to be used when ranking and selecting candidates in the pool. It is also to be expected that the IRCC will continue to conduct draws from this pool until the June 6 and after.

Breakdown of the June 6 Changes

French Language Skills

In order to be considered for the Express Entry pool, eligible candidates must take a standardized language test, recognized by the IRCC, to prove their proficiency in English and French. The total points available under CRS are 1,200 — 136 of which can be given for a candidate’s first language and additional 24 points availability for a second language.

The above will still remain as of June 6. The change comes to additional points be given to French speakers who also show a knowledge of English.

Additional 15 points — must prove adequate intermediate (equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark 7) or better French ability, and English ability of CLB 4 or lower.

Additional 30 points — must prove adequate intermediate or better French ability, and who also prove English ability of CLB 5 or better.

Candidates who want to be awarded CRS points for French ability listed above must take the Test d’Évaluation de Français.

Siblings in Canada

Candidates who have a sibling in Canada who is either a permanent resident or Canadian citizen, at or over the age of 18 years, have the potential to earn an additional 15 CRS points, effective June 6. Points may be given if the candidate’s spouse or common-law partner has a sibling in Canada. The sibling relationship can be through marriage, adoption, blood, or common-law partnership.

Canada Job Bank

Registration for the Canada Job Bank will be voluntary for all candidates as of June 6. Nevertheless, candidates who don’t have a job lined up are still able to register, and the option is expected to continue being free to use. Employers also have the opportunity to search, recruit and hire skilled workers from the platform.

In the meantime, candidates without qualifying job offer or a provincial nomination must register in the Canada Job Bank before they are eligible for selection in the Express Entry program.

The last improvements that we’ve seen from CRS was in November 2016, when the overall number of points given for a qualified job offer was lowered from 600 to 50 or 200, dependent on the position offered. This and the Canada Job Bank change show that the IRCC is decreasing the importance of jobs within the Express Entry system — and instead encouraging skills and human capital factors. They also made a change to award more points to candidates who had successfully completed their education in Canada.

Before the changes in November, the CRS had not been modified in any way since Express Entry program first became operational in January 2015.

If you are interested in applying for Express Entry, contact the Immigration Law Office of Ronen Kurzfeld today!

 

Canadian immigration system’s shift toward migrant workers, study shows

Canadian immigration system’s shift toward migrant workers, study shows

 

A ground-breaking study has examined that Canada’s immigration system is increasingly adapted towards temporary migrants. The study shows that 1 out of 5 foreign workers become permanent residents.

That is twice the rate from two decades ago.

According to a new Statistics Canada report, only 9% of temporary foreign workers who came during the mid-1990s received permanent status, while over 21% of them did by the end of 2014.  This was the first report that revolved around the national policies of attracting and retaining temporary foreign workers as immigrants.

The number of temporary residents designated to work in Canada has tripled since early 2010s rising to over 500,000, which exceed the 260,000 permanent residents who settle in Canada each year.

Nevertheless, the percentage of high-skilled foreign workers has declined from 67% in the last 1990s to only 40% in the late 2000s.

A number of immigration programs have been implemented that favour immigration candidates, such as the Canadian Experience Class and the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), who have Canadian education and work experience, which turns foreign workers into a pool of potential immigrants.

However, 79% of critics still accuse that most temporary foreign work, the passage to permanent residency is still incomprehensible.

The rate of transition from temporary to permanent status varies dependent on different classes of foreign workers. Live-in caregivers are currently experiencing the greatest success despite in the last decade from 83% to 56%

Among those who arrived between 2005 and 2009, 31% of low-skilled workers successfully became permanent residence compared to 23% of those in high-skilled positions. The transition rate was lower than 3% among seasonal agricultural workers.

The study also notes that temporary foreign workers from less developed countries were more apt to seek permanent residence in Canada, given the expected increases in their living standards.

Workers from countries with a higher gross domestic product per capita, such as France, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, had much lower transition rates those from China, Philippines and India.

When looking at low-skilled workers obtaining their permanent residence, 4 out of 5 received it through PNP, which allows provincial governments to select the immigration candidates to meet the local labour market needs.

But only 38% of higher-skilled workers got their status through the same program and 50% through the federal skilled workers program. The only option available for migrant farm workers is through marriage with a Canadian.

If you are interested in the Canadian Experience Class or the Provincial Nominee Program, contact the Immigration Law Office of Ronen Kurzfeld today!

Canada’s Merit-Based Immigration System Praised

Canada’s Merit-Based Immigration System Praised

Canada’s immigration system has served as a model for countries around the world and was praised by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month. This system focuses more on immigrants who can contribute to Canada’s economy than to those with just family ties.

Nearly 63%of those granted legal permanent residence in Canada, which is the final step before becoming citizens, are admitted based of their economic skills, and only 24% admitted based on having family members living in the country.

But the U.S. system is reversed with 13% of green cards given to immigrants based on economic reasons and 63% given to those with family connections.

Canada was the first country to use a point system to grade economic immigrants — a 100-point scale that rewards immigrants with PhDs and extensive work experience in specialized fields.

Applicants are given a score on a 100-point scale, with points awarded in six categories:

• Language skills — the more fluent the applicant is in English and French, Canada’s two official languages, the more points he or she will get (28 points maximum)
• Education — maximum of 25 points (5 for a high school diploma, 19 for a two-year college degree, and 25 for a PhD)
• Work experience — the more skilled the job, and the more years spent doing it, the more points the applicant receives (15 points maximum)
• Age — the younger the applicant, the more points awarded (12 points maximum)
• Current job offer from a Canadian employer (10 points maximum)
• Adaptability — which includes things like family ties to Canadians or past visits to the country (10 points maximum)

The applicants who score 67 points or higher on the 100-point scale are eligible for immigration to Canada. Immediate relatives of Canadian citizens do not go through this process.

But Canada’s immigration system was not always like this. It wasn’t until the 1960s that the Canadian government set up a first-of-its-kind point system to grade immigrants on their skills and qualifications. It became increasingly popular in the 2000s and countries such as Japan, Denmark, and the United Kingdom adopted versions of it.

The formula for Canada’s immigration system has changed over the years since Canada has recently put more of an emphasis on immigrants who have standing job offers. Only admitting people with PhDs couldn’t be an economic cure-all for immigration to Canada. This is because many of those admitted couldn’t find jobs in their fields and were forced to do work that was far below their education levels.

Canada’s immigration system made a major revision in 2015, when it allowed Canadian provinces to sponsor immigrants based on labour shortages. The goal of this revision was to tie the system closer to local demands. Immigration to Canada has long been used as a way to drive its economic engine, and limits the relatives Canadian citizens can bring in.

It is now the United States’ time to adopt a new model.  Trump’s has said that “switching away from this current system of lower-skilled immigration, and instead adopting a merit-based system, will have many benefits. It will save countless dollars, raise workers’ wages, and help struggling families — including immigrant families — enter the middle class.”

Now the question is just how much Trump wants to emulate Canada’s immigration system in  doing so.