On November 19, 2016, the Minister of Immigration effected changes to the Express Entry system which will grant additional points or change the method of calculation of points for those seeking immigration to Canada. According to the Minister, the changes will:
· Remove the Labour Market Impact Assessment requirement for certain qualifying job offers to receive Comprehensive Ranking System points.
· Change the Comprehensive Ranking System points for a job offer:
o 50 points for a valid job offer in a National Occupational Classification 0, A or B occupation
o 200 points for a valid job offer in a National Occupational Classification major group 00 occupation
· Reduce the employment duration for a job offer from indeterminate to a minimum of one year from the time a visa for permanence residence is issued
· Add Comprehensive Ranking System points for Canadian educational credentials:
o 15 points for a one-or two-year diploma or certificate
o 30 points for a degree, diploma or certificate of three years or longer, or a Master’s, professional or doctoral degree
· Extend the period to submit an application for permanence residence once invited to apply from 60 days to 90 days
For consistency and clarity, the Ministerial Instructions were also modified as follows:
· To replace the term “Job Bank” by its legal name “Job Bank for Job Seekers” as well as ESDC by “Canada Employment Insurance Commission”;
· To indicate that the validity period for spouse language test results is two years;
· To clarify that 25 or 50 Comprehensive Ranking System points are assigned to candidates with a Master’s degree, a Doctoral degree, or an entry-to-practice professional degree and Canadian work experience or good first official language proficiency;
· To reflect recent regulatory changes implementing an improved employer compliance framework;
· To clarify that the work for the purpose of being assigned Comprehensive Ranking System points in Express Entry for work experience, Canadian or foreign, requires that wages were paid or a commission was earned;
· To clarify that candidates must meet the requirements of one of the federal economic programs subject to Express Entry to meet the Minimum Entry Criteria; and,
· Specify that if a candidate claims job offer points, officers have the authority to assess whether the candidate is able to perform and is likely to accept and carry out the arranged employment.
Note: All changes will be in place as of November 19, 2016. However, some foreign nationals might not see their Comprehensive Ranking System score change for several days. All scores will be updated before the next round of invitations to apply. Those foreign nationals who would benefit from new points for Canadian study credentials or changes to job offer requirements will need to update their profiles and answer new questions to receive points.
