Canada Introduces New Categories for Express Entry Permanent Residency Applications
If you have considered migrating permanently to Canada, you may be familiar with Canada’s Express Entry system , which aims to fast track immigration to the country for immigrants with professional or trade experience. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (‘the IRCC’) has now introduced language competency and occupational categories which it will preference in some parts of its Express Entry processing – find out how these new categories affect Permanent Residency (‘PR’) candidacy in Canada, and how you can check your eligibility.
Express Entry System Recap
Canada’s Express Entry system enables skilled workers to apply for PR in Canada by entering a pool of PR candidates, each registered with the IRCC according to Express Entry eligibility criteria and other details the IRCC deems relevant for selection. The System is currently comprised of three main pathways: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class. You can compare the key differences between the programs here.
If you apply for PR through the Express Entry System, you will need to create a profile and submit information and supporting documents that will form the basis of the IRCC’s point-score assessment of your PR candidacy. The official name of this point-score selection scheme is the Comprehensive Ranking System (‘CRS’).
Once you have submitted an online profile and provided relevant documentation, you will receive a CRS score. Applicants then wait to be invited to apply for permanent residency in ‘rounds’ of callouts to sufficiently highly ranked/scored profiles on a roughly fortnightly basis. The higher your point score, the more likely you are to receive an invitation. You can check the dates of these rounds and CRS scores of the lowest-ranked candidates invited to each round at this link.
New Categories and Requirements
Whereas in previous years, the Canadian government has used overall CRS scores to draw migrants from each of its rounds of invitations, the government recently determined that it would also select migrants according to their specific skills and sectors – what the IRCC called Express Entry categories. These categories reflect the geographic as well as economic areas most in need of resuscitation due to labour shortages.
The IRCC will use the categories to invite PR applicants who both meet the category requirements, and have the highest or top-ranked CRS scores within the group of category-relevant applicants. Six targeted Express Entry categories for 2023 were announced recently, along with category-specific eligibility requirements.
Category 1: French-language proficiency
- A minimum score of 7 in all 4 language abilities (compréhesion de l’écrit; comprehension de l’oral; expression écrite; and expression orale) according to the ‘TEF Canada: Test d’évaluation de français’ or the ‘TCF Canada: Test de connaissance de français’
(Each of the remaining categories relates to work in specific sectors – you can check which occupations are relevant to those sectors by the visiting this page and selecting a category. Each selection will generate a table of the category-relevant Express Entry occupations or Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities (‘TEER’) recognised by the National Occupational Classification (‘NOC’), the IRCC’s official taxonomy of occupations in the Canadian labour market.
If you are unsure of which NOC code or occupation title fits your work, you can search the official NOC listing of job titles and descriptions at this page. Simply enter your occupation and check the corresponding description by clicking on any matching search results. The Advanced Search tool on the page also allows you to conduct a Boolean word search of the entire Classification system.)
Category 2: Work experience in healthcare occupations
- At least 6 months of continuous work experience accumulated within the past 3 years, in Canada or abroad, in an IRCC-chosen TEER healthcare work category recognised by the NOC; please check the table
Category 3: Work experience in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations
- At least 6 months of continuous work experience accumulated within the past 3 years, in Canada or abroad, in an IRCC-chosen TEER STEM work category recognised by the NOC; please check the website table
Category 4: Work experience in trade occupations
- At least 6 months of continuous work experience accumulated within the past 3 years, in Canada or abroad, in an IRCC-chosen TEER trade occupation recognised by the NOC; currently:
§ Residential and commercial installers and servicers
§ Elevator constructors and mechanics
§ Machine fitters
§ Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics
§ Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
§ Carpenters
§ Plumbers
§ Electricians (except industrial and power system)
§ Welders and related machine operators
§ Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers
Category 5: Work experience in transport occupations
- At least 6 months of continuous work experience accumulated within the past 3 years, in Canada or abroad, in an IRCC-chosen TEER transport occupation recognised by the NOC; currently:
§ Aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors
§ Transport truck drivers
§ Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators
§ Engineer officers, water transport
§ Deck officers, water transport
§ Air traffic controllers and related occupations
§ Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors
§ Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors
§ Railway carmen/women
§ Managers in transportation
Category 6: Work experience in agriculture and agri-food occupations
- At least 6 months of continuous work experience accumulated within the past 3 years, in Canada or abroad, in an IRCC-chosen TEER trade occupation recognised by the NOC; currently:
§ Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance and horticulture services
§ Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors
§ Butchers- retail and wholesale
Applying through Express Entry
The introduction of categories to the Express Entry system allows the Canadian government to not only choose PR candidates most likely to benefit the Canadian job market and economy, but also ‘call out’ to foreign nationals who fit the relevant categories and may be considering applying for PR there. If you are thinking of migrating to Canada, you should consider these changes a clear sign of Canada’s enthusiasm for migrants or the conviction underlying the IRCC’s migration policy that immigration can help alleviate the impact of the country’s labour shortages.
If your occupation does not fit any of the targeted Express Entry categories, you should still create a profile. Candidates with highly ranked CRS scores may still obtain PR through the IRCC’s general rounds of invitations, which the Canadian government will continue to conduct in addition to category-specific rounds. Moreover, categories are open to change from year to year depending on the IRCC’s findings about the ever-changing Canadian labour market.
If you would like any further assistance with Canadian Permanent Residency or other categories of immigration, feel free to contact Borderless Counsel at info@borderlesscounsel.com.