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Express Entry Tips and Tricks
Legal Disclaimer
Information in these slides is current to April 27, 2016 at 4:51pm.
Expect that the information in these slides was out of date as of 4:52pm, April 27, 2016.
What is Express Entry and What Did it Change?
Express Entry is an application management system. Anyone wanting to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, or the Federal Skilled Trade Program must apply through Express Entry.
Express Entry was created by way of Ministerial Instruction.
It brought in two fundamental changes:
• Fully electronic application system
• Applicants must compete against each other
How Express Entry Works
• Candidates must qualify for the FSWP, FSTP and/or CEC in order to apply
• A score will be assigned to the candidate • Up to 600 points based on age, education, work experience, language abilities, and a combination
of those factors, and, where applicable, the spouse’s education, language abilities and Canadian work experience
• An additional 600 points for having an LMIA OR express entry PNP (as contrasted to PNP programs running independently of EE)
• Candidates who do not have an LMIA must register with the Federal Job Bank
• Eligible candidates are entered into a pool
• Candidates are drawn from the pool every second Wednesday (this is at present, timing of draws has been inconsistent)
• Selections are based on score. Draws may be made specifically for one program or a combination of programs
• If selected, the candidate is invited to apply for permanent residency, and must submit an electronic application for permanent residency (e-APR)
FSTP • Language Requirements – CLB 4 for reading and writing and 5 for speaking
and listening • Work experience - two years full-time or equivalent in part-time in previous
5 years in a skilled trade • Meet job requirements for skilled trade as set out in NOC • Must have an offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least
one year supported by a LMIA OR have a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial or territorial authority
Will your client be eligible to apply?
CEC
• Language Requirements – CLB 7 for NOC O or A, CLB 5 for NOC B
• Work Experience - one year work experience in Canada does not need to be continuous or for one employer
can be equivalent part-time
must be NOC O, A or B
*no ineligible occupations, must only be NOC O, A or B
FSWP
• Language Requirement – CLB 7
• Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree or completed foreign credential, supported by an educational credential
• Work Experience - one year continuous full-time or equivalent part-time, NOC O, A or B (will be ‘continuous’ if working several part-time jobs simultaneously, if the same NOC code, consecutive contracts are ‘continuous’)
*no list of eligible occupations
• Minimum 67 points based on 6 selection factors: age, education, experience, language ability, arranged employment in Canada, and adaptability
• Proof of settlement funds, unless are currently able to work legally in Canada and have a valid job offer (LMIA supported or ICT under GATs)
Express Entry Minimum Entry Criteria *this slide provided as part of a presentation by IRCC to the CBA, Vancouver, April 8, 2016. The comment about educational requirements for the CEC program is incorrect –
there is no educational requirement for the CEC. The comment is only applicable for Express Entry points, not for eligibility.
Federal Skilled Worker Program
at least one year continuous full-time skilled work experience
Canadian Language Benchmark 7, supported by a language test
Education level of high-school or above, supported by an Education
Credential Assessment
At least 67 points in the Federal Skilled Worker points grid based on skills, education, work experience,
age, job offer and adaptability
Canadian Experience Class
At least 12 months skilled work experience in Canada, obtained with
the proper authorization
Canadian Language Benchmark 7 for managerial or high-skilled
occupations; 5 for skilled occupations, supported by a language test
Education level of high-school or above, supported by an Education
Credential Assessment
Federal Skilled Trades Program
At least two years full-time work experience in a skilled trade
Canadian Language Benchmark of 5 for speaking and listening and 4 for reading and writing, supported by a
language test
Meet the job requirements of that trade as described by the National
Occupation Classification
Have an offer of full-time employment OR a certificate of qualification in trade from a Canadian province or
territory
Classification (le cas échéant) 8
If the candidate does not have a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment or a provincial or territorial nomination, they must also submit a Job Bank profile.
2016 Immigration Levels Plans
• From 2015-2016 there is a difference of 14,000 to 15,000 for Express Entry programs
• 50% of the 2016 targets of 54,000-59,000 are from Express Entry. Other 50% from existing pool of CEC, FST, FSW from before January 1, 2015.
• So FSW and CEC actually divide up the 27,000-29,500 spots
• Will result in about 1,200 fewer applicants in the draws each month
Immigration Class 2016 Levels Plan Target
2015 Levels Plan Target
Economic Total 160,600 181,300
Family Total 80,000 68,000
Refugee Total 55,800 24,800
Humanitarian Total 3,600 5,100
OVERALL 300,000 279,200
600+ points = guaranteed draw
Lowest score to date – 450
Will your client be selected?
Why has the score remained so high?
The Invitation to Apply threshold (CRS cut-off) has remained above 450 because of:
• The number of invitations issued per round
• The time interval between Invitation to Apply rounds
• Candidates with provincial or territorial nominations and job offers, which both receive additional 600 points.
*Presentation to the CBA by IRCC, Vancouver April 8, 2016
Express Entry Year-End Review Comprehensive Ranking System Score Distribution of Candidates in the Express Entry Pool as of January 3, 2016 CRS Score Number of Candidates in Pool
550 - 599 0
500 - 549 46
450 - 499 1,613
400 - 449 13,537
440 - 449 2,486
430 - 439 2,842
420 - 429 2,185
410 - 419 2,899
400 - 409 3,125
350 - 399 21,851
390 - 399 3,144
380 - 389 3,989
370 - 379 4,814
360 - 369 4,878
350 - 359 5,026
300 - 349 18,433
Where are applicants coming from?
• In the first 11 draws from the pool, 85.5% of invited candidates were residents of Canada
• Over the second half of 2015, 39% of all invited candidates resided outside Canada
Country of Citizenship of Invited Candidates, 2015
India 6,348 22.4%
Philippines 3,574 12.6%
China, People’s Republic of 1,678 5.9%
United Kingdom 1,644 5.8%
Ireland, Republic Of 1,210 4.3%
United States of America 949 3.4%
Nigeria 609 2.2%
South Korea 605 2.1%
France 566 2.0%
Australia 540 1.9%
Top 10 17,723 62.6%
Top 10 Invited Occupations 2015
Number# %
NOC6311 - Food service supervisors 2,356 8%
NOC6322 - Cooks 2,295 8%
NOC2171 - Information Systems Analysts and Consultants
1,255 4%
NOC2173 - Software Engineers 940 3%
NOC2174 - Computer Programmers and Interactive Media Developers
935 3%
NOC4011 - University professors and lecturers
745 3%
NOC6211 - Retail sales supervisors 669 2%
NOC5241 - Graphic Designers and Illustrators
550 2%
NOC1111 - Financial Auditors and Accountants
494 2%
NOC1112 – Financial and Investment Analysts
446 2%
Top 10 10,685 38%
What is needed to create a Profile
• Language test results
• Passport
• May want an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA), to qualify for the FSWP and to gain points for education. An ECA may also be required for some provincial nomination programs.
• The Labour Market Impact Assessment (if applicable)
* Spouse may complete a Language test and ECA for additional points
There are no government application fees to set up a profile.
What information goes in a EE Profile
• Biographic information (name, birthdate…)
• Family member information
• Language proficiency (test results)
• Education, ECA (if applicable)
• Employment History
• Offer of employment (if applicable – must have a LMIA)
• Job Seeker Registration for those without confirmed job offers (LMIA)
How much work experience should be listed in the EE profile, and in the e-APR?
• In uploading an applicant’s Express Entry profile, how much of their work
experience should be included? Should they only include the minimum required to qualify for CEC, FSWP, FSTP or should they be including the past 10 years?
• If list all Work History in e-APR, will generate an upload link for documents to support each of the listed employment periods. Option: Leave all but the qualifying work experience out of Work History, list remainder only in Personal History section. Is this misrepresentation? (See next slide for ImmReps answer.)
• No points are awarded for a spouse’s foreign work experience – don’t include it at all! Will require unnecessary documents be uploaded. However, the spouse’s work experience must be included under their Personal History.
Supporting Educational Credentials
• An applicant is only required to show proof of the highest level of education declared or all education for which points are being claimed (where there are points claimed from having two or more post-secondary educational credentials, such as a BA and a college diploma).
• Points are awarded in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and in the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) points grid, for an individual’s highest completed Canadian educational credential or their highest Canadian educational equivalency (with an Educational Credential Assessment).
• An applicant submitting proof of a completed Canadian post-secondary credential (or the foreign equivalent supported by an ECA) does not need to also submit proof of a secondary school credential.* Where the applicant has an ECA for a Master’s degree, there is no need for an ECA for the underlying Bachelor’s degree.**
*IRCC response, CICIP Meeting, November 27, 2015 ** ImmReps response April 19 2016
Change in hierarchy CEC applications be selected prior to FSW
• Only affects clients who qualify for both CEC and FSW (8.9 % of candidates) OR when there is a program specific draw (has only been one so far)
• Came into effect in March 2016
• Won’t change minimum score required, just what program candidate will be selected under – will not help those who are being disadvantaged by the points system (international students, especially those with college and not university, tradespeople)
• Will only affect requirement to provide settlement funds/ECA/proof of work experience
How can your client increase their score?
Importance of Language Test Results
Importance of Language Test Results cont…
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) – Human Capital Priorities Stream &
French Speaking Skilled Worker Stream
• Candidates cannot apply directly – will receive a Notification of Interest from Ontario through their MyCIC account – then can apply to OINP
• Must be eligible for FSWP or CEC (FSTP not eligible)
• Must have the equivalent of a Canadian Bachelor’s degree or higher
• Min CLB 7 in English or French
• Must intend to reside in Ontario (can only select Ontario under Provinces of Interest and must show intent to reside)
• Must have sufficient settlement funds
• $1,500 application fee (in addition to CIC fees)
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) – Human Capital Priorities Stream &
French Speaking Skilled Worker Stream
• Ontario Express Entry: Human Capital Priorities Stream • Minimum score of 400 on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) in CIC’s
Express Entry system
• Ontario Express Entry: French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream • Minimum of CLB level of 7 in French AND CLB 6 in English
Call to the OINP for program update April 13, 2016, with follow-up April 27, 2016
• Individuals are still being accepted by the program and they are still reviewing the Express entry applicants.
• Because there is a high volume of qualified candidates, Ontario can’t guarantee a time frame for an offer. Some are getting it in a few weeks, some in a few months.
• The program had reopened in January this year. (Unclear what ‘program’ this means.)
• They have not met the quota for this year, so it’s just a matter of waiting.
• In 2015, about 5,200 were nominated (in second call this was revised to 5,000) and of those, 2,700 were given out to Express entry candidates.
• The program does offer equal opportunities for those who were above the 400 point threshold. Individuals with higher points are not being given preferential treatment.
• The nominations are not being given out ‘first come first serve’(according to when the application was received and deemed eligible).
• If there are any changes they will be provided on the ‘updates’ section of their website: http://www.ontarioimmigration.ca/en/pnp/index.htm
The program lacks transparency. It is difficult to advise clients with so little information.
Case Scenarios
Foreign Worker – No Canadian Work Experience
38 years old, PhD (with ECA), CLB 7 in all areas, 10 years of foreign work experience, married, spouse has a BA (with ECA), no language test done for spouse
Age – 55 (once hit 45 years of age, no points are granted for age)
Education – 140
Language – 64 (116 if CLB 9)
Spouse Education – 8
Language + education – 25 (50 if CLB 9)
Language + foreign work experience – 25 (50 if CLB 9)
Total Score – 317
Had he scored CLB 9 – total score would have been 419
Had the spouse taken language test could have had up to an additional 20 points
Post Graduate Work Permit holder
Age 27, BA from India and 2 year Canadian college diploma, single, 1 year Canadian work experience at the NOC B level, no foreign work experience, CLB 7 in all areas
Age – 110
Education (with ECA for the BA) – 128
Language – 68 (124 if CLB 9)
Canadian Work Experience – 40
Language + education – 25 (50 if CLB 9)
Education + Canadian work experience – 25
Total Score – 396 (421 if CLB 9)
At 396, not eligible for a nomination from Ontario
If 421, with nomination from Ontario – 600 additional points, total becomes 1021,
guaranteed will be offered an ITA in the next draw
The e-APR
• Clients will be required to complete ‘forms’ online
• Once the ‘forms’ are complete, a personal document checklist will be generated
• There will be an ‘upload link’ for each document that must be uploaded
• Maximum file size for uploads
• Must upload a document to each upload link
• Sometimes must upload the same document to more than one place, e.g. if the offer of employment and employment history are contained in one letter
• Sometimes must upload a ‘short letter’ explaining why the document is in fact not needed, e.g. settlement funds for CEC – even though not required, must upload something, cannot submit the application if a link is left empty
• If want to upload a document without an upload link (such as language test results), need to put it the with the ‘letter of explanation’
e-APR – Required Documents
• Passport (photo page only)
• Dependant child - the LONG form of the birth certificate (showing both parents), adoption certificate if applicable
• Relationship status - marriage certificate or Statutory Declaration of a Common-Law Union and proof of cohabitation (joint lease, etc.), death/divorce certificates for previous marriage
• Letter of employment for all positions listed in the Work History
• Offer of employment (if applicable) (LMIA and contract and letter from employer confirming permanent offer)
• Digital photo
• E-Medical form, must be no more than FOUR months since issuance when submit
• Police certificate for all countries lived in for six months TOTAL (not 6 consecutive months), must be no more than SIX months from issuance unless have not been back to that country since issuance. If cannot be obtained within 60 days, must provide proof of application (including courier tracking). RCMP clearance may be requested at a later date.
• Proof of settlement funds
• Diplomas/transcripts
Other documents that may be required:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/express/intake-complete.asp
What to include even though no upload link
• Language test results
• ECA
• Work permit
• The employment contract, in addition to the letter of employment (but ensure they match!)
• LMIA (or LMO), web information/articles about the employer to confirm it is a genuine business
• Additional travel or personal history (if need more than 30 lines)
Reasons for denials of e-APRs Many applications are being rejected without procedural fairness being extended to the applicant. This means that applicants
are receiving automatic rejections on their applications instead of receiving warning e-mails or notices for further clarification or documentation.
25.6 per cent of e-APRs are deemed ‘incomplete’. The actual rejection rate is 36.6% as of the year-end report. Some (but not many) applications are being extended procedural fairness or are being reopened after being ‘bounced’ (as incomplete).
Reasons for rejections as incomplete or denial of the application:
• Letter of employment insufficient – other traditional reasons
• Failing to provide police certificates for all countries in which the applicant has spent six CUMMULATIVE (no longer consecutive months) since age 18, providing a police certificate from an agency not designated by IRCC (FBI channellers are to be accepted… soon). IRCC may believe a police certificate is required based on personal history information, even though the address history is clear the applicant did not spend six months in the country.
• Failure to upload a document where was no upload link (passport, when technical glitch made the passport information disappear), accidental omission of a document, though clearly listed in a table of contents so showed intent to submit
• Medical examination was coded as ‘visitor’, not ‘worker’
• No ECA provided, when profile said there was no ECA, and none was needed for the points
• Thought new police certificate needed based on personal history section, when address section clearly showed had not lived in country since before police certificate issued
• No reason provided – and then waited weeks and weeks for the application to be re-opened even though admitted to having been an erroneous rejection
Technical Challenges
No one told me I’d go to law school so that I could type information into online forms and upload PDF documents!
Technical skills you will need to submit an Express Entry application:
• How to scan a document in PDF – if your printer scans in JPEG, you can probably switch your settings so that it scans to PDF instead (PDF will result in a smaller file size)
• How to merge different PDF documents together - one example of a free program that will allow you to do this http://www.pdfmerge.com/
• How to reduce the size of a PDF document – more free software http://orpalis-pdf-reducer-free.en.softonic.com/
You can’t get in…
You can’t get out….
Technical glitches and how to get past them
• Can’t log in – clear your browser history prior to opening up the webpage, and/or try a different browser
• Screens are painfully slow to load. A glass of wine will help pass the time…
• Be very careful where your cursor is. Keep it off to the side whenever possible. If you leave it in the middle of the screen, you may accidently change an answer from ‘yes’ to ‘no’. That may wipe out any data associated with the ‘yes’ answer (e.g. 30 lines of travel history).
• Work and personal history must be entered chronologically, but there is no way to re-order them once entered. Information will be automatically loaded from the work history and education sections to the personal history section – which may make it impossible to add lines in chronological order. Must delete and re-enter. If lines are not in chronological order, the applicant may be asked to upload a Schedule A form. Note – for any section which doesn’t specify, start with most recent information first.
• Asks for Canadian spouse’s personal history – put ‘unemployed’ for 10 years…
• For the e-APR, must complete all of the ‘forms’ before can continue to the documents section. Means it is not possible to see what documents will be required until the forms section is complete. You can go back and amend the forms, if you’ve proceeded to the documents section, but this shouldn’t be done if the amendments will result in documents needed to be uploaded (no guarantee a link will appear for that document).
• Upload links change names, and disappear and reappear, like the moving staircases at Hogwarts. Log out and back in, they might be back the way you saw before.
Messages from IRCC
• Emails from IRCC may or may not identify a file number. If they do not, a second email may be received approximately 30 minutes later that identifies a file number.
• Many emails are received saying a message has been sent or there has been an update to the application, but a check to the MyCIC account shows no message or update – any time someone from the department goes into the account, this message is generated. Login to the account, take a screenshot of the status and the messages section to show no change, and email to the client.
• There is no guarantee you will get an email from IRCC if they want additional documents uploaded. The application will be bounced if the document is not received within the deadline, often 7 days. Accounts need to be checked regularly for missed messages.
To Portal or Not to Portal Reasons to Use the Representative Portal:
• Lawyer control over content ensure data submitted is correct
incident where client accidently deleted their application
if get ITA client must use your services for completion of the application
• Easier to manage all applications All your applications will be in one place, you will not need to login to separate
accounts to access client information
You can easily check on the status of all of your client matters, without having to log in each one separately
Reasons not to use the Representative Portal:
• Client cannot do own data entry – if you don’t have an assistant, you’ll be the one doing the data entry
• 5 year bar for misrepresentation – client must ‘sign-off’ on all information in their EE application – no way to save all of the answers in one PDF to send to the client. Must send screenshots for review. When submitting the application, you, the lawyer, are attesting to the accuracy/authenticity of the information being submitted.
• Difficulty in transferring the profile to another lawyer or an individual client’s MyCIC account if you want to fire the client or they fire you (is a process, but very slow, what if client needs to submit their e-APR before the transfer is complete?) A fix for this was supposed to be made this month. We’ll see if it worked!
Alternative to the Representative Portal
• MyCIC accounts for each client
• Must be set up using GCKey, not through the sign-in partner (through their bank)
• Email used is lawyer’s (in all places where an email is to be entered, not just in the representative section – if only in the representative section, emails will go to client, not lawyer)
• Both lawyer and client can access and enter data
• Client can electronically sign and submit the application, make payment
• All correspondence will go to the lawyer
• Emails from CIC will only note application number, not client name
Who signs, you or the client?
‘Signing’ using the Representative Portal
How can you access your client’s MyCIC account if they are not to share their identification numbers with anyone?
Challenge – Uploading a Police Certificate
Letter received via the MyCIC account asking for a RCMP criminal record check.
The letter says to upload to the MyCIC account.
Upload where? No instructions are given as to where to find the upload link.
Must go into the submitted e-APR, click ‘continue’ to where the upload links are. A new upload link had appeared. Click, and get this…
Completing the information at the upload link
• What is the document number? Picked the ‘reference number’ listed on the document.
• Issue date’ was easy – the date on the document.
• But ‘expiry date’? What the heck is that? Put six months from the date of issue, since that’s how long CIC will accept police certificates for.
• Seriously, who writes these forms?
Possible Upcoming Changes to the Express Entry System
• Day/month/year from month/year for employment history, to avoid the ‘glitch’ of attributing a year of work experience prior to it actually accumulating
• Addition of a final review/print feature (to avoid having to screenshot all inputted data screens)
• Enabling a secondary user within the Representative Portal, so that clients can view/input data to their application
• Awarding additional points for applicants with a brother or sister in Canada • Awarding additional points for applicants who have studied in Canada • Removing the additional 600 points for having a LMIA (‘we’re thinking
about it’, Minister McCallum in a speech to the CBA April 8, 2016). If this is implemented, will they award more points for Canadian work experience?
Useful Links
• Comprehensive Ranking System Criteria: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/express-entry/grid-crs.asp
• Documents required for Express Entry Completeness Check: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/perm/express/intake-complete.asp
• Express Entry FAQ: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/notices/2014-12-01.asp
• All Express Entry Questions and Answers: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/questions-answers-by-topic.asp?top=29
Where to get help
Questions/concerns about the program itself:
[email protected] (10 to 20 BUSINESS days for responses)
Technical issues:
Use the link available in the MyCIC account
Case Specific Inquiry – include EE profile or file number and upload screenshots (30 BUSINESS days for a response)
Just wait until family class applications go electronic…
