Express Entry candidates are now one step closer to permanent residence in Alberta.

Alberta has released the details of its February 16 draw.

The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program invited a total of 159 Express Entry candidates to apply for the Alberta Express Entry stream. Invited candidates only needed a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of at least 352.

These candidates can now apply for a provincial nomination. If their application is successful, the nomination will bump them to the top of the Express Entry pool.

All candidates invited in Alberta’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw had a profile in the Express Entry system.

Express Entry is Canada’s application management system for the three Federal High Skilled immigration pathways, which include the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class.

Eligible immigration candidates are given a score based on the CRS. Points are awarded for factors that the government has determined will help a prospective immigrant succeed in Canada’s labour market. These factors include a candidate’s age, education, work experience, language ability in English or French, and others.

Canada’s immigration department, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regularly holds Express Entry draws, inviting the highest-scoring candidates to apply for permanent residence.

Those who receive the provincial nomination from Alberta will automatically get an additional 600 CRS points added to their overall score. That means the lowest-scoring candidates in this draw would get a new score of 952.

Alberta Express Entry Stream

This enhanced PNP is for Express Entry candidates who have strong ties to Alberta, or who can support the government’s economic development and diversification priorities. During the pandemic, Alberta is only considering candidates who are already living and working in the province.

Candidates also need to have work experience in an eligible occupation. The AINP only provides a list of occupations that they will not consider.

Last fall, the federal government increased the number of occupations that are not eligible to apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) in Alberta. However, candidates who received an invitation after November 1, 2020 can be selected through the Alberta Express Entry Stream, even if they are working in an occupation that the federal government will not process an LMIA for.

Alberta was allowed to issue 6,250 nomination certificates in 2020. However, due to COVID-19, Alberta reduced their allocation to 4,000 nominations. All of these nominations were issued by June 2020. This is why Alberta did not hold any draws for the second half of the year.

The number of provincial nominations allocated to Alberta for 2021 has not yet been released.