Alberta invited Express Entry candidates with a score 300 to apply for a provincial nomination on May 5.
It was not the largest draw of the year, 250 immigration candidates were invited. This year’s record is 300. However, the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score requirement was the lowest since May 2020.
If the invited candidates are eligible for the nomination through the Alberta Express Entry stream, they will automatically get an additional 600 CRS points toward their overall score in the Express Entry system. Once that happens, they will likely be invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) operates the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) for Alberta-bound immigrants.
The Alberta Express Entry stream is an enhanced PNP, which means it pulls from the pool of Express Entry candidates. The first step to being eligible for this program is to get a profile in the Express Entry pool of candidates.
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry is the application management system for the three Federal High Skilled programs: Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, and Federal Skilled Trades Program.
If you are eligible for Express Entry, you will get a score based on the CRS, which awards points for 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.
It is possible to immigrate through the Express Entry system without a provincial nomination, however, people who have lower CRS scores may opt for a PNP. Provincial nominees automatically get 600 points added to their overall score. If the lowest-scoring candidates in the new Alberta draw receive the nomination, their new CRS scores will be 900, more than enough to be invited in a subsequent Express Entry draw.
Alberta Express Entry Stream
The Alberta Express Entry Stream is for Express Entry candidates who have strong ties to Alberta. The provincial government also uses it to support the its economic development and diversification priorities.
During the pandemic, Alberta is only considering candidates who are already living and working in the province.
Candidates need to have work experience in an eligible occupation. The AINP does not provide a list of eligible occupations, but offers a list of occupations that are not eligible for the stream.
Alberta was allowed to issue 6,250 nomination certificates in 2020. However, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the province reduced their allocation to 4,000 nominations. All of these nominations were issued by June 2020, which is why there were no draws for the second half of the year.
The AINP has not yet released the number of provincial nomination allocations for Alberta in 2021.