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IMPACT – MEDIUM
What is the change? Canada conducted its 13th draw last week for its points-based Express Entry program, inviting 1,581 people to apply for permanent residence. The minimum score of those invited to apply in the July 17 draw reached a new low of 451 points.
What does the change mean? An increasing number of applicants are receiving Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence even without an LMIA-based job offer or provincial nomination. At least some of the ITAs issued in eight of the past nine draws have gone to applicants without job offers or nominations. Minimum scores have dropped from a high of 886 in the first draw to 451 in the most recent draw.
Background: Canada’s Express Entry system uses a 1,200-point scale to rank applicants based on factors such as education, skills, and language abilities. Candidates with an LMIA-based job offer or provincial nomination are awarded 600 points.
While the minimum scores for those issued ITAs was well above the 600 mark in each of the first four draws, in eight of the subsequent nine draws the minimum score was in the mid- to high-400s. This means that a number of those who have been given ITAs have been selected without an LMIA-based job offer or provincial nomination.
The number of ITAs issued has topped 1,500 in each of the past four draws. Still, Canada has issued just 16,025 ITAs since the Express Entry began. This amount seems low considering that Canada expected to accept as many as 285,000 new permanent residents in 2015, with economic immigrants making up nearly 65 percent of that total.
BAL Analysis: The minimum number of points an applicant must have to be issued an ITA is on a clear downward trend, a sign that employers are not required to go through the LMIA process in order to sponsor a foreign worker for permanent residence. Despite this trend, BAL recommends that, if possible, employers obtain an LMIA or provincial nomination for workers they intend to sponsor because of the significant advantages for those workers in an unpredictable system.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Canada. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.
Copyright © 2016 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.
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