Immigration Announcement
Express Entry Candidates Affected by IT Glitch, IRCC Confirms
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Express Entry has encountered IT issues following the implementation of the National Occupation Classification (NOC) 2021. Those candidates participating in the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) are included in this category.
No timeline has been given for IRCC to resolve these issues, although the department says it is closely examining them.
As more information becomes available, the IRCC will update candidates.
The Most Recent Express Entry Draw Resulted in the ITAs of Some Ineligible Candidates
According to IRCC, clients are being informed by the system that they meet the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Minimum Entry Criteria even though they may not have sufficient Canadian work experience.
In the November 23rd round of invitations, a number of ITAs were incorrectly issued to candidates, including some PNP candidates.
Additionally, the system error has affected PNP candidates who are updating their Express Entry profiles to reflect the move to NOC 2021.
IRCC’s synthetic code 93888 is preventing some Express Entry profiles from receiving ITAs. This synthetic code was generated as a workaround so that these applicants could continue to be assessed under NOC 2016.
No Draw Was Held for Express Entry
There is no information on whether these IT issues were related to the missed Express Entry draw last week.
All-program Express Entry draws resumed in July this year after an 18-month pause. Since then, IRCC invites candidates every two weeks on Wednesdays.
Potential candidates expressed frustration on social media after the expected draw on December 7 didn’t take place.
According to IRCC ministerial instructions, draws will be held “roughly every two weeks.” However, there is no law dictating how often or on which day draws will take place. It is entirely up to the discretion of IRCC.
Since July, eleven draws have been held in Canada. The two most recent draws were held on November 9 and November 23.
After the first draw on July 6, 1500 candidates were invited with a CRS score of 557. Since then, the CRS scores have declined with each draw, reaching 491 on November 23.
NOC 2021
IRCC officially transitioned from NOC 2016 to NOC 2021 on November 16, 2022.
IRCC’s shift to NOC 2021 has shifted to the Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) system which requires work experience classified under NOC skill types 0, A, or B.
As a result of this change, Canada will be able to accomplish the following four objectives by updating the old NOC system with a new NOC and Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER). Increasing our understanding of the Canadian labour market, improving our occupational forecasting, analyzing national labour supply and demand, and providing targeted and specialized job training/skill development for both Canadians and foreign nationals.
The new NOC 2021 must be switched independently by candidates who already have submitted their profiles to the IRCC Express Entry pool. Such updates must be made for all positions (jobs) included in the IRCC profile. Candidates who fail to do so will not receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
