Alberta issues invitations to 132 Express Entry candidates in the most recent draw

Alberta has distributed 132 invitations amongst candidates categorized under the federal Express Entry pool on the draw that was held on 5th December. The Notifications of Interest (NOIs) or invitations were given to Express Entry candidates who have Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores of 400 or up. The Alberta Express Entry Stream gives permission to the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) to pick eligible candidates who already have a registered profile in the federal Express Entry system.

The Express Entry is in charge of handling the pool of candidates who are grouped under the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Class. These are three of Canada’s primary Economic-Class immigration programs. The candidates under the Express Entry system are able to boost their CRS scores by gaining a provincial nomination from the government of Alberta.

The provincial nomination will give an additional 600 points to the candidates which they can add to their CRS score. As a result, they will be effectively guaranteed to get an invitation that would allow them to apply for permanent residence in Canada during any subsequent draw that is held for the Express Entry pool.

The cut-off score for the last invitation round was 400, which was much lower than the cut-off scores which were fixed for the draws conducted earlier in the year through the Express Entry system. Till now, the lowest score drawn in an Express Entry draw that concerns all three of the programs was 438. The AINP does not make it compulsory for candidates to have job offers, but they give priority to any candidate who can show a job offer or has work experience in the province of Alberta. Having family members in Alberta can also give a boost to the application.