Online system an opportunity for international students to apply for permanent residency in Canada
Illustration: Sam Bullis/The Dialog
Express Entry will help international students apply for permanent residence in Canada. This new electronic system will be launched in January by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
There a lot of concerns about the lack of transparency of Express Entry, and according to Richard Kurland, an immigration lawyer and policy analyst, “it is worth a try, but the design flaw is there is no transparency, oversight, or accountability for the operation of the new system. It is a recipe for political interference.”
According to a press release by CIC, “Canada needs high levels of immigration to meet the current and future labour market needs, which will ensure our economic growth and long-term prosperity,”
This online system by CIC will be able to select immigrants from federal immigration programs such as the federal skilled worker program, the federal skilled trades program, and the Canadian experience class.
To begin the application process international students will need to create an online profile, and provide information on their education, work skills and experience, language ability, and other required information.
Placed in a pool, each candidate will be ranked and “only the highest-ranked candidates (those deemed to have the best chances for economic success), and those with qualifying offers of arranged employment or provincial/territorial nominations, will be invited to apply for permanent residence,” according to the press release.
For skilled immigrants there is also a point system put in place.
They can also receive 1,200 points based on components in two categories: a maximum of 500 points for “core human capital factors” such as age, education level, language proficiency and work experience in Canada, and a maximum of 100 points for “skill transferability factors,” which include a combination of education level, foreign work experience and a certificate in the trades.
Once the high-ranked candidates are chosen, these candidates will have 60 days to apply for permanent residence and those who are not chosen by the system can apply again after 12 months.
This program will provide more opportunities for immigrants to quickly become Canadian citizens, but “completing an online Express Entry profile does not guarantee that a candidate will receive an Invitation to apply for permanent residence,” according to the release.
For now, immigrants only know how to apply with Express Entry, but as for how the system will rank them and whether it will be fair, there are no guarantees.
