Canada’s PNP Programs | A Brief Overview

Prepared by Veronica Laurent, Abhilash Varghese; Edited by Peter Seeder on December 9, 2020

Canada continues to process immigration applications despite the pandemic and to grant new permanent residence invitations to qualified applicants. The flagship framework for handling economic class immigration applications in Canada is called Express Entry. Express Entry draws are conducted once in every two weeks.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued more Express Entry invitations to apply (ITAs) for permanent residence on a year-over-year basis when compared to any other Canadian governmental body, say, the various provinces. Candidates eligible for any of the program(s) are given a CRS score in the Express Entry Pool. It is based on their Core/Human capital factors such as age, work experience, education, and language ability in English and/or French, etc.

The highest-ranked candidates in the pool are then invited to apply for permanent residence through regular Express Entry draws. Candidates who have secured points in the express entry system below the CRS cut-offs can apply for provincial nomination programs as well. PNPs are the best option to increase CRS scores. The highest-ranked candidates in the Express Entry pool are issued ITAs on regular invitation rounds.

The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which started modestly in 1998 with approximately 200 immigrants being admitted to Canada, will now see an annual intake of over 80,000 new permanent residents. The PNP enables participating Canadian provinces and territories to select and nominate a certain number of economic immigrants for permanent residence every year. There are currently more than 80 PNP programs in Canada with respect to its territories and provinces.

The Federal Express Entry system handles the selection of applicants for three of Canada’s largest economic-class immigration programs:

Candidates who succeed in receiving a provincial nomination will receive an additional 600 CRS points which will get added automatically to their current CRS score in the Express Entry system. And this, reasonably guarantee them an Invitation to Apply from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Below is an overview of Programs:

Saskatchewan:

The 10 additional points for candidates who speak French & English were introduced into the SINP ranking system on 24 November 2020. These changes affect the SINP‘s Occupations In Demand and Express Entry stream.
On 19 November 2020, 551 candidates from the SINP Express Entry and Occupation In-Demand streams received ITAs.
532 SINP applicants from the Express Entry and Occupation In-Demand streams received invitations from the draw held on November 3, 2020.

British Columbia:

On 24 November 2020, 360 candidates were invited to apply for a provincial nomination via five immigration streams of British Columbia.
On 17 November 2020, 76 candidates were invited to apply for a provincial nomination via four streams under Tech Pilot Program.
On 10 November 2020, 358 candidates were invited to apply for a provincial nomination via five immigration streams of British Columbia.
On 3 November 2020, 76 candidates were invited to apply for a provincial nomination via four streams under Tech Pilot Program.

Manitoba:

On 19 November 2020, 196 candidates, including 40 Express Entry candidates were invited to apply for a provincial nomination via three MPNP streams of Manitoba.
On 05 November 2020, 205 candidates, including 7 Express Entry candidates were invited to apply for a provincial nomination via three MPNP streams of Manitoba.

Newfoundland and Labrador:

The NLPNP is developing a new PNP stream, Priority Skills Newfoundland and Labrador, targeted at highly trained and qualified individuals with expertise in the province’s on-demand sectors.

Prince Edward Island:

On 19 November 2020, 221 candidates were invited to apply through the Labour & Express Entry
On 19 November 2020, 33 more candidates were invited to apply through the Business Work Permit Entrepreneur category.

Ontario:

On 01 December 2020, 726 Express Entry candidates received Invitations via French-Speaking Skilled Worker Program.
On 04 November 2020, 726 Express Entry candidates received Invitations via Skilled Trades stream of Ontario.
On 12 November 2020, 443 Express Entry candidates were issued notifications of interest through the Human Capital Priorities stream.

Since the pandemic, IRCC has been persistent that high immigration rates would be necessary for sustaining a stable and prosperous Canadian economy. The Government of Canada has a processing standard of six months for permanent residence applications filed through the Express Entry system.

Check out Owlspriority Immigration’s Canada Settlement Resources to learn more about ways to finding a new job in Canada, making your initial days in Canada stress-free and confident, etc.