Manitoba invites 404 Express Entry candidates in new PNP draw

Manitoba invited 404 Express Entry candidates in a new round of invitations, in an unusual draw held May 27.

The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) Express Entry candidates who may be eligible for the Skilled Workers Overseas stream.

Invited candidates needed to have a minimum Expression of Interest (EOI) score of 601 in order to be invited. This score is tabulated based on Manitoba's EOI scoring matrix. It is not the same as the federal Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) for Express Entry. There was no CRS requirement for this draw.

Typically, the province only invites a few Express Entry candidates at a time. The majority of invites are divvied out between candidates who may be eligible for the Skilled Workers in Manitoba, International Education Stream, and non-Express Entry candidates applying under the Skilled Workers Overseas stream.

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Invited candidates may now apply for a provincial nomination from Manitoba. Since they all have Express Entry profiles, a nomination from a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) will automatically grant them an extra 600 CRS points toward their score, more than enough to receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence.

About Express Entry

Express Entry is a management system for permanent residency applications for three federal high skilled immigration programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.

It is possible to skip the PNP process and receive a permanent residence invitation by directly applying through Express Entry. However, having a provincial nomination effectively guarantees that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will invite you to apply for Canadian permanent residence, given the 600-point award.

When you submit your profile, you are then ranked based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which considers factors like your age, work experience, education, and language skills, among others.

The highest-scoring candidates receive invitations to apply for permanent residence through regular Express Entry draws.

Submitting a profile in the Express Entry pool is the first step to applying for a provincial nomination to Manitoba.

Manitoba immigration programs

Manitoba has a number of immigration programs dedicated to attracting international talent to settle in the province. The provincial government manages its immigration through the MPNP, which supports immigration applications to the federal government. Canadian provinces do not have the ability to give out permanent residency status, but they can help an application along by issuing provincial nominations.

If you want to benefit from a nomination from Manitoba, you need to register an Expression of Interest with the MPNP. This puts you in a position to receive an LAA through the Skilled Workers in Manitoba and Skilled Workers Overseas streams.

Manitoba then ranks candidates out of 1,000 points for their human capital factors, as well as their connections to the province.

The Skilled Workers Overseas Category and Skilled Workers in Manitoba streams are designed to allow the province to identify candidates who meet its labour market needs.

Candidates overseas need to demonstrate connections to Manitoba through the likes of close family ties, previous experience in the province, or an invitation through one of Manitoba’s Strategic Recruitment Initiatives. You do not need to be living in Manitoba at the time of your application to be eligible.

In order to receive an invitation under the Skilled Workers in Manitoba category, you need to have a full-time job offer from a provincial employer.

International graduates who complete education in Manitoba can receive an invitation under the International Education Stream if they can demonstrate that they have in-demand skills.

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