Minimum CRS cutoff 300 in new Alberta PNP draw

Alberta held a new draw on June 5, inviting 191 Express Entry candidates to apply for a provincial nomination.

The Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) released details of its latest draw on June 8. Invited candidates may be eligible for the Alberta Express Entry stream.

In order to be invited, candidates needed a profile in the Express Entry system with a score of at least 300. The previous draw, held on May 18, had a slightly higher score requirement of 301.

Alberta has now invited 2,100 Express Entry candidates to apply for a provincial nomination since it resumed invitation rounds in January 2021 after a temporary COVID-related hiatus.

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Alberta is allowed to issue 6,250 nomination certificates in 2021. Not everyone who gets invited to apply will receive a nomination, and not everyone who gets a nomination will receive permanent residence.

In theory, if Alberta issues around 692 nominations per month for the rest of the year the government will reach that target. The province is under no obligation to issue its share of nominations. During the pandemic, the province stopped holding draws for the later months of 2020. Also, unlike before, it is only inviting candidates to apply who are already in the province.

How the Alberta Express Entry Stream works

This enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) allows the provincial government to search the federal government's Express Entry pool of candidates for profiles of people who may be eligible for the Alberta Express Entry stream.

The first step is to create a profile in the Express Entry system.

Express Entry is the application management system for the three Federal High Skilled programs: Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, and Federal Skilled Trades Program.

If you are eligible for Express Entry, you will get a score based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). You get points depending on your age, education, work experience, language ability in English or French, and other factors.

Canada’s immigration department, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regularly holds Express Entry draws, inviting the highest-scoring candidates to apply for permanent residence.

It is possible to immigrate through the Express Entry system without a provincial nomination, however, people who have lower CRS scores may opt for a PNP. Provincial nominees automatically get 600 points added to their overall score. If the lowest-scoring candidates in the new Alberta draw receive the nomination, their new CRS scores will be 900, more than enough to be invited in a subsequent Express Entry draw.

Eligibility for an Alberta nomination

In order to be eligible for the provincial nomination through the Alberta Express Entry stream, you need to have work experience in an eligible occupation. The AINP does not provide a list of eligible occupations, rather it offers a list of occupations that are not eligible for the stream.

Many who apply under this stream work as food service supervisors, transport truck driver, and cooks among others.

Your Express Entry profile should indicate that you have an interest in moving to Alberta. Certain factors increase your likelihood of being nominated, like having work experience, or a job offer in Alberta. A Canadian education also helps. It also helps your application if you have a parent, child, or sibling who is a permanent resident or citizen in Alberta.

The point of this particular PNP is to support the province's economic development and diversification priorities.

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