May 22, 2015 – Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has issued its 9th round of Invitations to Apply (ITA) for Permanent Residence, following a drawing of candidates from the Express Entry pool. A total of 1,361 invitations were issued to applicants with scores of 755 or higher.
This round saw a sharp increase in the qualifying score necessary to receive an ITA, with all invited applicants in this round holding a valid job offer supported by a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) certificate.
Background
Express Entry is Canada's new immigration application management system. Applicants are awarded up to 600 points based on a number of factors meant to assess their ability to succeed in Canada, including age, language skills, education and work experience. An additional 600 points are awarded for holding a job offer supported by a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment.
Since inception, the program has elicited criticism that the comprehensive scoring system unfairly disadvantages international students and other LMIA-exempt foreign nationals. Canada aims to land 185,000 Permanent Residents in 2015. Thus far, the program has issued fewer than 10,000 invitations.
What Should Employers Do?
Employers seeking to support an application for Permanent Residence for LMIA-exempt work permit holders should know that that only way to guarantee an ITA is to secure a positive LMIA or PNP certificate.
The LMIA application process can be time consuming and may include recruiting and advertising requirements, in addition to the payment of a $1000 processing fee.
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