March 31st, 2016 – The Express Entry Year-End Report 2015 was released today by the federal government. The report provides information regarding the pool of candidates who applied for Permanent Residence through the Express Entry System by referencing types of occupations selected, provincial/territorial information, country of residence and origin, and an analysis of international student candidates. Last year, 191,279 profiles were created in the Express Entry system and approximately 31,000 Invitations To Apply were issued. According to the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, a decision was made to remove 88,048 profiles from the total pool because the applicants did not meet any criteria of one of the programs managed by the Express Entry System:  Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, and Canadian Experience Class Program.

The following are the highlights of the report:

1. The Big Picture: Only 16% of the total number of profiles created received an Invitation to Apply.  Of the profiles that were deemed to be eligible, approximately 30% of the profiles in this category were issued Invitations to Apply.  

2. Best Occupations to receive an Invitation to Apply:

8% – 2356 Food Service supervisors
8% – 2295 Cooks
4% – 1255 Information Systems Analysts
3% – 940 Software Engineers
3% – 935 Computer Programmers and Interactive Media Developers
3% – 745 University professors and lecturers
2% – 669 Retails sales supervisors
2% – 550 Graphic designers and Illustrators
2% – 494 Financial Auditors and Accountants
2% – 446 Financial Investment Analysis

3. Best place to reside to receive an Invitation to Apply: 

78.1%   22,111 reside in Canada
6.2%     1,745  reside in India
1.4%       622   reside in the United States

4. Most common country of origin to obtain an Invitation to Apply: 
22.4% –  6,348  India nationals
12.6% –  3,574  Philippine nationals
5.9%  - 1,678  Chinese nationals

5. Processing times: 6 months for 80% of cases. Processing times are measured from the day a complete application is received until a final decision is made by an immigration officer.

6. Success of international students in Express Entry:  While the report states that the Express Entry system is favourable to international students and post-graduate work permit holders because they are awarded a significant benefit by the ranking system for their high education, the data suggests otherwise.  While international students are eligible for the Express Entry pool once they have more than one year of Canadian work experience, the vast majority of them will never receive an Invitation to Apply given that their Comprehensive Ranking System Score are almost always lower than the lowest Comprehensive Ranking System cut-off score of 2015 of 450.

If you would like to view the full report, please visit: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/reports/ee-year-end-2015.asp

If you would like more information about Express Entry, or require assistance in preparing a profile, please contact Green and Spiegel

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.