At 600 points, a provincial nomination is the most valuable factor under Express Entry’s Comprehensive Ranking System.
Canada’s provinces employ a variety of approaches to selecting the Express Entry candidates they invite to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence, here are examples of three of them in action in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Ontario.
Express Entry candidates who receive a provincial nomination are awarded an additional 600 points toward their Express Entry ranking score, which makes a nomination the single most valuable factor and effectively guarantees an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
The different approaches used by Express Entry-linked provincial immigration pathways to select candidates are:
- First-come, first-served;
- Expression of Interest;
- Passive.
Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) allows participating provinces and territories to nominate a set number of economic immigration candidates for permanent residence each year. Each province and territory with a PNP has at least one stream for candidates in the federal Express Entry system, which manages the pool of candidates for Canada’s three Federal High Skilled economic immigration programs — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class and the Canadian Experience Class.
Nova Scotia: First-come, first-served
Nova Scotia reopened Category B of its Demand: Express Entry Stream, which allows eligible Express Entry candidates to actively apply for a provincial nomination.
Category B is Canada’s last remaining example of a PNP category that operates on what is called a first-come, first-served basis. This means that, once it opens, it accepts applications from candidates in the order they are submitted until a quota is met, which usually occurs quickly.
Prince Edward Island: Expression of Interest
Nova Scotia’s fellow Maritime province, Prince Edward Island (PEI), also invited Express Entry candidates in a draw held November 15 through its Expression of Interest (EOI) system.
This system is used to rank Express Entry candidates who have made themselves visible to the PEI’s provincial nominee program, the PEI PNP, by also submitting a profile to the province.
Ontario: Passive
Another Express Entry-linked PNP pathway that we saw issue invitations to apply for a provincial nomination in the past week was one of Ontario’s three passive Express Entry streams.
Ontario’s streams — the Human Capital Priorities Stream, the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream and the Skilled Trades Stream — are considered passive because Express Entry candidates cannot actively apply or declare their interest in being considered for a nomination through them.
Instead, these streams allow the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) to search the federal Express Entry pool for candidates who match their eligibility requirements and invite them to apply for a provincial nomination.