Canada to Resume 6 Months’ Processing Time for Express Entry

Canada will soon be bringing down the present Express Entry wait time to the 6 months’ standard processing before COVID-19. Backlog due to the pandemic situation had led to the Express Entry processing time being extended to up to 2 years for some applicants.

Canada’s immigration department has confirmed that most of the new Express Entry submissions will be processed within 6 months, to be effective once all-program draws are resumed in July 2022. The previous all-program draw was held on December 23, 2020.

 The latest Express Entry draw - inviting those with a nomination - was held on May 11, 2022, wherein 545 were invited to submit their Canada PR application.

Since March 2020, due to the pandemic situation and in view of the service limitations and disruptions on a global scale, the Canadian government has been focusing more on those already within Canada so as to not be affected by the then existing travel restrictions. As a result, IRCC draws mostly focused on those with a provincial nomination or with previous and recent Canadian work experience.

 An online application management system, Canada’s Express Entry comes under the department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

 Express Entry is the main immigration pathway for many skilled foreign workers that take up permanent residence in Canada. 431,645 newcomers are to be welcomed by Canada in 2022. It is estimated that by the year 2036, immigrants will make up 30% of the population of Canada.

 Canadian immigration programs that come under Express Entry are -

1. Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP),
2. Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and
3. Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Additionally, some of the immigration pathways or streams under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) are also linked with IRCC Express Entry. With expedited processing and a completely online application process, the Express Entry linked PNP streams offer enhanced nominations.

Provinces and territories (PTs) part of Canadian PNP can nominate individuals either through Express Entry or via a non-Express Entry process. While nominations made through Express Entry are enhanced nominations, non-Express Entry PNP streams offer base nominations.

An invitation to apply (ITA) from IRCC is guaranteed for a PNP nominee. Applying for Canadian permanent residence through the Express Entry system is by invitation only. It is the highest-ranked, based on the 1,200-points Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) grid, that are invited to apply by IRCC. A PNP nomination is worth CRS 600 points in itself, thereby guaranteeing an ITA by IRCC.

With Canada to resume 6 months’ processing time for Express Entry applications submitted from July 2022, things are indeed looking up for Canadian immigration in general and Express Entry in particular.

Recently, Canada has updated the funds requirement for Express Entry.