Proposed changes in process for Express Entry System

by Michael Scott

Canada has announced its intention to restructure the existing Express Entry system. The change will retire the current processing streams and replacing them with a new streamlined program. The proposed changes were outlined in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) Forward Regulatory Plan 2026-2028, which set out regulatory initiatives IRCC expects to finalize in the next two years.

The regulatory changes would include a repeal of the Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC), and replace them with a single new class featuring streamlined eligibility requirements. At present, the eligibility requirements determine who enters a pool of potential applicants. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) ranks online profiles according to their economic potential and candidates are selected based on their CRS scores and certain criteria for the round of invitation.

The first question is, why reform Express Entry now? IRCC has identified several converging factors that make a structural overhaul necessary. These include shifts in government policy priorities designed to attract highly skilled and high earning immigrants within immigration levels at sustainable levels. The department is moving towards evolving category-based selection as part of ongoing digital platform modernization, which provides empirical evidence of which candidates bring the best long-term economic success to Canada. The country is facing a competition for the best candidates. IRCC does not believe that the FSTC, CEC or FSTC as they currently exist can accomplish this end.

The objective of the proposed reform is to improve the effectiveness of the Express Entry system to achieve better economic outcomes. IRCC has identified four guiding principles in their reform: focus on the strongest predictors of economic success; reduce duplication between the programs; simplify the process; and promote equity and integrity of the system.

The first challenge is to merge FSTC, CEC and FSTC into the creation of a single unified federal program. The changes include changes to eligibility requirements such as the following:

• Proposed basic education requirement is a Canadian high school diploma or equivalent supported by an Education Credentials Assessment (ECA) in Canada, such as WES;
• Canadian language benchmarks (CLB) 6 for all occupational TEERs in listening, speaking, reading and writing;
• A minimum of one year work experience in one or more TEER 0 to 3 occupations within the past three years;
• A job offer is advantageous but not specified as a minimum eligibility requirement;
• There is no minimum points grid such as old the FSW;

The above requirements would make eligibility more transparent for applicants and reduce inefficiencies for officers and eliminate intake mechanisms such as the FSW points grid.

The Comparative Ranking System (CRS) will be reworked because some of the existing ranking measures are not equally effective at predicting a candidate’s expected economic outcome. The government rates existing and proposed factors on a ranking system from weaker to strong: stronger predicators include temporary resident earnings in Canada; moderate predictors include Canadian work experience and a job offer; compared with weaker indicators such as spousal attributes and additional points for French language proficiency and presence of a supportive sibling in Canada.

The government has been able to identify the following changes to the CRS calculation:

• No changes to 0 points after age 45 with maximum points for ages 20 to 29;
• 0 points for education less than high school and maximum for candidates with a PhD;
• 0 points for English or French CLB/NCLC under 4 with a maximum of 136 points for CLB/NCLC 10 or above;
• Canadian work experience will be reworked to include the new Labour Market Integration factor;
• Job offers will be factored in depending upon high wage occupation experience or related job offer;
• Skills transferability include certificate or trade qualification as well as consideration of foreign work experience;
• Provincial/territorial nomination of 600 points is considered for inclusion, modification or removal;
• Additional bonus points for a second official language are proposed for modification or removal;
• Studies inside Canada may be retained for 15 points for two years or removal or modification;
• 5 additional points for a sibling in Canada may be retained, modified or removed; and
• 40 points for spousal points may also be modified or removed; and
• The reworking of the CRS will also consider high wage occupations and enhanced recognition of Canadian licensure;

We should expect that IRCC will make some final decisions about the changes in the Express Entry in the near future. The changes identified above will be considered by stakeholders as part of a consultation process, so the final outcome may be changed slightly or significantly from that discussed above. No time deadline has been announced by IRCC and proposed changes will consider the existing pool of candidates and policy proposals. We shall keep an eye on the changes and the public discussions on various factors. Express Entry remains an integral part of the way Canada recruits foreign workers and assesses their economic potential.

Michael Scott is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC, R525678) who has 30 years of experience with Immigration Canada and the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program. He currently works as a licensed consultant with Immigration Connexion International Ltd. Contact him at 204-691-1166 or 204-227-0292. E-mail: mscott.ici@gmail.com.