Alberta held a draw on April 29th under the Express Entry (EE) program, where a total of 200 candidates received Notifications of Interest (NOI). The minimum Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) was 322, which 30 points lower than the last draw on April 14th. Unfortunately, not all candidates in the Express Entry pool with scores above 322 are guaranteed to receive an invitation. Applications are assessed according to the current criteria, not the date of application submission. The AINP has made several program changes due to COVID-19, including limiting nominations to individuals living and working in Alberta. This is because those who are in the Province are not subject to any travel restrictions and may apply and obtain permanent residency in-country. Since January, the AINP has issued 1407 Invitations to Apply (ITA).
Under the AINP, all applicants must create an active EE profile, in which the Province can select candidates based on their labour market needs. If an application is approved, the applicant will receive a NOI through the IRCC EE portal. The applicant may then apply for Nomination. If successful, applicants must accept the Nomination within 30 days. Once the Nomination is accepted, IRCC will send out the ITA and the applicant will have 60 days to apply for Permanent Residency through the IRCC portal. Applicants who are unable to provide all the documentation due to the impact of COVID-19 are being given extra time by IRCC to submit their documents. New applications are being held for 60 days from the date of mailing and current applications are being held 60 days from the date of assessment if the application is incomplete due to COVID-19. No denials are being issued based on incomplete applications.
There is no fee to submit an application. If a candidate is chosen under the AINP, this will add 600 points to their overall CRS. This will essentially guarantee an invitation, especially now since Immigration Refugees Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is targeting EE PNP’s.
