An Early Look at Express Entry Candidate Selection

Good summary of experience to date with Express Entry by the Conference Board:

A new report by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) provides a mid-year update on Express Entry, CIC’s new, two-step application management system.1 Launched on January 1, 2015, Express Entry seeks to be more responsive to Canada’s economic needs while processing immigration applications more efficiently.2 In step one, candidates complete online profiles and are awarded up to 1,200 points based on various criteria. In step two, CIC draws the highest scorers from the pool of candidates, who then become eligible to submit applications for permanent residence in Canada.

As of July 6, 2015, 112,701 Express Entry profiles had been submitted. Of these profiles, 48,723 candidates (43 per cent) were found ineligible since they did not meet Express Entry criteria. Of the remainder, 12,928 received invitations to apply for permanent resident status (in eleven draws which took place January 1–July 6: See Table 1). Among the invited candidates, 70 per cent scored above 600 points, meaning that the majority either obtained a job offer backed by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA),3 or a Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) certificate.4 Scoring over 600 points was a prerequisite to receiving an invitation to apply in Express Entry’s first four draws. Since then, point requirements have declined, though never below 453 points.

The overwhelming majority of invited candidates resided in Canada at the time of their Express Entry application (85.5 per cent), followed by India (3.2 per cent), and the United States (1.8 per cent). The top five source countries of invited candidates were India (20.8 per cent), the Philippines (19.4 per cent), the United Kingdom (7.4 per cent), Ireland (5.3 per cent), and China (4.1 per cent).

An Early Look at Express Entry Candidate Selection.