Re-Balancing The Express Entry System – IRCC Puts The Focus On Human Capital, Skills And Experience

On November 19, 2016, Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada ("IRCC") announced changes to the Express Entry system designed to put greater weight on human capital, skills, and experience.

Under the Express Entry system, those eligible to apply under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class are put into the Express Entry pool of applicants. Those with the highest Comprehensive Ranking Scores ("CRS") out of that pool are subsequently invited to apply for permanent residence at intervals throughout the year.

The CRS is a points system that assesses candidates based on skills, work experience, language ability, education and other factors. IRCC has found that these factors are a good predictor of the economic success of immigrants once they come to Canada.