The Alberta Express Entry program now gives applicants who have close relatives living in Alberta greater attention.
Having relatives in the province was added to the Alberta Express Entry stream's candidate selection criteria by the Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP), which serves as Alberta's Provincial Nominee Program, on January 18. (managed under the AAIP).
As a result, candidates in the federal Express Entry pool who are classified as having immediate family members (parent, child, brother, or sister who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents) in the province will now be required to meet additional selection factor criteria (effective immediately). Additionally, this may increase the likelihood that applicants will receive an Alberta Express Entry Notification of Interest (NOI) and an invitation to submit an application for permanent residence. It should be noted that eligibility is determined by the data applicants include in their federal Express Entry pool profile.
Alberta is of the opinion that these close familial relationships are essential for new immigrants to effectively integrate into the province.
The Alberta Express Entry stream is the only one affected by this program update, and it merely adds this selection criterion without changing the existing selection factors. It is important to note that none of the selection criteria for any of the streams under the AAIP have changed (like having a job offer from a company in Alberta, being a graduate of an Albertan post-secondary institution, etc.).
Rajan Sawhney, Alberta's Minister of Trade, Immigration, and Multiculturalism, declared that this was not a strategy for family reunions. As a result of the modification, the Alberta Express Entry stream is now allowed to devote 25% of its NOIs to applicants who have both close familial ties to Alberta and experience in in-demand professions for which the province has a labor shortage.
Employers in Alberta can get assistance from the AAIP in addressing the labor shortage. The province saw rapid expansion in the previous month alone, generating about 41,000 new employees in December 2022, with the majority of them in the private sector. Although there are currently close to 100,000 open positions in Alberta, it is anticipated that there will be a total of over 33,000 unfilled positions across a variety of industries and occupations by 2025. These are the main justifications for the desire to bring in more immigrants to the province.
What are the Alberta Express Entry stream and the AAIP?
The AAIP is Alberta's official government immigration program for luring foreign immigrants to the province. The program now oversees eight streams, which can be broadly classified into worker streams and entrepreneur streams.
Worker streams include:
The Alberta Opportunity stream;
The Alberta Express Entry stream, which also includes the Alberta Accelerated Tech Pathway (AATP); and
The Rural Renewal stream.
Candidates who want to be considered for the Alberta Express Entry stream must:
Have a profile that is active in the federal Express Entry pool (preferably with a validity of more than 5 months); Have a declared interest in relocating permanently to Alberta;
Have a minimum CRS score of 300 and are employed in or have prior experience in a high-demand profession that promotes Alberta's economic growth and diversification.
Now, candidates have a greater probability of getting an application invitation if they also:
possess a legitimate employment offer or work experience in Alberta;
graduated from an Alberta post-secondary institution; or
possess a citizen or permanent resident parent, child, sibling, or other relatives who presently resides in Alberta.
Candidates must first submit a profile to the federal express entry pool in order to be considered. Candidates that are chosen and given an NOI have required to email a copy of the document to the AAIP and express their interest in applying.
An email asking applicants to apply to the program will be sent to them if the AAIP decides that they match the minimum eligibility requirements. Candidates (now applicants) must apply from this moment on in order to gain an additional 600 CRS points for the federal pool of applicants (functioning as an enhanced provincial nomination). The pool of eligible applicants is then populated with complete applications for processing.
Minister Sawhney concluded the announcement by saying, "The Alberta Express Entry stream adjustments announced today is one of the numerous efforts our government will be taking to guarantee that Alberta gets the qualified and experienced individuals that it needs.