Program delivery update – September 15, 2015

Update to Express Entry instructions for certain economic permanent residence classes

Summary

Minor updates have been made to clarify instructions, fix grammatical and technical errors, and amend language. The following specific changes were made:

• Language was amended in the following ways:
  • Terms were updated to match the language on Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)’s external website.
  • References to “draws” were replaced by “rounds of invitations” and references to “Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)’s Job Bank” by “Government of Canada’s Job Bank”.
  • References to “Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)” were replaced by “federal skilled worker class (FSWC)” and references to “Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)” by “federal skilled trades class (FSTC)”.
  • The term “qualifying offer of arranged employment” was properly defined.
  • New definitions were added for the terms “acknowledgement of receipt letter” and “electronic receipt of the application for permanent residence letter”.
• Certain sections of text were reordered to improve logic and coherence, including the following:
  • Various instructions were separated between pre- and post-Express Entry.
  • The instructions on completeness checks for the FSWC, the FSTC and the Canadian experience class (CEC) were moved to the table of contents, under “Intake”.
  • References to the public policy concerning economic class permanent residence applicants and Express Entry candidates whose language proficiency cannot be tested in all four language skill areas due to a physical or mental disability were added to the instructions concerning language tests.
• The hierarchy that governs under which class a candidate is invited to apply when they appear eligible for multiple classes was updated.
• The section on settlement funds was expanded to explain the exemption that exists for certain scenarios and classes.
• Instructions regarding Educational Credential Assessments (ECA) were updated to provide more information on when an ECA is considered valid as well as to explain that an ECA must be issued by the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada only if the applicant requires a licence to practise as a pharmacist (National Occupational Classification code 3131).
• Information on fraud detection was added to the instructions on the role of ESDC to assist with assessing offers of employment.

Updated instructions

• Express Entry: Overview
• Express Entry: Creating an Express Entry profile and requirements for entering the pool
• Express Entry: Comprehensive Ranking System
• Express Entry: Invitation to Apply
• Processing federal skilled worker class e-applications received on or after January 1, 2015
• Processing Canadian experience class e-applications received on or after January 1, 2015
• Processing federal skilled trades class applications received on or after January 1, 2015
• Applications received on or after January 1, 2015, for permanent residence programs subject to Express Entry: Language test scores for persons with disabilities
• Intake: Applications received on or after January 1, 2015, for permanent residence programs subject to Express Entry
• Applications received on or after January 1, 2015, for permanent residence programs subject to Express Entry: Completeness check
• Express Entry: Assessing an e-application on A11.2
• Federal skilled workers selection criteria: Arranged employment
• Federal skilled workers: Assessing applications against minimum requirements
• Federal skilled workers: Assessing against the selection criteria
• Federal skilled workers selection criteria: Education
• Federal skilled workers selection criteria: Official language proficiency
• Federal skilled workers selection criteria: Age
• Federal skilled workers selection criteria: Arranged employment – Role of ESDC
• Federal skilled workers selection criteria: Adaptability
• Federal skilled workers selection criteria: Arranged employment – Awarding points for applications received on or after May 4, 2013
• Federal skilled workers: Making the selection decision
• Federal skilled trades class: Assessing the application against selection criteria
• Canadian experience class: Determining membership in the class
• Terms and definitions related to permanent residence
• Legal references related to permanent residence
• Express Entry and the electronic application for permanent residence