Experience class closed?

[pgwpneeded]

I graduated in Feb 2021, and I have been working to gain 1 year experience to apply for PR under CEC in Feb 2022, but I have been hearing that CEC has been closed and there have been no draws since September 2021, what is the prospect here and is there any draw coming up or any other way to apply for CEC?
Pretty shocking to see it has been closed for over 3 months now.

 

[Naturgrl]

I graduated in Feb 2021, and I have been working to gain 1 year experience to apply for PR under CEC in Feb 2022, but I have been hearing that CEC has been closed and there have been no draws since September 2021, what is the prospect here and is there any draw coming up or any other way to apply for CEC?
Pretty shocking to see it has been closed for over 3 months now.

It is not closed. No draws have been held, only PNP. It isn’t shocking given the backlog. Draws will resume at some point.

 

[pgwpneeded]

It is not closed. No draws have been held, only PNP. It isn’t shocking given the backlog. Draws will resume at some point.

I am eligible for PNP/OINP, should I just apply to that instead of waiting for CEC? I'm worried I perhaps won't have the cutoff points for CEC when it opens up?

 

[Naturgrl]

I am eligible for PNP/OINP, should I just apply to that instead of waiting for CEC? I'm worried I perhaps won't have the cutoff points for CEC when it opens up?

If eligible for OINP then apply for it.

 

[pgwpneeded]

If eligible for OINP then apply for it.

Is it better/faster than CEC? Someone suggested to wait out for CEC rather than OINP/PNP because I heard CEC was the easiest & fastest but I just found out it has been paused since September which is quite concerning for future applications. My CRS score is 473.

 

[Naturgrl]

Is it better/faster than CEC? Someone suggested to wait out for CEC rather than OINP/PNP because I heard CEC was the easiest & fastest but I just found out it has been paused since September which is quite concerning for future applications. My CRS score is 473.

It is hard to know what draw scores will be when they resume. Honestly processing is not fast for any stream. As for easy, you need to meet all OINP requirements and get nominated. What OINP stream? Is your CRS score too high for OINP?

 

[pgwpneeded]

It is hard to know what draw scores will be when they resume. Honestly processing is not fast for any stream. As for easy, you need to meet all OINP requirements and get nominated. What OINP stream? Is your CRS score too high for OINP?

OINP International student, I am eligible for it and had an invite to apply.
My main issue with OINP was the blackbox processing and also that you must be fixed to emplyoer which seems risky if it takes 2 years to process in case anything goes downhill

 

[scylla]

OINP International student, I am eligible for it and had an invite to apply.
My main issue with OINP was the blackbox processing and also that you must be fixed to emplyoer which seems risky if it takes 2 years to process in case anything goes downhill

I would personally move forward with OINP and not wait for CEC. You don't know when the EE draws are going to restart (some people here think this won't happen until mid next year). You also don't know if there will be separate CEC draws or just general draws. If just general draws, scores are going to be high.

Keep in mind that before COVID, draws were generally general and there were no CEC specific draws which meant that CEC candidates had to compete with FSW applicants. To have a good chance of being selected through the general draws, you would want to have a score of 480+.

 

[Naturgrl]

OINP International student, I am eligible for it and had an invite to apply.
My main issue with OINP was the blackbox processing and also that you must be fixed to emplyoer which seems risky if it takes 2 years to process in case anything goes downhill

If you meet the requirements and you have a full time job offer then go through OINP.

 

[pgwpneeded]

@Naturgrl @scylla
I have been working since March of 2021, so I am so close to getting the 1 year experience which is why I avoided OINP this whole time (someone guided me that CEC is much better, maybe I was misguided).
But now your statements about CRS score 480+ and stuff is definitely not settling well in my mind and I am thinking of just going for OINP. The only issue i can see if I have to switch a job within 2 years (Is there any post on this site which discusses full OINP Internatonal Student timeline?)?

I'll talk to an immigration lawyer too and see what they say. As with Murphy's law.... anything that can go wrong will go wrong :/

 

[pgwpneeded]

Actualy,
Looking at https://www.canadafornewbies.com/express-entry-canada-draw/
Seems like it has rarely been above 470 even pre covid?

 

[scylla]

Actualy,
Looking at https://www.canadafornewbies.com/express-entry-canada-draw/
Seems like it has rarely been above 470 even pre covid?

I would be careful about basing your decisions on past draws. These scores are largely from a time when there were regular draws.

There hasn't been a general draw in a year now (last one was December 2020). This means there's now a massive build up of FSW applicants in the EE pools (along with CEC applicants) which will push scores up. If there are no CEC-specific draws once draws do restart, you will be competing with FSW applicants on points.

There is also talk of IRCC restructuring the EE program and potentially making it NOC specific (like FSW was before EE was introduced). So also possible draws may not reopen under the current program.

Ultimately your call. No one (not even lawyers) know when draws are going to resume, if they will be CEC-specific or general, and what points you'll need to be selected.

If you want to read about PNP application timelines, go to the PNP section of the forum.