Alberta invited 150 Express Entry candidates to apply for a provincial nomination on June 16.

The Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (AAIP) invited candidates who had scores of at least 306 in the Express Entry system.

The last draw resulted in the lowest minimum score of the year, just a few points above 300, which is the minimum required to qualify for the Alberta Express Entry Stream. 

Alberta has now invited 2,200 Express Entry candidates to apply for a provincial nomination since the start of the year.

The Alberta Express Entry stream is an enhanced Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). It allows the provincial government to search the federal government’s Express Entry pool of candidates for profiles of people who may be eligible for a provincial nomination.

To be eligible for this stream, candidates must have an active Express Entry profile, a primary occupation that supports Alberta's economic growth and diversification process, and have declared an interest in immigrating permanently to the province. Individuals who have an offer of employment in Alberta or who have graduated from a Canadian post-secondary institution, have family ties in Alberta or whose first language is French have an even greater chance of receiving a notification of interest.

Express Entry is the application management system for the three Federal High Skilled programs: Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, and Federal Skilled Trades Program.

Those eligible for Express Entry will get a score based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Points are awarded depending on age, education, work experience, language ability in English or French, and other factors.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) regularly holds Express Entry draws, inviting the highest-scoring candidates to apply for permanent residence.

It is possible to immigrate through the Express Entry system without a provincial nomination, however, people who have lower CRS scores may opt for a PNP. Provincial nominees automatically get 600 points added to their overall score. If the lowest-scoring candidates in the new Alberta draw receive the nomination, their new CRS scores will be 900, more than enough to be invited in subsequent Express Entry draw.

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