New Category-Based Express Entry Rounds of Invitation for Canada
The Canadian Government has announced the introduction of rounds of invitations for specific categories for Express Entry candidates. These category-based rounds of invitations have been designed to support Canada’s economic goals.
What are the categories?
IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) has chosen the following six categories for 2023 for rounds of invitation:
- French-language proficiency
- Healthcare occupations
- Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations
- Trade occupations
- Transport occupations
- Agriculture and agri-food occupations
These category rounds of invitation will add to general and program-specific rounds by inviting top-ranking candidates who can help Canada meet specific economic goals.
Who is eligible?
Eligible candidates for invitations through category-based rounds will be those who can meet all the requirements in the instructions of the invitation rounds.
IRCC will rank candidates in the pool who meet the requirements and invite top-ranking candidates to apply for permanent residence.
What are the requirements?
The main eligibility criteria for each category are as follows:
- French-language proficiency: You must have French-language test results that show a minimum score of 7 in all 4 language abilities on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens.
- Healthcare, STEM, Trade, Transport, and Agriculture and Agri-food occupations: You must have accumulated, within the past three years, at least six months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in an eligible occupation.
Candidates will also have to meet all the requirements in the instructions for a specific round.
How did IRCC choose the categories?
The IRCC has chosen categories based on:
- labour market information and projections, and
- input it received from its partners, including provinces and territories, and stakeholders countrywide.
Going forward, the IRCC will repeat the consultation and selection process annually, and report to Parliament on the categories each year.
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