8 July 2019 Canadian Immigration 2018 Express Entry

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Majority of invitations issued were to Federal Skilled Workers: Express Entry Report 2018

According to the IRCC’s 2018 year-end report for Express Entry, Federal Skilled Workers continue to lead as the main program in which invitations for permanent residence are issued!

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In 2018, 27 draws were held through the Express Entry system, under which a total of 89,800 ITAs (invitations to apply) were issued. Of these invitations, 53% were issued to Federal Skilled Workers (FSW).

Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates received 34% of invitations, with Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) and Federal Skilled Trades (FST) candidates receiving 12% and 1%, respectively.  

FSW Invitations Continue to Increase

47,523 invitations were given to FSWs in 2018, the highest since the Express Entry system launched in 2015. 

The Federal Skilled Workers Program is one of three Express Entry programs. To qualify, in addition to language requirements, applicants must have at least one year of full-time work experience in a skilled role.     

During its first year, only 13,214 invitations were issued to FSWs out of a total of 31,063 invitations. Since then, there has been a definite surge in FSW invitations.

Ontario: Province of Choice

Ontario was the top province of destination among those invited,  64% of invited candidates indicated that they wanted to settle in Ontario. British Columbia came in second with 18%. 

If you are interested in immigrating to Ontario, looking into their work-based PNPs might be an option. 

Some notable Ontario-based PNPs through Express Entry are the French-Speaking Skilled Worker Stream, the Human Capital Priorities Stream and the Skilled Trades Stream. Applicants who are approved through one of these streams will receive an official provincial nomination directly from Ontario.

A provincial nomination is clearly not needed to receive an ITA, since only 12% of invited candidates had been nominated by a province. PNPs accounted for 10,802 invitations in 2018, and the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) and BC Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) invited over 3,000 candidates each.

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Related Articles

• Express Entry Report 2017

• Express Entry Report 2016