Alberta Invites 1,246 Candidates In Largest Draws of the Year

In the month of August, the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) invited 1,246 Express Entry candidates to apply for nomination. This is the highest volume of invitations issued in a single month since March 2019.

On August 23^rd, the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) held it’s largest draw of the year, inviting 450 candidates. The lowest ranking candidate for this draw had a CRS score of just 300. Just one week later, AINP issued another 400 invitations, or Notifications of Interest (NOI), to candidates in the Express Entry pool.

What is Alberta Express Entry?

Alberta Express Entry is an immigration stream operated under the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program. Since it is an Express Entry aligned stream, candidates must have a valid Express Entry profile to be considered.

An Express Entry profile may be submitted under one of the three federal streams: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker program, or the Federal Skilled Trades program.

Once an Express Entry profile is submitted, it is ranked by the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) and given a CRS score.

The AINP Express Entry stream holds regular rounds of invitations in which they send Notifications of Interest (NOIs) to select candidates in the Express Entry pool with a CRS score of at least 300. Successful nominees may subsequently receive an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residency.

Minimum selection criteria for Alberta Express Entry

Alberta Express Entry applicants must meet the following minimum criteria:

• Have an active Express Entry profile in the federal Express Entry pool
• Have stated an interest in immigrating permanently to Alberta
• Are working in an occupation that supports Alberta’s economic development and diversification, and
• Have a CRS score of at least 300

Alberta’s Express Entry stream releases only the score of the lowest ranking candidate invited and the number of invitations issued. Though the province does not release additional details of their draws, they have identified that the following factors may increase a candidate’s chances:

• A qualifying relative that is a permanent resident or citizen living in Alberta;
• A job offer or work experience in Alberta; and
• Graduated from a Canadian post-secondary institution

Invitations issued

To date this year, the Alberta Express Entry stream has issued 4,007 invitations.

In 2020, AINP’s Express Entry stream invited just 1,785 candidates in total. Alberta had paused Express Entry draws in the last half of 2020 as part of their Economic Recovery Plan.

The stream resumed in January 2021 and have been issuing invitations at a high rate.