What you need to know about EE Category based selection draws for 2023!

After a long wait to hear the details about how IRCC is changing its flagship Express Entry system, today, Minister Sean Fraser, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, released key details about how Express Entry will be changing for 2023.

On our Holthe Immigration Law blog, and on our Express Entry live Q&As, and in our Canadian Immigration Institute sessions, we have speculated quite a bit about the what the new “targeted draws” would involve once Bill C-19 was passed.[i] The wait is over.

Here is what you need to know

PNP draws and no program specified draws and FSW or CEC draws will sill occur in 2023. Category based rounds “will add to add to general and program-specific rounds by inviting top-ranking candidates who can help us meet these specific economic goals.”

If you have a valid Express Entry profile and you do not meet the new categories, never fear, there is sill hope if you have a strong Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS).

If you do happen to have strong French skills or work in certain healthcare jobs, in certain STEM jobs, in a certain regulated Trade under Major Group 72, or in certain transport or agriculture jobs, the new EE Category based draws are good news for you this year and something you should act on right away.

Express Entry Category based draws for 2023 allow the Minister of Immigration to target EE candidates with French language skills and work experience in certain NOCs with certain levels of education. Category based EE draws will focus on 6 new categories:

1.     French language proficiency;

2.     Healthcare occupations;

3.     Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations;

4.     Trade occupations;

5.     Transport occupations;

6.     Agriculture and agri-food occupations.

How does category based Express Entry work?

Remember that you will need to have a valid EE profile to be eligible for an Invitation to Apply (ITA). It seems like all the regular rules about eligibility for EE should apply but IRCC has not yet released full details yet. At this point, we assume that candidates must still meet the regular pass mark of 67 points under the selection grid and then be eligible for either CEC, FSW or FST. You can find a helpful layout of how Express Entry works from the government website.

Then, IRCC can release instructions for a category based round of invitations. (They have not yet released these new instructions so we don’t know what they will involve just yet.)

What you should do now to be eligible for the new EE category based rounds

French skills

To be eligible for the new French-language proficiency category make sure you have a minimum score of 7 in each of the 4 language abilities on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens. Keep in mind that each of your scores for Speaking (expression orale), Listening (compréhension de l’oral),  Reading (compréhension de l’écrit), and Writing (expression écrite) must be above NCLC 7. If any one of your scores is below NCLC 7, you won’t be eligible.

You should book an exam with TEF Canada or TCF Canada right away if you do not already have a valid French language exam that is less than 2 years old on the day you create your EE profile and on the day you apply for PR.

Healthcare occupations

To be eligible for the new category for healthcare occupations, you must be able to prove you have, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below:

Occupation 2021 NOC code 2021 TEER category
Audiologists and speech language pathologists 31112 1
Chiropractors 31201 1
Dentists 31110 1
Dieticians and nutritionists 31121 1
Education counsellors 41320 1
General practitioners and family physicians 31102 1
Instructors of persons with disabilities 42203 2
Kinesiologists and other professional occupation in therapy and assessment 31204 1
Licensed practical nurses 32101 2
Massage therapists 32201 2
Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations 33101 3
Medical laboratory technologists 32120 2
Medical radiation technologists 32121 2
Medical sonographers 32122 2
Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates 33102 3
Nurse practitioners 31302 1
Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors 31300 1
Occupational therapists 31203 1
Optometrists 31111 1
Other assisting occupations in support of health services 33109 3
Other practitioners of natural healing 32209 2
Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating 31209 1
Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment 32109 2
Paramedical occupations 32102 2
Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants 33103 3
Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals 31303 1
Physiotherapists 31202 1
Psychologists 31200 1
Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses 31301 1
Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists 32103 2
Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine 31100 1
Specialists in surgery 31101 1
Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies 41301 1
Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists 32200 2
Veterinarians 31103 1

STEM occupations

To be eligible for the new category for STEM occupations, you must be able to prove you have, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below:

Occupation 2021 NOC code 2021 TEER category
Architects 21200 1
Architecture and science managers 20011 0
Business systems specialists 21221 1
Civil Engineers 21300 1
Computer and information systems managers 20012 0
Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) 21311 1
Computer systems developers and programmers 21230 1
Cybersecurity specialists 21220 1
Data scientists 21211 1
Database analysts and data administrators 21223 1
Electrical and electronics engineers 21310 1
Engineering managers 20010 0
Industrial and manufacturing engineers 21321 1
Information systems specialists 21222 1
Land surveyors 21203 1
Landscape Architects 21201 1
Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries 21210 1
Metallurgical and materials engineers 21322 1
Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers 41400 1
Software developers and programmers 21232 1
Software engineers and designers 21231 1
Urban and land use planners 21202 1
Web designers 21233 1
Web developers and programmers 21234 1

Trade occupations

To be eligible for the new category for Trade occupations, you must be able to prove you have, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below:

Occupation 2021 NOC code 2021 TEER category
Residential and commercial installers and servicers 73200 3
Elevator constructors and mechanics 72406 2
Machine fitters 72405 2
Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics 72402 2
Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics 72400 2
Carpenters 72310 2
Plumbers 72300 2
Electricians (except industrial and power system) 72200 2
Welders and related machine operators 72106 2
Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers 72014 2

Transport occupations

To be eligible for the new category for Transport occupations, you must be able to prove you have, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below:

Occupation 2021 NOC code 2021 TEER category
Aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors 93200 3
Transport truck drivers 73300 3
Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators 72604 2
Engineer officers, water transport 72603 2
Deck officers, water transport 72602 2
Air traffic controllers and related occupations 72601 2
Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors 72600 2
Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors 72404 2
Railway carmen/women 72403 2
Managers in transportation 70020 0

Agriculture and Agri-foods occupations

To be eligible for the new category for Agriculture and Agri-foods occupations, you must be able to prove you have, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below:

Occupation 2021 NOC code 2021 TEER category
Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance and horticulture services 82031 2
Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors 82030 2
Butchers- retail and wholesale 63201 3

How we can help?

Express Entry is what we do! As lawyers, we have been helping people navigate all the fine details of Express Entry for many years. We have seen common areas where people miss what they think are small things and end up getting their PR application returned for being incomplete or refused for failure to provide one small item. Our experience in cross-referencing your prior applications for visitor status or work permits or study permits and looking wholistically at your personal history and work history and address history and travel history in your eAPR enable us to spot inconsistencies, gaps, and areas where you need to provide explanations. Hiring us as early as possible and hopefully before you create your EE profile helps make sure that you are not making errors in your application that could trip you up later.

The new category-based EE draws for 2023 are a unique opportunity for you to potentially meet your dreams of becoming a Canadian Permanent Resident. We would love to help you on your journey by providing immigration legal advice and providing one on one assistance throughout your process. It all starts with you booking a consultation and speaking to us directly.

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