Indians are increasingly choosing Canada over the US as their destination for immigration. Recently, a group of immigration and policy experts testified before a panel of US lawmakers that the outdated immigration policies are driving the much sought-after Indian talent away from the US.

The Canadian province of Ontario has issued a set of new instructions for submitting the application for provincial nomination. While applying for provincial nomination from Ontario, the applicants have to send the complete application to the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP). If there are any missing elements in application, it will lead to the application being returned.

In the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) draw held on July 9, the province invited 277 candidates to apply for provincial nomination. The invited candidates belong to the Skilled Workers in Manitoba, Skilled Workers Overseas and International Education Streams. Out of the 277 invitations issued, 201 went to Skilled Workers in Manitoba candidates with a minimum EOI score of 445.

In the Saskatchewan PNP draw held on July 8, a total of 295 immigration candidates received invitations to apply for provincial nomination. All the invited candidates belong to the International Skilled Worker category of Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program(SINP). While 99 of the invited candidates received their invitations through the Express Entry subcategory, the remaining 196 candidates were invited through the Occupations In Demand sub-category under the International Skilled Worker category.

In the Express Entry draw held on July 8, Canada invited a total of 4500 Canadian Experience Class(CEC) candidates to apply for permanent residence. The candidates were required to have a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System(CRS) score of 369. This is the smallest CEC Express Entry draw since May 20.

Canada held an Express Entry draw on July 7 and invited 627 candidates to apply for permanent residence. All the invited candidates are provincial nominees and the Comprehensive Ranking System(CRS) cut-off score for the draw was 760. As every provincial nominee would have received an additional 600 CRS score points along with the nomination, the basic CRS score of the invited candidates could be as low as 160.

Alberta held an Express Entry stream draw on June 29 and invited 148 candidates to apply for provincial nomination. The minimum Comprehensive Ranking System(CRS) score of the invited candidates was 302.

Canada set a new record in the number of Invitations to Apply(ITAs) issued through Express Entry in the second quarter of the year 2021. The total number immigration candidates who received ITAs during this period was 44591 and this is the highest number of invitations issued in any quarter. The previous record was set in the first quarter of the year 2020, when 44124 candidates received Express Entry invitations.

In the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) draw held on June 28, the province invited a record-breaking number of 1017 candidates to apply for provincial nomination. The invited candidates were required to have a valid Express Entry ID and job seeker validation code. The candidates were invited through the Skilled Workers Overseas stream of MPNP.

The minimum Expression of Interest(EOI) score of the candidates who received invitations in the latest draw is 565. The EOI score is different from the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) of the Express Entry. The draw did not have any minimum CRS score requirement. However, all the candidates who would receive a provincial nomination will have additional 600 CRS score points added to their total score. This would guarantee them an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence in Canada in a subsequent Express Entry draw.

In-demand workers may now apply for provincial nomination from Ontario through the new Expression of Interest (EOI) system. The EOI system of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) is now open for candidates under the In-demand Skills Stream of Employer Job Offer category.

The Foreign Worker Stream and the International Student Stream under the Employer Job Offer category had already been there in the EOI system of the OINP. These are the first two streams that were brought under the OINP EOI system. Ontario PNP launched the Expression of Interest system for the first time in March 2021. Now the remaining In-demand Skills Stream of the Employer Job Offer category has also been added to the EOI system.

However, the province is yet to introduce an EOI system for Masters Graduate and PhD Graduate streams. According to the information provided on the OINP webpage, these programs will also be brought under the Expression of Interest system soon. It is expected that the EOI system would make the intake process through these streams fairer and smoother.