The Unprecedented CEC – Express Entry Draw on February 13 and What it Means

Over the weekend, for the first time since Express Entry was enacted, virtually all CEC applicants were issued an Invitation to Apply.  What does this mean if you weren’t in the pool yet?  Here are some things to think about:

1.  To be eligible under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), you must have work experience that is all of the following:

• In Canada
• Legal work
• High-skilled
• At least 1 year within the past 3 years
• Worked at least 1560 hours in total
• Be employed with a Canadian employer

2.  You must also pass the language benchmark of CLB 5 for NOC B occupations and CLB 7 for NOC A and O occupations.

3.  While previous general draws have invited those with CRS scores in the higher 460s to 470s, the government has begun to invite only those who are qualified under specific programs, like the CEC, since last year.  As such, the minimum CRS score required for CEC applicants had started to decrease.  With this last draw where nearly everyone in the pool that qualified under the CEC was invited to apply, we predict that in the upcoming draws, the CRS scores for CEC draws could remain relatively low.

4. Given the above, we now advise those who qualify under the CEC to try their luck and place themselves into the Express Entry pool, irrespective of their CRS score.

Here’s a video where we provide some further details about the Canadian Experience Class:

We will also be holding a series of webinars over the next few weeks with various institutions to discuss a range of immigration related topics. OCAD, UofT GSU and University of Western are some of the already scheduled ones and more information can be found on ‘Upcoming Seminars’ section of our website. Please free to sign up and let us know if you would like us to present at your organization.

Finally, there may be a number of pathways for you to come to Canada. To book a consultation with one of our lawyers to discuss your situation, please contact us at (416) 548-9101, or by email at inquiries@lmlawgroup.com.