Alberta Express Entry

Alberta Express Entry is a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) operated by the province of Alberta. This stream selects candidates from the federal Express Entry pool and invites them to apply for nomination by the province. The exact selection criteria for this program have been kept secret by the province; however, all the Express Entry candidates are considered valid for this program.

Candidates successfully nominated through the Alberta Express Entry stream are invited to submit an official application for Canadian PR. As this stream is aligned with the federal Express Entry immigration system, a candidate must have an active profile in one of the following three Express Entry programs to be eligible for the stream. Here are the programs:
•    Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), or
•    Federal Skilled Trades (FST), or
•    Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

This is an invitation-only program, and no foreign national can apply to the program directly. However, all the candidates in the Express Entry pool are automatically considered for the program upon submission of their Express Entry profile. The exact selection criteria are unknown; however, the AINP seeks candidates who demonstrate strong ties to Alberta and who have the capacity to support regional economic development and diversification. The province sends a notification directly to the Express Entry accounts of those candidates it invites to apply.
 

Eligibility Requirements  
Express Entry Profile Yes
Connection to Province No
Job Offer No
Language Proficiency Express Entry Requirement
Level of Education Express Entry Requirement
Work Experience Express Entry Requirement
Investment Required No

Express Entry Profile

In order to be considered for the Alberta Express Entry, the candidate must have an active profile in either of the Express Entry programs:
a.    Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
b.    Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
c.    Federal Skilled Trades (FST)

In a Federal Skilled Worker program, the candidate must, at least, have a high school diploma along with at least one year of continuous full-time skilled work experience. Work experience is considered skilled if obtained in a position at National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Level 0, A, or B. In addition to this, the candidate must also demonstrate language proficiency in English or French consistent with Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7.

In the Canadian Experience Class program, the candidate doesn’t have any requirement of minimum education; however, he/she must have at least one year of full-time Canadian skilled work experience. The work experience could have been obtained within the three years prior to application and need not be continuous. Similarly, work experience is considered skilled if obtained in a position at NOC Skill Level 0, A, or B. Also, the candidates must also demonstrate language proficiency in English or French consistent with CLB level 7 for work experience obtained at NOC Skill Level 0 or A and CLB 5 for work experience obtained at NOC Skill Level B.

Lastly, in the Federal Skilled Trades Program, the candidate is required to have licensing or certification to practice their trade in a province or territory in Canada or should have an offer for full-time employment in a position lasting at least 12-months. Also, the candidate must demonstrate language proficiency equal to at least CLB 4 in either English or French.


Language Proficiency

All candidates must demonstrate language proficiency in English or French consistent with the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) for their program.

Program Test Score Required
Federal Skilled Worker CLB 7
Canadian Experience Class CLB 7
Federal Skilled Trades CLB 4

Application Procedure

As Alberta Express Entry stream operates on an invitation-only basis, the candidates who meet the minimum eligibility requirements and wish to apply to the stream must create an Express Entry profile. The candidates must then wait to be issued a Notification of Interest (NOI) from the province of Alberta. It must be noted that meeting the minimum eligibility requirements does not guarantee an invitation from Alberta. The candidates contacted by Alberta are eligible to submit an application to the AINP for provincial nomination.

Once a candidate receives an NOI, they are given a strict deadline for submitting their application incomplete to AINP. If the application is approved, the applicant is notified of their selection for a provincial nomination, and the same is sent to the applicant’s IRCC online account. Once the provincial nomination is accepted, the applicant’s CRS score is increased by 600 points, almost guaranteeing an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence in the next Express Entry draw.

Once an ITA is received, the applicant must prepare and submit an official application for Canadian PR within the said timeframe. Such applications generally get processed within six months.
 

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