Canada features prominently among the most popular destinations to migrate overseas.
The fastest way to immigrate to Canada in 2021 is through the Express Entry system.
With the launch of the Express Entry system in January 2015, the immigration process to Canada has become streamlined and expedited as well.
The Express Entry system, also commonly called EE, is the application management system of the government of Canada.
It is through EE that the processing for various economic programs – the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) are held.
Why was Express Entry designed?
The government of Canada designed the EE system with 3 main objectives in view:
- Expediting the processing of the applications,
- Flexibility in the selection of applications and the management of applications, and
- Responsiveness to the needs and requirements of the labor market and the regional areas.
With the immense response received, the EE system has gone far and beyond merely meeting the objectives.
Incidentally, Indians were the largest group to receive PR visas in the first half of 2020.
What are the immigration targets for 2021-2023?
Canada is planning to welcome 1,233,000 new permanent residents over the next three years to help propel an economic recovery after the negative impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. Apart from this, immigrants are required to offset the effect of an aging population and a low birth rate. Here are more details:
| Year | Immigrants |
| 2021 | 401,000 |
| 2022 | 411,000 |
| 2023 | 421,000 |
The target figures indicate that Canada will be focusing in high immigration targets— more than 400,000 new permanent residents in the next three years in spite of the pandemic.
Though the immigration targets might seem huge and counterintuitive considering that the country is grappling with a high rate of unemployment but these targets have been set with a view to propel the economic growth of the country.
The immigration targets for 2021-23 is set to welcome 60 percent of the immigrants under the economic class program which will include the Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program.
Source: CIC news
Based on the information released by the government on immigration targets, more than 100,000 immigrants will gain a PR visa through the Express Entry system annually and around 80,000 immigrants will gain a PR visa through the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs).
Quick tool: Find out if you are eligible
Check out: Canada Visa Resources
How can a provincial nomination help me?
The Provincial Nominee Program, or PNP as it is more commonly referred to, is second only to the federal Express Entry system as the leading pathway to Canadian PR for skilled overseas-born workers.
9 provinces and 2 territories take part in the PNP.
Quebec has its own immigration program and does not participate in the PNP.
Nunavut is also not a part of PNP.
Source: CIC News
From its first year of operation to the present, the PNP has come a long way indeed.
While in 1996, the first year of operation of PNP, a mere 233 got their Canadian PR through PNP; the admission target for the next three years are:
| Year | Target | Low range | High range |
| 2021 | 80,800 | 64,000 | 81,500 |
| 2022 | 81,500 | 63,600 | 82,500 |
| 2023 | 83,000 | 65,000 | 84,000 |
There are many reasons that contribute to the success of PNP. As most of the immigrants to Canada prefer settling down in major cities, the regional areas in the provinces are left with a gap between the demand for labor and supply of the same. The PNP is one of the programs that seeks to address this issue.
A provincial nomination gives an additional 600 points to the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score of the profile of the candidate in the Express Entry Pool or EE Pool.
With the added 600, the CRS is high enough for being selected in the upcoming draw. A provincial nomination, thereby, is almost a guarantee that the candidate will receive the Invitation to Apply (ITA) in the next round.
Also, the CRS threshold set by the provinces in their draws is often lower when compared to that in the federal EE draw.
All things said and done, the fastest way to Canada in 2020 would probably be to first enter your profile in the federal EE pool and then send an Expression of Interest (EOI) to the provinces participating in the PNP.
You can lodge your EOI with more than one province at a time.
All the best!
If you are looking to Study, Work, Visit, Invest or Migrate to Canada, talk to Y-Axis, the World’s No.1 Immigration & Visa Company.