AINP: CRS drops to 301 in latest provincial draw by Alberta

The province of Alberta in Canada has held its third provincial draw of 2021. On February 10, 2021, the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program [AINP] issued another 200 invitations – under the Alberta Express Entry Stream – to Canada immigration candidates to apply for a provincial nomination for permanent residence. As the stream is linked with the federal Express Entry system managed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada [IRCC], the rank of the candidate in the Express Entry pool has a role to play in the selection of candidates. In the latest February 10 AINP draw by Alberta, the minimum score, based on the Express Entry’s Comprehensive Ranking System [CRS], was that of 301.

The score requirement of a minimum of CRS 301 is a drop of nearly 60 points from the previous AINP draw held on January 28 that had a requirement of at least CRS 360.  

Alberta is a part of the Provincial Nominee Program [PNP] of Canada. There are almost 80 immigration pathways available under the PNP, each targeted at a specific category of immigrants. Under the Alberta Express Entry Stream, the provincial government of Alberta “reviews available candidates in the federal Express Entry pool”. Selected candidates are then invited to submit a completed application to the AINP. Candidates successful in securing an AINP nomination get a step closer to their Canadian permanent residence. Fetching 600 CRS points for an Express Entry candidate, a PNP nomination is a guarantee of the individual being issued an Invitation to Apply [ITA] by IRCC in the next federal draw to be held. It is the only the highest-ranked Express Entry profiles that are invited to apply. Not all Express Entry candidates receive invitations.

  Those that have received aNotification of Interest [NOI] letter from the AINP – and are interested in being considered for the Alberta Express Entry Stream – might then proceed to submitting their complete application. NOIs letters issued by the AINP are affected by certain factors, such as –

• Total number of nominations available,
• Submissions already in the AINP processing queues, and
• The volume of potential candidates meeting the stream requirements.

In order to receive an NOI letter from the AINP under the Alberta Express Entry Stream, the candidate must – ·         Have an active Express Entry profile ·         Have expressed an interest in migrate overseas to Alberta ·         Be working in an occupation supporting the economic development and diversification of Alberta, and ·         Have at least CRS 300 as their ranking score in the Express Entry pool of candidates. Certain ‘adaptability’ factors – such as an Alberta job offer and/or work experience – increase the likelihood of an Express Entry candidate being invited by the AINP.

  Alberta’s allocation for nomination certificates under the PNP in 2020 was 6,250. Alberta, however, reduced their 2020 AINP allocation to 4,000 nominations in view of COVID-19. This target of 4,000 nominations was met by the AINP by June 2020. Consequently, Alberta did not hold any AINP draws in the second half of the year. The total number of provincial nominations allocated to the AINP for 2021 has not been disclosed as yet.

AINP draws in 2021   Total draws held: 3 Total invitations issued: 350
Invitation Dates	Number of Invitations issued	CRS score of lowest ranked candidate
January 8, 2021	50	CRS 406
January 28, 2021	100	CRS 360
February 10, 2021	200	CRS 301

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