What you need to know about EE Category based selection draws for 2023!
After a long wait to hear the details about how IRCC is changing its flagship Express Entry system, today, Minister Sean Fraser, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, released key details about how Express Entry will be changing for 2023.
On our Holthe Immigration Law blog, and on our Express Entry live Q&As, and in our Canadian Immigration Institute sessions, we have speculated quite a bit about the what the new “targeted draws” would involve once Bill C-19 was passed. The wait is over.
Here is what you need to know
PNP draws and no program specified draws and FSW or CEC draws will sill occur in 2023. Category based rounds “will add to add to general and program-specific rounds by inviting top-ranking candidates who can help us meet these specific economic goals.”
If you have a valid Express Entry profile and you do not meet the new categories, never fear, there is sill hope if you have a strong Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS).
If you do happen to have strong French skills or work in certain healthcare jobs, in certain STEM jobs, in a certain regulated Trade under Major Group 72, or in certain transport or agriculture jobs, the new EE Category based draws are good news for you this year and something you should act on right away.
Express Entry Category based draws for 2023 allow the Minister of Immigration to target EE candidates with French language skills and work experience in certain NOCs with certain levels of education. Category based EE draws will focus on 6 new categories:
1. French language proficiency;
2. Healthcare occupations;
3. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) occupations;
4. Trade occupations;
5. Transport occupations;
6. Agriculture and agri-food occupations.
How does category-based Express Entry work?
Remember that you will need to have a valid EE profile to be eligible for an Invitation to Apply (ITA). It seems like all the regular rules about eligibility for EE should apply but IRCC has not yet released full details yet. At this point, we assume that candidates must still meet the regular pass mark of 67 points under the selection grid and then be eligible for either CEC, FSW or FST. You can find a helpful layout of how Express Entry works from the government website.
Then, IRCC can release instructions for a category based round of invitations. (They have not yet released these new instructions so we don’t know what they will involve just yet.)
What you should do now to be eligible for the new EE category based rounds
French skills
To be eligible for the new French-language proficiency category make sure you have a minimum score of 7 in each of the 4 language abilities on the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens. Keep in mind that each of your scores for Speaking (expression orale), Listening (compréhension de l’oral), Reading (compréhension de l’écrit), and Writing (expression écrite) must be above NCLC 7. If any one of your scores is below NCLC 7, you won’t be eligible.
You should book an exam with TEF Canada or TCF Canada right away if you do not already have a valid French language exam that is less than 2 years old on the day you create your EE profile and on the day you apply for PR.
Healthcare occupations
To be eligible for the new category for healthcare occupations, you must be able to prove you have, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below:
| Occupation | 2021 NOC code | 2021 TEER category |
|---|---|---|
| Audiologists and speech language pathologists | 31112 | 1 |
| Chiropractors | 31201 | 1 |
| Dentists | 31110 | 1 |
| Dieticians and nutritionists | 31121 | 1 |
| Education counsellors | 41320 | 1 |
| General practitioners and family physicians | 31102 | 1 |
| Instructors of persons with disabilities | 42203 | 2 |
| Kinesiologists and other professional occupation in therapy and assessment | 31204 | 1 |
| Licensed practical nurses | 32101 | 2 |
| Massage therapists | 32201 | 2 |
| Medical laboratory assistants and related technical occupations | 33101 | 3 |
| Medical laboratory technologists | 32120 | 2 |
| Medical radiation technologists | 32121 | 2 |
| Medical sonographers | 32122 | 2 |
| Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates | 33102 | 3 |
| Nurse practitioners | 31302 | 1 |
| Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors | 31300 | 1 |
| Occupational therapists | 31203 | 1 |
| Optometrists | 31111 | 1 |
| Other assisting occupations in support of health services | 33109 | 3 |
| Other practitioners of natural healing | 32209 | 2 |
| Other professional occupations in health diagnosing and treating | 31209 | 1 |
| Other technical occupations in therapy and assessment | 32109 | 2 |
| Paramedical occupations | 32102 | 2 |
| Pharmacy technical assistants and pharmacy assistants | 33103 | 3 |
| Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals | 31303 | 1 |
| Physiotherapists | 31202 | 1 |
| Psychologists | 31200 | 1 |
| Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses | 31301 | 1 |
| Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists | 32103 | 2 |
| Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine | 31100 | 1 |
| Specialists in surgery | 31101 | 1 |
| Therapists in counselling and related specialized therapies | 41301 | 1 |
| Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners and acupuncturists | 32200 | 2 |
| Veterinarians | 31103 | 1 |
STEM occupations
To be eligible for the new category for STEM occupations, you must be able to prove you have, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below:
| Occupation | 2021 NOC code | 2021 TEER category |
|---|---|---|
| Architects | 21200 | 1 |
| Architecture and science managers | 20011 | 0 |
| Business systems specialists | 21221 | 1 |
| Civil Engineers | 21300 | 1 |
| Computer and information systems managers | 20012 | 0 |
| Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) | 21311 | 1 |
| Computer systems developers and programmers | 21230 | 1 |
| Cybersecurity specialists | 21220 | 1 |
| Data scientists | 21211 | 1 |
| Database analysts and data administrators | 21223 | 1 |
| Electrical and electronics engineers | 21310 | 1 |
| Engineering managers | 20010 | 0 |
| Industrial and manufacturing engineers | 21321 | 1 |
| Information systems specialists | 21222 | 1 |
| Land surveyors | 21203 | 1 |
| Landscape Architects | 21201 | 1 |
| Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries | 21210 | 1 |
| Metallurgical and materials engineers | 21322 | 1 |
| Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers | 41400 | 1 |
| Software developers and programmers | 21232 | 1 |
| Software engineers and designers | 21231 | 1 |
| Urban and land use planners | 21202 | 1 |
| Web designers | 21233 | 1 |
| Web developers and programmers | 21234 | 1 |
Trade occupations
To be eligible for the new category for Trade occupations, you must be able to prove you have, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below:
| Occupation | 2021 NOC code | 2021 TEER category |
|---|---|---|
| Residential and commercial installers and servicers | 73200 | 3 |
| Elevator constructors and mechanics | 72406 | 2 |
| Machine fitters | 72405 | 2 |
| Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics | 72402 | 2 |
| Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics | 72400 | 2 |
| Carpenters | 72310 | 2 |
| Plumbers | 72300 | 2 |
| Electricians (except industrial and power system) | 72200 | 2 |
| Welders and related machine operators | 72106 | 2 |
| Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers | 72014 | 2 |
Transport occupations
To be eligible for the new category for Transport occupations, you must be able to prove you have, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below:
| Occupation | 2021 NOC code | 2021 TEER category |
|---|---|---|
| Aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors | 93200 | 3 |
| Transport truck drivers | 73300 | 3 |
| Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators | 72604 | 2 |
| Engineer officers, water transport | 72603 | 2 |
| Deck officers, water transport | 72602 | 2 |
| Air traffic controllers and related occupations | 72601 | 2 |
| Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors | 72600 | 2 |
| Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors | 72404 | 2 |
| Railway carmen/women | 72403 | 2 |
| Managers in transportation | 70020 | 0 |
Agriculture and Agri-foods occupations
To be eligible for the new category for Agriculture and Agri-foods occupations, you must be able to prove you have, within the past 3 years, at least 6 months of continuous work experience (in Canada or abroad) in a single occupation listed in the table below:
| Occupation | 2021 NOC code | 2021 TEER category |
|---|---|---|
| Contractors and supervisors, landscaping, grounds maintenance and horticulture services | 82031 | 2 |
| Agricultural service contractors and farm supervisors | 82030 | 2 |
| Butchers- retail and wholesale | 63201 | 3 |
How we can help?
Express Entry is what we do! As lawyers, we have been helping people navigate all the fine details of Express Entry for many years. We have seen common areas where people miss what they think are small things and end up getting their PR application returned for being incomplete or refused for failure to provide one small item. Our experience in cross-referencing your prior applications for visitor status or work permits or study permits and looking wholistically at your personal history and work history and address history and travel history in your eAPR enable us to spot inconsistencies, gaps, and areas where you need to provide explanations. Hiring us as early as possible and hopefully before you create your EE profile helps make sure that you are not making errors in your application that could trip you up later.
The new category-based EE draws for 2023 are a unique opportunity for you to potentially meet your dreams of becoming a Canadian Permanent Resident. We would love to help you on your journey by providing immigration legal advice and providing one on one assistance throughout your process. It all starts with you booking a consultation and speaking to us directly.
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About the author:
Alicia Backman-Beharry
Canadian Immigration Lawyer