Tips to improve your score
Dear Ms Powell, How can I get permanent residence in Canada? My husband is a chef and we would love to qualify.
– W.L.
Dear W.L., I am continuing my answer from two weeks ago, and I hope to provide you with tips on how to improve your Comprehensive Ranking Score, so that you can receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence in Canada.
You will need to provide language reports for English and/or French.
Canada is looking for individuals who can fill the gap in the labour market and contribute to the economy. They are looking for professionals or federal skilled workers, as well as certain specified skilled trade workers.
The skilled trades that are currently eligible for the Federal Skilled Trades Programme and the Express Entry System are those that are classified as industrial, electrical, construction, maintenance and equipment operation, supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture and related production, processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors, central control operators, chefs, cooks, butchers and bakers. All these skills are classified as skill-type B and will be admitted into the pool.
A report from the Canadian government revealed that over 12,000 individuals received invitations to apply for permanent residence in 2015. Majority of the applicants came from occupations such as food service supervisors, cooks, information systems analysts and consultants, software engineers, computer programmers, university professors and lecturers, financial auditors, accountants and investment analysts.
You will need to show proof of training and education by way of an Educational Credential Assessment report, as well as a minimum of one year’s work experience in the occupation.
Your profile will be reviewed and points will be given based on factors such as core human capital; accompanying spouse or common-law partner; skill transferability and factors relating to a provincial nomination or a job offer from a qualified employer.
A single applicant can get up to 500 points just based on core human capital factors. Points will be awarded based on age, level of education, language proficiency and Canadian work experience (minimum of one continuous year).
Additional points can be obtained from receiving a valid job offer or provincial nomination. You can get an additional 600 points if you have a valid job offer with a Labour Market Impact Assessment report or a provincial nomination. You will need to submit a separate application to the provinces in order to receive a provincial nomination.
Here are examples of possible scores:
Mary is 27 years old with a master’s degree. She scored the maximum points in each band in her English test; no French language exam; five years’ postgraduation work experience outside of Canada; no job offer; no provincial nomination. She is married to John 38, who has a bachelor’s degree, received the maximum in the English test. They have one child and CDN$20,000 in savings.
Mary and John could get a score of approximately 488 based on the combined Core/Human, Spouse and Skill Transferability factors and likely to get an invitation to apply for permanent residence within six months.
Andrew is 24 years old; has a bachelor’s degree; three years’ work experience; English test scores of 8.5 in each band; French exam: 120 in each band; CDN$13,000 in savings; no children; no provincial nomination; no job offer.
He would get an approximate score of 441. He would be admitted into the express entry pool. However, his chances of receiving an invitation to apply for permanent residence would greatly improve if he does a one-year master’s degree or resits the French examination and gets a minimum of 300 points in each band. That would result in his score improving to 452.
So, you see it is important to get the highest possible scores for the language examinations. That is the easiest ways to increase your score and improve your chances of getting permanent residence in Canada. Pay special attention to the listening examination and aim for a minimum of nine in this particular category. This is a sure way of maximising your overall points.
To find out your score based on your particular situation and for additional tips on how to maximise your scores, consult with an immigration lawyer.