Alberta PNP: CRS drops to 301 in latest AINP draw

The details of the latest provincial draw by Alberta, under the Provincial Nominee Program [PNP], have been released.

On March 2, 2021, Alberta PNP — officially known as the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program [AINP] — issued 200 invitations under the Alberta Express Entry Stream Selection Draws. The minimum CRS required was 301.

As the AINP stream is linked with the federal Express Entry system of Canada, the CRS scores of the candidates have a role to play in the selection.

By ‘CRS’ here is implied the Comprehensive Ranking System [CRS] that is used for ranking the Express Entry profiles.

The latest March 2 AINP draw had the minimum CRS requirement drop to 301. The previous February 16 draw had a requirement of CRS 352. This is the fifth AINP draw to be held so far in 2021.

Alberta might select candidates from the federal Express Entry portal based on the profile information submitted by them.

Selected candidates are sent invitations – or Notification of Interest [NOI] letters – in their Express Entry profile with Immigration, Refugees and CitizenshipCanada [IRCC].

NOI letters that are sent out in AINP draws are affected by various factors, such as the volume of candidates meeting the requirements, the occupation or sector of submissions in AINP processing queues, as well as the number of nominations available.

An Express Entry candidate that is also a provincial nominee – through any of the PNP pathways aligned with the federal Express Entry system – is allotted 600 CRS points, thereby boosting their profile towards the top of the Express Entry pool.

According to IRCC, as on March 1, 2021, of the total 147,688 Express Entry profiles in the pool of candidates, 407 were in the CRS 601 to 1,200 score range.

When can an Express Entry candidate receive a NOI letter from the AINP?

A candidate with their profile in the federal Express Entry system might receive aNOI letter from the AINP if – ·         They have an active IRCC Express Entry profile ·         They meet the eligibility criteria for at least one of the Express Entry programs [FSWP, FSTP, or CEC] ·         Have stated an interest in Alberta immigration ·         Are working in an occupation that supports the diversification and economic development of Alberta ·         Have a minimum CRS 300 as their ranking score in the federal Express Entry system Certain adaptability factors might increase the likelihood of such an Express Entry candidate being invited by the AINP. By “adaptability factors” are implied factors that increase the potential of the candidate's successfully establishing themselves economically within Alberta after being granted their Canadian permanent residence. Factors such as having an Alberta job offer and/or work experience etc. Do keep in mind that an Express Entry profile expiring within 5 months might decrease the chances of that candidate being considered by the AINP.

Note. FSWP: Federal Skilled Worker Program, FSTP: Federal Skilled Trades Program, CEC: Canadian Experience Class.

As per AINP Alberta, as on March 16, 2021, there were “approximately 2,300 Alberta Opportunity Stream applications and 100 expression of interest applications in the Alberta Express Entry pool.”

As of now, the total number of nominations that can be issued by AINP Canada in 2021 is not available.

AINP draws in 2021   Total draws held: 5 Total invitations issued: 709
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
February 16, 2021	159	CRS 352
March 2, 2021	200	CRS 301

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