The Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship announced yesterday, October 27th, that French-speaking and bilingual candidates will receive additional points under the Express Entry system. According to the minister Marco Mendicino, the decision will help deliver the government’s commitment to reach the target of 4.4% French-speaking immigrant admissions outside Quebec by 2023. Last year, the percentage of French-speaking immigrants admitted to Canada outside Quebec reached 2.82%. 

The change announced will increase the current number of points from 15 to 25 for French-speaking candidates and from 30 to 50 for bilingual candidates. This change will apply to the initial awarded points system announced in June 2017 to candidates with strong French language skills.

Express Entry Program

The Express Entry system manages applications for permanent residence in two steps. First, individuals express their interest in immigrating to Canada by completing an online profile, which is screened electronically to determine if the individual is eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, or the Canadian Experience Class. Individuals who meet the eligibility criteria for at least one of these programs are placed in the Express Entry pool and assigned a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which is determined by comparing information in their profile to a transparent scoring criteria. Candidates in the pool are ranked against one another according to their CRS score.

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