Immigration candidates who are Francophones and bilingual will now receive additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points under the Express Entry system, immigration minister Marco Mendicino announced.
Express Entry is the system that the federal Canadian government uses to manage permanent residence applications through the country’s three main economic class immigration programs:
- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
- Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC).
The Canadian government has target goals to reach a total of 4.4 per cent of French-speaking immigrant admissions by 2023.
There has been an increase in French-speaking immigrant admissions to Canada over the last few years. In fact, in 2019, a total of 2.82 per cent of immigrants admitted to provinces other than Quebec, were French speakers.
However, it seems that this increase is not enough to reach the target in time.
Increasing CRS points awarded to French speakers through Express Entry may help Canada reach this target.
So what has changed you ask?
Immigration candidates who score 7 or higher in the Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) in all French language skills, will receive an additional 25 CRS points. Previously candidates received just 15 points.
Those who score 5 or higher in the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) in all English language skills, in addition to French, will receive 50 CRS points. Previously candidates received just 30 points.