Indians in Canada continue to worry as the Canadian government announced the removal of extra points for permanent residency (PR) through the Express Entry stream.

The move is aimed at reducing fraud by removing the incentive to illegally buy or sell labour market impact assessments to improve a candidate’s chances of being selected to come to Canada as a permanent resident. This change will come into effect in spring 2025.

“As part of ongoing efforts to prevent and reduce fraud, Express Entry candidates will no longer receive additional points for having a job offer,” said Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC).

Once the candidates take effect, the changes will impact candidates pursuing permanent residence through the Express Entry system, including those currently working in Canada temporarily.

The changes will not affect candidates who have already been invited to apply or who have an application in progress. Once the change is introduced, it will apply to all candidates with job offers in the pool as well as new candidates entering the pool.   

Express Entry is Canada’s flagship application management system for those seeking to immigrate permanently through the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, the Canadian experience class and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program.

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