The pandemic caused students to adopt new methods of learning with travel restrictions. So, students have taken the steps to study online as they couldn’t attend classes physically in the past two years.
Observing this, Canada has decided to relax the rules for Candidates applying under Express Entry and opted for online studies.
Usually, online education isn’t acknowledged under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), particularly if more than half of the program was finished via distance learning.
However, recently IRCC has announced a new update for Express Entry candidates. It says that they will now be eligible for Canadian Educational Credential points for its programs that were completed between March 2020 and August 2022.
According to IRCCs latest information, this new measure is for those candidates who have achieved an online diploma, degree, or certificate in Canada during their period of eligibility.
The candidates will remain eligible to get CRS points even in the following conditions:
- If they have completed the studies online;
- if they have completed studies from outside Canada;
- If they have completed studies on a part-time basis
IRCC has sent a letter informing the candidates about the change and has also instructed them to keep their Express Entry profiles updated.
The letter is for candidates who have asked for education credential to update their profiles based on three questions in the section on education history. The candidates will have to respond to the duration of the in-person study, a study in Canada, and study completion on a full-time basis to acquire the education credential.
These fields are mandatory and can’t be skipped by the candidates as doing so will lower their CRS score.
The letter talks about the changes made under the Express Entry system and its evaluation of Canadian education credentials that will impact the Express Entry profiles.
The letter further instructed the candidates to update their profiles if they have claimed their education credentials. The three questions are compulsory and need to be answered by the candidates, failing to do so would hamper their CRS score. The three questions will be based on in-person study or training, Canadian study or training, and full-time study or training that was finished to acquire the education credential. Missing to fill in these fields will lower their CRS score and they won’t get a chance to apply for Canadian PR.
They must update the profile by August 2, 2022, to increase their chances of applying for Canadian permanent residence in the upcoming Express Entry invitation rounds.
IRCC holds Express Entry draws regularly once every two weeks, although there have been changes related to this in the past. The upcoming Express Entry draw is likely to occur on August 3. IRCC continued with the all-program draws from July 6 in which a total of 1,500 invites were sent to candidates for permanent residency status.
