This is a huge development in the landscape of Canadian citizenship and immigration.

InviteOnlyWhat this news means is that immigration will be primarily determined on an economic basis and will be based on invitation only (i.e. a Canadian must invite skilled workers) in the future.

This is a shift from the current system from “I put my application & please assess” to “if you are good enough for us, we will invite you to make an application” system.

Taken from the 41st PARLIAMENT, 2nd SESSION, Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration: Maia Welbourne (Senior Director, Strategic Policy and Planning, Department of Citizenship and Immigration) .. <excerpts here>

…The expression-of-interest model (EOI) is a new electronic, fully automated, application management system that will apply to certain economic immigration streams..

We are …consulting Canadian employers so they will be ready to consider EOI candidates that meet their skills requirements when the domestic labour force cannot. An offer of employment will play a key role in a decision to issue candidates an invitation to apply. 

 The new system will facilitate the arrival of the candidates best suited to Canada’s needs, rather than the first person who applied. Aligning these applications to processing capacity and eliminating time spent waiting in inventories will support faster processing times…parliament

    A second feature of this system is its ability to increase the immigration system’s labour market responsiveness

    To recap, the key objectives of EOI are to improve application management and reduce processing backlogs, to increase the labour market responsiveness of the immigration system, and to strengthen the provincial, territorial and employer role.

Some say that “An EOI system has the potential to make Canadian immigration more responsive to addressing the needs of the Canadian labour market…If the system generates wide-spread participation, it would benefit skilled immigrants since they can arrive in the country with employment offers as opposed to having to go through the lengthy process of seeking employment.

Here is another reference: Backgrounder — Expression of Interest (EOI): Preparing for Success in 2015

What do you think of this development? Have you been following it? Feel free to comment here.

If you have any individual questions or concerns, please contact our office for more customized consultation for your unique situation.  Please note that this posting is for general information only and is not to be considered binding or official legal counsel since situations will vary and can be complicated. The content in this post is current as of the day of entry. Due to the changing nature of Immigration law, the information in this entry may or may not still be applicable.