Author: Simon WU, Head of Newstars’ Beijing branch, an Australia-licensed migration agent whose pen name is “Ordinary Path”. With over 10 years of experience living and working in Australia, he specialises in overseas skilled migration and investor migration. Having once been a skilled migrant myself, I will guide many overseas migrants along their own extraordinary path.
Canada offers a huge variety of migration programmes — nearly a hundred in total — and every year new migrants arrive through different pathways. The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is one major branch of Canada’s migration system, and each province has its own nomination categories. Among these, Saskatchewan’s skilled migration programme is especially popular: it’s the only province where applicants can apply for skilled migration without needing four IELTS bands of 6.0, without having studied in Canada, and without an employer offer — as long as your points are high enough, you can enter the pool and wait for selection.
Here, I’d like to share a few situations that recent clients have encountered — ones you don’t often hear about:
My IELTS score was valid at the provincial nomination stage, but it expired after the nomination was approved — what should I do?
Answer: To enter the pool through the Express Entry (EE) fast-track stream, you need an IELTS score of at least 6.0 in each band, with a total score reaching 67 points. If your IELTS expires before you submit your federal application, you’ll need to retake the test and score at least 6.0 in each band again to meet the 67-point pool entry requirement before you can proceed through the EE stream at the federal stage. If your score falls below the pool entry requirement (i.e. at least four bands of 6.0), you’ll need to resubmit your provincial nomination application under the non-EE category; once the provincial nomination is approved, you can proceed through the non-EE stream.
When should I inform the provincial or federal immigration authorities if a new family member is born?
Answer: If a new family member arrives while your application is still being processed at the provincial level, you’ll need to provide the newborn’s birth certificate, passport, and other identity documents to the provincial immigration authority. If the new family member arrives after you’ve received your provincial nomination approval letter, you simply need to add the newborn’s information and documents when you submit your federal application. If a new family member arrives after you’ve received your visa stamping letter, you’ll need to provide the newborn’s birth certificate, passport, and other identity documents to the federal immigration authority — the child can still obtain permanent residency along with the primary applicant.
After my provincial nomination was approved, the Express Entry (EE) system suddenly showed “ineligible” and I can’t continue submitting my federal application through EE — what should I do?
Answer: The EE system frequently runs into technical issues. Normally, when you first fill in your personal details, the system checks whether you’re eligible to create an EE profile. But occasionally you may run into exactly this situation — even though you were originally eligible and already had an EE account, the system now tells you “ineligible”. Don’t panic in this situation: simply fill in a new EE profile, send your updated EE profile number to the provincial immigration authority, and they will issue you a new nomination letter attached to the new EE number.
I hope this helps applicants who are wondering whether they need to retake their IELTS test, as well as those expecting a new child. If you’re interested in Saskatchewan’s skilled migration policies, we’d love to hear from you — get in touch for a consultation.
