Regulation 85 — Provincial nominees — Express Entry
Text of provision
A foreign national who is an accompanying family member of a person who makes an application as a member of the federal skilled worker class shall become a permanent resident if, following an examination, it is established that
(a) the person who made the application has become a permanent resident; and
(b) the foreign national is not inadmissible.
Plain English
Regulation 85 provides that an Express Entry candidate who receives a provincial/territorial nomination under the enhanced PNP stream is assigned 600 additional CRS points, effectively guaranteeing that they will receive an Invitation to Apply in the next draw. The nomination must be confirmed through the IRCC-province digital communication system before the points are awarded.
Non-Express Entry PNP nominations (the paper-based stream) are not processed through the CRS system — they follow a separate paper-based permanent residence process.
Practical effect
The 600-point nomination boost is so significant that it effectively creates a two-tier Express Entry system: those with provincial nominations and those without. Provincial nominees are virtually guaranteed an ITA regardless of their underlying human capital CRS score. This means provinces exercise enormous gatekeeping power over who immigrates to Canada, at least for the portion of the annual immigration levels allocated to PNP. Provinces have their own eligibility criteria and streams that may be more or less accessible than the federal programs.