If you're unsure why you'd apply to a province directly instead of just waiting in the Express Entry (EE) pool for a general draw, here's how the two systems interact:
- Applying to a province is how you signal interest to that specific province, separate from waiting passively for a general federal Express Entry draw. Provinces don't automatically know you want to be nominated just because you're in the EE pool — most require some form of direct action from you.
- Some provinces require a formal Expression of Interest (EOI) before they'll consider you — this is a separate step from your EE profile, where you register interest in a specific province's PNP stream.
- Other provinces don't require an EOI and instead may search the EE pool directly for candidates matching their target occupations, based on your existing profile (NOC code, points, etc.) without you needing to do anything additional.
- A provincial nomination adds 600 CRS points, which effectively guarantees an Invitation to Apply (ITA) in the next general draw — so applying to a PNP (where eligible) is generally the fastest way to move out of the pool for candidates whose scores are far from clearing general draws.
Each province's specific process (EOI required or not) changes over time, so confirm on the province's official PNP page whether an EOI is needed for your target stream.