"This team was able to look at these people in a completely different way, and find value in them that, in many cases, they didn't even know they had."

--Michael Lewis, on his book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game.

Football fans, if you missed Michael Lewis’ Moneyball (or the Brad Pitt movie based on it), take another look.  It seems to be a niche study of about the use of statistics in US baseball, but in fact it’s about how taking a fresh and different perspective produced startlingly good results.

Plus, Liverpool FC owners Fenway Sports Group are fans of the system, which has undoubtedly played a role in Liverpool’s recent successes.

But of interest to Canadian Express Entry applicants is the insight it provides about shifting your approach.

What Lewis described were the efforts of a seasoned coach looking for a competitive edge. What he found were players who were undervalued by a set of numbers used to describe who they were, and what they could do.

In other words, the system had said they were losers: ineligible for the big leagues.

False Negative, False Positives

Turns out, the system was flawed: it had misallocated value scores based on what we can refer to as a point scoring system. The numbers used (statistics, in that case) weren’t exactly wrong, but they turned out offer a less than comprehensive valuation.

A closer look revealed value in players the system had ignored.

So too with the Canadian Express Entry system. The system uses a point scoring system to determine eligibility, and competitiveness, and the Canadian government’s site will quickly tell you whether you fit the profile.

But for many, this offers either a ‘false negative’, or indeed, a ‘false positive’: it says you are ineligible (or eligible), when in fact the result is an oversimplification of a far more complicated and nuanced system, which ignores other opportunities entirely.

It works for Canada

Flawed though it may be, the Express Entry system is unavoidably a central part of most of those journeys – and it works for Canada. So if you’re a skilled worker emigrating to Canada, you will need to get to grips with the Canada’s Express Entry processing system.

But points systems rarely provide the final answer, and turning to points calculators at the wrong time (often as not, at the outset) can steer you towards the wrong result.

This is where it can be invaluable to have an expert guide the user away from the traps, and towards the opportunities.

The first thing Express Entry applicants should know is that it is just a visa processing system, not a visa in itself. Canada introduced Express Entry in January 2015, not least to resolve a multi-year application processing backlog.

It succeeded in doing this by eliminating much of the antiquated paper-filing and queuing system, which had required qualified applicants to wait in the queue behind less qualified applicants further ahead in the queue. That might universally be regarded as a good thing.

It also succeeded in bringing the entire application process into the 21^st Century, with smooth online application portals and easy-to-use features. Again, brilliant, if arguably overdue.

What You Don't Know Might Hurt You

However, the smooth user interface also invariably hid a huge amount of legal complexity, which had never been obvious to most, and which was now neatly tucked away behind the automation.

Depending on your perspective this might either seem to be an added bonus, or so unfortunate as to seem a bit like a trap.  

As professional advisors we can help you avoid the traps, and provide the insight into alternatives, and strategic decisions, which can turn a marginal application into a success outcome.

And, we might even be able help you find value you didn’t even know you have.

If you're emigrating to Canada, complete our free assessment form today to see how we can help you make Canada you new home.