Express Entry is the digital pathway for skilled individuals aiming to achieve permanent residency in Canada. This streamlined system effectively manages applications under three distinct programs:
Once an applicant submits an online profile, the federal government evaluates their eligibility for one of these Express Entry-managed programs. Eligible candidates are then welcomed into the Express Entry pool and systematically ranked based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
This is a points-based assessment system that considers age, education, work experience, language proficiency, and more. It forms the basis for ranking candidates in the Express Entry pool.
When the time is right, the Canadian government extends Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence to the highest-scoring candidates from the pool. Additionally, Canada also offers specific categories for candidates to receive ITAs through category-based selection.
THE COMPLETE JOURNEY
When submitting your Express Entry profile, you’ll need to provide information from the following documents
A copy or details from your passport or travel document.
Proof of your language proficiency in English and/or French. This can include your test results, such as IELTS or CELPIP for English or TEF for French.
Documentation confirming your Canadian educational qualifications or an ECA report to assess your foreign educational credentials.
Evidence of your financial capacity to support yourself and your family in Canada. The exact amount required may vary based on your circumstances
If you have received a provincial nomination from a Canadian province or territory, include this as part of your application.
If you have a written job offer from a Canadian employer, provide the details and documentation.
Do not plan to work for an employer who regularly offers services such as striptease, erotic dance, escort services, or erotic massages.
Express Entry is an electronic management system used by Immigration, Refugees and
Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to manage and process applications received through four of
Canada’s federal economic immigration programs for skilled workers.
Interested Candidates are required to submit an online application to express their
interest by creating Express Entry (EE) profile and, providing information about their
skills, work experience, language ability, education, and some other details. After
submitting the profile, candidates get a score to determine their place in the pool using
the point-based system called Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS system
considers skills, work experience, language ability, education, and other factors (e.g.
having a sibling in Canada, Canadian education or a valid job offer in Canada, etc.) to
award points. Highest ranking candidates from Express Entry pool are regularly invited
to apply for Canadian Permanent Residence.
No Government fee is required to submit an Express Entry profile. The fee is only
requested when you are invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
If the information provided by the potential candidate turns out to be false, this is known
as misrepresentation and, depending on the nature and severity of the false claim,
carries penalties. A potential candidate who has been found to have provided false
information going into the Express Entry pool can be banned from re-entering the pool
for five years. Therefore, it is important to provide accurate and correct information
while creating the profile.
All candidates who create their Express Entry profile are given a score, out of 1,200,
based on factors that play an important role in the economic success of the newcomers
once they migrate to Canada. The Comprehensive Ranking System ranks eligible
candidates through Express Entry under the following components:
Core human capital factors
Candidates are awarded points for their age, education, language proficiency and
Canadian work experience. These are considered as key to economic success for
immigrants.
Spouse or common-law partner factors
Candidate’s are awarded points for education, language proficiency and Canadian work
experience of their accompanying spouse or common-law partner.
Skill transferability factors
A maximum of 100 points are awarded for a candidate’s skill transferability factors.
There are five combinations of such skill transferability, with a maximum of 50 points
awarded for each combination. Even if a candidate scores more than 100 points in total,
only 100 points will be awarded under the Comprehensive Ranking System.
Additional factors
This section awards 600 additional points for a Provincial nomination, and other
additional points for a valid job offer from a Canadian employer, Canadian
education/experience, a sibling in Canada, and/or French language ability.
After submitting the express entry profile, candidates get a score to determine their
place in the pool using the point-based system called Comprehensive Ranking System
(CRS). The CRS system considers skills, work experience, language ability, education,
and other factors (e.g. having a sibling in Canada, Canadian education or a valid job
offer in Canada, etc.) to award points.
Candidates are required to update their profile to reflect any changes in their status,
such as in language ability, family composition, work experience, or education
credentials.
Highest ranking candidates from Express Entry pool are regularly invited to apply for
Canadian Permanent Residence. If a candidate’s score is close to, equal or higher than
the minimum CRS score cut-off in most recent Express Entry draws, then they will likely
be competitive in the Express Entry pool candidates.
Usually, it is impossible to predict the minimum CRS score cut-off in future Express
Entry draws. The CRS score cut-off is impacted by a range of factors, including
difference between two consecutive draws, number of ITA’s issued in each draw, and
how many new candidates have entered the pool or increased their CRS score. If more
time passes between two consecutive draws, typically the minimum CRS score cut-off
increases, as more candidates will have time to enter the pool and existing candidates
have more time to improve their scores
There are few factors under CRS which may help you in improving your CRS score.
Language Skills
This factor can award up to 260 CRS points for a single candidate and up to 270 points
for a couple? Language is not only the most valued human capital factor under the
Comprehensive Ranking System, but it is also a factor where incremental gains can
make a huge difference. Extra points are awarded for each improvement in language
test results across the four language abilities (reading, writing, listening & speaking).
Highest threshold is obtained when a candidate achieves a Canadian Language
Benchmark (CLB) level of 9 in each ability. Higher CLB also triggers an increase in
points under skills transferability factors (education and work experience).
To reach CLB 9 on the IELTS General Training exam, you must achieve the following
minimum scores:
Listening 8.0 | Speaking 7.0 | Reading | 7.0 Writing 7.0
To reach CLB 9 on the CELPIP general exam, you must achieve a minimum score of 9 in
each of the four abilities (reading, writing, listening & speaking).
Work Experience
If you are working outside Canada but have less than three years of full-time experience,
keep working! Try to accumulate more than three years of work experience because, it
will give you more points under skills transferability factors. If you are already working in
Canada on a work permit the same applies. If you indicate that your employment is
ongoing on your Express Entry profile, your CRS score will automatically update when
you reach a new threshold of work experience. Although there are limits as to how many
CRS points you can earn, however, more work experience and skills may be in demand
in a specific province which could lead to a coveted Provincial Nomination.
Spouse
Candidates with a spouse, however, may have additional potential for improving their
CRS score because the spouses’ level of education, language ability, and Canadian work
experience may all be rewarded. You can add up to 20 points to your CRS through your
partner’s first language scores. You can add up to 10 points to your CRS score by
getting ECA done for your partner’s education.
Job Offer
A job offer from a Canadian employer will bring you 50 CRS points. If you are not
currently in Canada, obtaining a job offer from a Canadian employer may be difficult, but
there are plenty of online resources where you may find employment opportunities.
Provincial Nomination
If you want a 600 boost to your CRS score, plus the knowledge &b skills that you are
being welcomed with open arms into your chosen destination province. A nomination
from one of the provinces under Express Entry Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP)
adds 600 additional points to your overall CRS and in most cases will secure you an ITA
in the next draw. Many Canadian provinces have been using their Express Entry aligned
“enhanced” PNP streams in innovative, dynamic ways. Ontario has targeted specific
occupation groups, notably in the Information Technology (IT) sector, Nova Scotia and
Saskatchewan have PNP streams for candidates across a range of occupations (no job
offer required!), British Columbia continues to invite candidates to apply under its
unique system; Alberta and Manitoba have entirely new Express Entry aligned streams
and other provinces have also been on board, issuing nominations to candidates in the
Express Entry pool
Explore the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) across Canada that offer streams
within the Express Entry system. These programs provide a pathway to Canadian
immigration for eligible candidates
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