Canada Express Entry Immigration
Canada Express Entry is the most popular immigration system offering Canadian permanent residence, introduced by the federal government in January 2015 to replace the old “first come, first served” process.
What is Express Entry and how does it work?
Express Entry is not an immigration program in itself, it is actually an online system created to manage Canada’s immigration applications intake.
Applicants who meet eligibility criteria submit an online profile known as an Expression of interest (EOI), under one of 3 federal Canada immigration programs or a participating provincial immigration program, to the Express Entry Pool.
Candidates’ profiles are ranked against each other according to a points-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The highest ranked candidates will be considered for an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence. Those receiving an ITA must quickly submit a full application and pay processing fees, within a delay of 60-days.
The federal government aims to process complete PR applications in only 6 months.
How Express Entry Works
Express Entry is an online immigration system which manages skilled workers applications for permanent residence to Canada under federal and certain provincial economic programs.
It is not an immigration program in itself, but a method for selecting the best candidates for Canada’s existing skilled worker immigration programs.
Which Programs Are Covered by Express Entry?
What Is the Express Entry Process?
Candidates submit a self-assessed profile online to the Express Entry Pool which is scored using a Comprehensive Ranking System
Are you eligible to immigrate to Canada under Express Entry?
Points are scored based on core factors such as age, education, work experience and language ability.
Significant points are also available for a qualified job offer and a provincial nomination.
The top scoring candidates are issued Invitations to Apply for permanent residence via periodic immigration draws, usually every two weeks.
Once issued a coveted ITA, the candidate has 60 days to perfect their application for permanent residence under one of the programs above.
If they fail to make the 60-day deadline, the ITA becomes invalid.
The target processing time for applications received via Express Entry is six months, which is achieved 85 per cent of the time.
What Are Some Advantages of Express Entry?
- Ability to alter the program quickly and efficiently based on Canada’s economic needs.
- Better aligns Canada’s immigration intake with labour market requirements.
- Candidates can improve their scores whilst in the pool, meaning they can work towards achieving an Invitation to Apply.
- Offers a clear and realistic picture of a candidate’s Canada immigration prospects.
- Dramatically reduced processing times by prioritizing those more likely to be successful.
- Gives government flexibility on immigration through CRS changes and program-specific draws.
Why Did Canada Launch Express Entry?
Canada launched Express Entry in 2015 in order to move from a “first-come, first-served” immigration system to one that selected candidates with the best chance of economic success.
Express Entry is considered as an example to the world of how to run a fluid and flexible economic immigration system.
With simple changes to the Comprehensive Ranking System, the Canadian government can use immigration to respond to economic and labour market changes.
Since 2015, two major modifications to the CRS have taken place:
- In November 2016, the system was tweaked to reduce points for a job offer and introduce points for Canadian education credentials. The “job offer” definition has also been extending to include certain LMIA-exempted job offers.
- In June 2017, a further change provided additional points for advanced French language skills (NCLC 7 or higher) and for having a sibling in Canada.
On this date, the Job Bank registration has also become voluntary.
Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)
All skilled immigration applicants that are eligible for the Express Entry System will be placed into the pool of candidates. Candidates in the pool are then ranked using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS is used to determine which applicants in the pool will be invited to apply for permanent residence.
For more information on the Pool of Candidates,
The CRS is a points-based system that gives a score to a candidate based on the information in the candidate’s profile. These scores allow candidates in the pool to be ranked against each other. Applicants are given points based on the following factors:
- Skills
- Work experience
- Language ability
- Language ability and education of the applicant’s spouse or common law partner
- Possession of a job offer supported by a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment
- Possession of a provincial government nomination for permanent residence
- Certain combinations of language skills, education and work experience that result in a higher chance of the applicant becoming employed (skill transferability).
Using these factors, applicants will be given a score out of a maximum of 1,200 points. The highest ranked applicants will be offered an invitation to apply for permanent residence (ITA) during period draws.
The CRS prioritizes applicants who are likely to successfully settle and have a positive economic impact within Canada. For this reason, having an approved job offer or a provincial nomination for permanent residence will have a very positive impact on an applicant’s score.
Having an approved job offer in a managerial field (National Occupation Classification 00) is worth 200 points, while all other job offers (NOC O, A, B) is worth 50 points. Both points allocations will serve to significantly strengthen a candidate’s profile.
A provincial nomination will automatically result in 600 points being given to an applicant. This allocation of points will almost always guarantee that a candidate will receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence.
| Express Entry CRS Grid | |||
| 1.Core/Human Capital Factors | Maximum | ||
| Age | With spouse | Single | 100/110 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 0 | 0 | |
| 18 | 90 | 99 | |
| 19 | 95 | 105 | |
| 20-29 | 100 | 110 | |
| 30 | 95 | 105 | |
| 31 | 90 | 99 | |
| 32 | 85 | 94 | |
| 33 | 80 | 88 | |
| 34 | 75 | 83 | |
| 35 | 70 | 77 | |
| 36 | 65 | 72 | |
| 37 | 60 | 66 | |
| 38 | 55 | 61 | |
| 39 | 50 | 55 | |
| 40 | 45 | 50 | |
| 41 | 35 | 39 | |
| 42 | 25 | 28 | |
| 43 | 15 | 17 | |
| 44 | 5 | 6 | |
| >45 | 0 | 0 | |
| Level of EducaLon | With spouse | Single | 140/150 |
| Secondary school(highschool) credenLal | 28 | 30 | |
| 1-year post-secondary program credenLal | 84 | 90 | |
| 2-year post-secondary program credenLal | 91 | 98 | |
| ≥3 year post-secondary program credenLal | 112 | 120 | |
| ≥2 post-secondary program credenLals (onebeingat | |||
| Master’s OR Entry-to-pracLce professional degree | 126 | 135 | |
| Doctorate | 140 | 150 | |
| Language Proficiency | With spouse | Single | 128/136 |
| First Official Language-eachability | |||
| CLB 4 (L4.5, R3.5, W4, S4) or 5 (R4, 5 in all others) | 6 | 6 | |
| CLB 6 (5 in Reading, 5.5 in all others) | 8 | 9 | |
| CLB 7 (6 in all four abiliLes) | 16 | 17 | |
| CLB 8 (7.5 in Listening, 6.5 in all others) | 22 | 23 | |
| CLB 9 (8 in Listening, 7 in all others) | 29 | 31 | |
| CLB ≥ 10 (L8.5, R8, W7.5, S7.5) | 32 | 34 | |
| Second Official Language- each ability | |||
| CLB 5 or 6 | 1 | 1 | |
| CLB 7 or 8 | 3 | 3 | |
| CLB ≥ 9 | 6 | 6 | |
| Additional points for both French and English | |||
| CLB 7 in French and CLB 4 or less for English | 15 | 15 | |
| CLB 7 in French and CLB 5 or higher for English | 30 | 30 | |
| Canadian Work Experience | With spouse | Single | 70/80 |
| 0 – ≤1 year | 0 | 0 | |
| 1 year | 35 | 40 | |
| 2 years | 46 | 53 | |
| 3 years | 56 | 64 | |
| 4 years | 63 | 72 | |
| ≥ 5 years | 70 | 80 | |
| TOTAL POINTS UNDER HUMAN CAPITAL FACTOR | 0 | ||
| 2. Spouse or Common-law partner Factors | |||
| Education | With spouse | Single | 10 |
| Less than secondary school(high school) credenLal | 0 | NA | |
| Secondary school(high school) credenLal | 2 | NA | |
| 1-year post-secondary program credenLal | 6 | NA | |
| 2-year post-secondary program credenLal | 7 | NA | |
| ≥3 year post-secondary program credenLal | 8 | NA | |
| ≥2 post-secondary program credenLals (one be in gat) | 9 | NA | |
| Master’s OR Entry-to-pracLce professional degree | 10 | NA | |
| Doctorate | 10 | NA | |
| Language Proficiency | With spouse | Single | 20 |
| First Official Language-eachability | NA | ||
| CLB 5 or 6 | 1 | NA | |
| CLB 7 or 8 | 3 | NA | |
| CLB ≥ 9 | 5 | NA | |
| Canadian Work Experience | With spouse | Single | 10 |
| 0 – ≤1 year | 0 | NA | |
| 1 year | 5 | NA | |
| 2 years | 4 | NA | |
| 3 years | 8 | NA | |
| 4 years | 9 | NA | |
| ≥ 5 years | 10 | NA | |
| TOTAL POINTS UNDER SPOUSE/COMMON LAW SPOUSE FACTORS | 0 | ||
| 3. Skills Transfer ability Factors | |||
| Education & Language | With spouse | Single | 50 |
| ≥ 2 post-secondary degrees + CLB 7 | 25 | 25 | |
| ≥ 1-year post-secondary program degree + CLB 9 in all | |||
| ≥ 2 post-secondary degrees + CLB 9 in all abiliLes | 50 | 50 | |
| Education & Canadian Work Experience | With spouse | Single | 50 |
| ≥ 1-year post-secondary program degree + 1 year | |||
| ≥ 2 post-secondary degrees + 1 year Canadian work | |||
| ≥ 1-year post-secondary program degree + 2 year | |||
| ≥ 2 post-secondary degrees + 2 year Canadian work | |||
| Foreign Work Experience & Language | With spouse | Single | 50 |
| 1-2 years + CLB 7 | 13 | 13 | |
| ≥ 3 years + CLB 7 | 25 | 25 | |
| 1-2 years + CLB 9 | 25 | 25 | |
| ≥ 3 years + CLB 9 | 50 | 50 | |
| Foreign Work Experience & Canadian Work Experience | With spouse | Single | 50 |
| 1-2 years foreign work experience + 1 year Canadian | |||
| ≥ 3 years foreign work experience + 1 year Canadian | |||
| 1-2 years foreign work experience + 2 year Canadian | |||
| ≥ 3 years foreign work experience + 2 year Canadian | |||
| Certificate of Qualification and Language | With spouse | Single | 50 |
| Certificate of Qualification + CLB5, ≥1 CLB7 | 25 | 25 | |
| Certificate of Qualification + CLB7 | 50 | 50 | |
| TOTAL POINTS UNDER SKILLS TRANSFERABILITY FACTOR | 0 | ||
| 4. Provincial Nominee or Offer of Employment or EducaLonin Canada | |||
| Provincial Nomination | With spouse | Single | 600 |
| Named on provincial nominee certificate | 600 | 600 | |
| Offer of Employment from a Canadian company | With spouse | Single | 200 |
| Qualifying offer of employment – NOC 00 | 200 | 200 | |
| Qualifying offer of employment- NOC 0, A or B | 50 | 50 | |
| TOTAL POINTS UNDER PROVINCIAL NOMINEE OR OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT FACTOR | 0 | ||
| 5. Additional Points | |||
| Post-secondary education in Canada | With spouse | Single | 30 |
| Credential of one or 2 years | 15 | 15 | |
| Credential three years or longer, Master or PhD | 30 | 30 | |
| Sibling in Canada | With spouse | Single | 15 |
| Sibling in Canada who is over 18 + PR or citizen | 15 | 15 | |
| TOTAL POINTS UNDER PROVINCIAL NOMINEE OR OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT FACTOR | 0 | ||
| Overall Total | Maximum | 1200 | |
| Total points under human capital factors | 0 | ||
| Total points under skills transferability factors | 0 | ||
| Total points under provincial nomination or offer of | |||
| Total points under provincial nomination or offer of | 0 | ||
To calculate your score at express entry visa please visit Express Consultancy or book for an appointment from the website
N,B: Our consultants will inform you details of CRS and occupation list once you meet them
https://www.immigration.ca/canada-express-entry-immigration (page source)