The Canada Express Entry Program is a points based immigration program for professionals looking to settle in Canada.
What is Express Entry program?
It awards points to professionals based on skills, experience, Canadian employment status and provincial/territorial nomination. The higher your points, the greater your chances of receiving an invitation to Apply (ITA) for Permanent Residency in Canada.
Typically PR applications submitted through this route are processed in 6-12 months or fewer.
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Canada Express Entry Program Detail
- This is an online program which has no cap on applicants and is open throughout the year
- The program applies only to Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Traders Program, and Canadian Experience Class Immigration Program
- You must submit an Expression of Interest and apply as an applicant under any type of job mentioned in Skill Types 0, A and B
- Your profile will be evaluated based on points and will be placed in the applicant pool
- Canadian provinces and employers will access this pool and find talent to meet their needs
The highest points holders are sent an Invitation to Apply for PR
Eligibility For EXPRESS ENTRY Program:
The Canada Express Entry Program relies on a points-based system to evaluate applicants. The main objective of this system is to identify applicants who have the highest chance of succeeding after they migrate to Canada. The points scale has a maximum score of 1200 and evaluates you and your spouse (if any) on your:
You need to have a minimum of 67 points out of 100 to be eligible to apply under the Express Entry program.
What is Express Entry Skilled Worker (FSW)?
This program is for skilled workers with foreign work experience who want to immigrate to Canada permanently. The Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program is one of the three programs contained within Canada’s Express Entry system for processing permanent residency applications. All programs within Express Entry are highly competitive, utilizing Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to rank candidates.
Who is eligible to apply under the Skilled Worker program?
a candidate must meet certain minimum requirements regarding years of experience, level of education, age, and English or French language proficiency:
How can I apply under the FSW program?
Interested candidates must submit an Express Entry profile to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Submitting an Express Entry profile does not guarantee a candidate will receive Canadian permanent residence. Only after submitting an Express Entry profile will a candidate be assigned a CRS score and be considered in future Express Entry draws for Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for permanent residence.
After Nomination
If a candidate is successful in receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence, they will move onto the second stage of the application process. In this second stage, the applicant will have 60 days to prepare and submit an electronic Application for Permanent Residence (eAPR).
This application requires further documentation.
When submitting your Express Entry profile, an FSW candidate will need to provide the following documents:
FAQ
A Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Express Entry profile will remain valid in the pool of candidates for a period of 12 months.
If, while in the pool of candidates, you receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), you will have 60 days to submit a full application and documentation to the Government of Canada.
The standard processing time for Express Entry applications is six months from the time the application is received by the Canadian authorities to the issuance of a PR visa.
A Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Express Entry profile will remain valid in the pool of candidates for a period of 12 months.
If, while in the pool of candidates, you receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), you will have 60 days to submit a full application and documentation to the Government of Canada.
The standard processing time for Express Entry applications is six months from the time the application is received by the Canadian authorities to the issuance of a PR visa.
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There is an application fee for the Express Entry – Skilled Worker category. The fee is subject to change without notice and is non-refundable.
These fees are separate from a candidate’s settlement funds, which must be demonstrated as part of the Federal Skilled Worker eligibility requirements.
The processing fees to apply under the Federal Skilled Worker program are as follows:
Application |
Processing fee in $ CAD |
|---|---|
| Principal applicant (Processing fee and right of permanent residence fee) | $1325 |
| Spouse, common-law or conjugal partner (with right of permanent residence fee) | $1325 |
| A dependent child under the age of 22 who is not a spouse or common-law/conjugal partner, or a dependent over the age of 22 who is unable to support themselves financially due to a physical or mental condition | Add $225 each per dependent |
To be eligible to submit an Express Entry profile, Federal Skilled Workers must have at least one year of full-time (or part-time equivalent) foreign work experience.
Foreign work experience is any paid work experience acquired outside of Canada within the past 10 years.
The work experience must be in National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill type A, B, or 0. To determine the skill type of your work, you will first need to find your NOC code.
Federal Skilled Workers are required to demonstrate that they can provide for themselves and their families once they settle in Canada.
The funds required for settlement depend on the number of family members included in your application. Please refer to the below table for the amount required for your family size.
for example:
| Number of Family Members | Funds Required |
|---|---|
| 1 | $13,213 |
| 2 | $16,449 |
| 3 | $20,222 |
Individuals applying under the Federal Skilled Worker may include their children and spouse on their application for permanent residence.
However, an applicant should consider how their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score may be affected when applying with a spouse.
Answer is NO,
parents cannot be included on an application for permanent residence through the Federal Skilled Worker program.
However, after becoming a permanent resident, you may be eligible to sponsor your parents to come to Canada.
If you have a criminal record or serious medical condition,
you may be considered inadmissible to Canada and unable to successfully apply under the Federal Skilled Worker program.
However, inadmissibility is not necessarily a permanent ban from entering Canada.
A job offer is not required for the Federal Skilled Worker program.
In fact, a large majority of candidates invited under the Express Entry system do not have a formal Canadian job offer.
That said, having a valid job offer may increase a Federal Skilled Worker’s CRS score by 50-200 points.
To qualify for these points, the job offer will likely require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
Your skilled work experience must be:
in the same type of job (have the same NOC) as the job you want to use for your immigration application (called your primary occupation) within the last 10 years.
paid work (This means you must have been paid wages or earned commission.
Changes to applicant personal information, such as marriage, the birth or adoption of a new child, contact details, and dependant information, may occur at any time before or after the applicant is issued a decision on their application.
It is the responsibility of the applicant to inform the Immigration Program Development Officer of any changes to their personal information, at the time that the changes occur, or very soon thereafter.
If there are situations in which the applicant knows that their personal information will change in the near future, they are strongly encouraged to inform their Officer of these changes before they occur.