How does Express Entry work?
Express Entry is an online system introduced by the Canadian government in 2015 which is used to manage Canadian permanent residency applications under three federal economic immigration programs.
Federal Skilled Worker
This program is for skilled workers with foreign work experience who want to immigrate to Canada permanently.
Federal Skilled Trades
The Federal Skilled Trades Program is for skilled workers who want to become permanent residents based on being qualified in a skilled trade.
Canadian Experience Class
The Canadian Experience Class is for skilled workers who have Canadian work experience and want to become permanent residents.
Express entry profiles are created and filed with information regarding your background, skills, work experience, education and language abilities. Profiles which meet the criteria of one of the federal economic immigration programs listed above are then accepted into the express entry pool of candidates.
The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) under express entry, ranks candidates in the pool based on their skills, job offer, provincial nomination, personal profile and language abilities.
In addition to express entry programs, the provincial governments also select qualified candidates from the express entry pool through their respective Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) to meet their local labour market shortages
The highest ranked candidates are then invited to apply (ITA) for permanent residency. The points cut-off is decided by a CRS draw conducted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) almost every fortnight. An express entry candidate can stay in the pool for 12 months, if they are not issued an ITA within 12 months, they will be required to create a new profile and enter the pool again.
Once an ITA is issued, you have 90 days to submit your complete application for permanent residency which includes uploading of all supporting documents. An average of 80 per cent of applications are processed by IRCC within six months or less.