Canadian PR | Express Entry Program Eligibility
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry Immigration is the main system for Permanent Residency to Canada.
Application for this stream must be made through the Federal Express Entry profile system on the CIC website. Criteria such as education, work experience, age and language abilities are considered and those candidates that meet specific criteria for a specific program will be placed in a pool of candidates.
Those candidates with the highest points in the pool will be sent an invitation to apply. This invitation is not a guarantee of being accepted, it is only a chance to fully prove on a complete application that you are economically able to become established in Canada and are admissible based on criminal and medical factors.You have 60 days to submit a complete application after receiving an invitation to apply.
If you do not receive an invitation, the profile expires 12 months after creation, after which a new Express Entry profile must be submitted.
Having a Canadian job offer 1 will give you more points thereby increasing your chance of receiving an invitation to apply. Job offers are eligible through an LMIA or LMIA-exempt category.
Express Entry for Skilled Workers (FSW)
This category consists of people who have 1 year of continuous fulltime work experience in 1(one) NOC 0, A, B occupation. Work experience over the last 10 years is considered valid. This will be your primary occupation meanwhile, other NOC occupations will help increase your overall CRS score.
You must have achieved a CLB 7 in all 4 language requirements for either IELTS/CELPIP (EN) or TEF(FR). If you do not have Canadian education, you must acquire an Educational Credential Assessment.
Skilled workers must also pass their own points-based selection criteria, where a minimum of 67 points is required for the application to be processed further. These criteria are similar to those found in an Express Entry profile.
If a valid job offer 1 is not present, proof of settlement funds is required for you and all accompanying family members.
Proof of funds
Both FSW and FST need to show proof of funds if they do not have a valid job offer.1
Calculate your family size to meet the proof of funds cut-off according to the table below.
1 person: $13,213
2 people: $16,449
3 people: $20,222
4 people: $24,553
5 people: $27,847
6 people: $31,407
7 people: $35,000
Each additional person: $3560
Personal funds must be readily available therefore property value doesn’t count. It must be present for use at the time of application and upon being granted the PR visa. Official letter from your financial institution should include: their contact info, your information, outstanding debts, your account numbers and balances and average balance for the past 6 months.
Skilled Trades
The trades represent a group of technical occupations, where the current eligible group consists of:
Industrial, electrical and construction
Maintenance and equipment operations
Technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture and related production
Processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and control operators
Chefs, cooks, butchers and bakers 2
To be eligible for the Skilled Trades program, applicants must have:
2 years of fulltime experience within the last 5 years
CLB 5 in speaking and listening and CLB 4 in reading and writing for IELTS/CELPIP (EN) or TEF(FR)
A job offer 1 OR a certificate of qualification issued by a Canadian province
Meet all job requirements for that occupation according to the NOC classification
Canadian Experience Class
This program is a good opportunity for international students who have obtained a post graduate work permit or temporary foreign workers who have worked for at least 1 year within the past 3 years in Canada. The 1 year of work does not have to be continuously in 1 occupation and you can use their Canadian work experience in a NOC 0, A, B occupation to apply for this program.
NOC 0, A requires a language ability of CLB 7 while NOC B requires a CLB 5 IELTS/CELPIP (EN) or TEF(FR).
1 What is an eligible job offer?
Federal Skilled Worker
– Fulltime job offer made less than 1 year ago for continuous work for a minimum of 1 year
– A new positive LMIA OR
– IF you’re already working on an LMIA based job and
o Your work permit will be valid when applying for the PR and when the PR visa is issued
o Your current employer gave you a job offer of 1 year if you get your PR OR
– IF you’re on an LMIA-exempt work permit such as Mobilte Francophone and
o Working for that employer for 1 year fulltime
o Have a job offer for 1 year from the employer should you get your PR.
Federal Skilled Trades
A job offer can be made by 1 or 2 employers adding up to fulltime hours (30+ hrs/week) for 1 year.
In addition, it must meet the criteria for an LMIA or LMIA exemption as listed above for the Federal Skilled Worker.
In summary, the only 2 reasons a job offer does not need an LMIA is if you work in an LMIA exempt job already or if you’re already working for the employer on a LMIA based work permit.
2 Chefs, cooks, butchers would be eligible under FSW or FST
What are the Minimum Points for Express Entry?
There is no minimum points for an Express Entry CRS score but we can look at the historical data to get a better idea on what we should aim for.
Before COVID-19 when the FSW applicants were being invited, a good score was above 450.
What is the Cost for Express Entry?
– Main applicant: $1325
– Spouse: $1325
Dependent Child: $225 / child