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).