Applicants eligible to immigrate to Canada under a federal economic immigration program may enter the Express Entry pool. Consequently, the first step to be taken should be to check eligibility for one of the above programs.

Applicants to Canadian permanent residence who are eligible for one of the federal economic immigration programs express interest in immigrating to Canada by creating an online profile.

They provide information about your skills, work experience, language ability, education and other personal information.

Applicants who meet the criteria of one of the federal economic immigration programs mentioned above are placed in a group of applicants who are classified according to a Classification System called the Comprehensive Ranking System. (CRS).

If a candidate does not yet have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer or a provincial nomination, he or she may register with the Employment Bank of Canada. As of June 6, 2017, registration at Job Bank Canada became no longer mandatory.

However, registering at the Job Bank can improve the visibility of a candidate for Canadian employers.

Candidates in the Express Entry pool are ranked according to the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which classifies applicants into the following components:

• Fundamental factors of human capital;
• Accompanying person, spouse or partner, if applicable;
• Skill transfer factors; and
• Factors related to a provincial appointment, qualified job offer, Canadian study experience, a sibling in Canada and / or French language ability.

There are a total of 1,200 points available in the Comprehensive Classification System (CRS).

The Government of Canada selects candidates from the Express Entry pool according to their classification. Consequently, it is in the interest of the applicant to strive to improve his / her classification in the Express Entry pool in order to maximize his chances of receiving an Invitation to apply for permanent residency.

The Canadian government and provincial governments, as well as Canadian employers, can select new immigrants from the Express Entry pool.

Top-ranked candidates (ie candidates considered to be the best chances for economic success in Canada) and those with valid job offers or provincial nominations are invited to apply for Canadian permanent residency. From this point, applicants have 90 days to submit an electronic application for permanent residence. The IRCC intends to process the requests within six months from the filing date.

Applicants must ensure that they complete all required forms and submit all supporting documents within this deadline. Upon completion of the process, successful applicants and their dependents (spouse and children) will be in Canada as permanent residents.

Express Entry group applicants who do not receive an Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence in Canada after 12 months can resubmit their profile and re-enter the group if they still meet the criteria of at least one of the economic immigration programs.

• Get ready for language exams
  • English Test, including the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – General Test and CELPIP: Canadian Proficiency Index Program – General Test.
  • French language test, including the French Assessment Test (TEF Canada) and the French Knowledge Test (TCF Canada).
• Get your foreign credentials evaluated according to Canadian standards by making academic equivalence.
• Deal with any issue of medical inadmissibility or criminal inadmissibility that you may have.
• Navigate through the available Provincial Appointment Programs that have an enhanced flow aligned with Express Entry.
• Use the job search tool from our website to search for positions available across Canada.