What is express entry?
Express entry is the primary pathway for immigration used by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). It is through this system that other programs are processed and managed.
If you are planning to come into Canada through the express entry system, you must know how competitive this system is before applying. Not all applicants into the system are usually invited as different factors determine the rank of each applicant. If a candidate ranks higher in factors like education, age, work experience, and language proficiency, such a candidate has a better chance of getting invited for permanent residence.
If the requirements are met, you can use the Express entry to migrate yourself or your family into Canada and become a permanent resident quicker than you expect.
Types of Express entry.
There are three main federal economic immigration programs under the express entry. They are:
The Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
The Federal Skilled worker program
The Federal skilled Trades Programs (FST)
How does Express Entry for Canada work?
Processing entering into the Express Entry pool is done in the following steps:
1. Check for Eligibility
Before becoming an Express Entry candidate, you must go through any express entry programs. If you don’t go through the skilled worker program, you can go through the Canadian Experience Class or the skilled trades program.
One of the major eligibility requirements for the Provincial Nomination Program, you must still go through any of the listed programs.
The requirement for each program is not fixed as special conditions need to be met for some of the programs, yet there are some general requirements to check out to be assured of your eligibility. Some of the general requirements include:
At least one year experience in a skilled work
A level of Language proficiency in any of the Canadian languages (English/ French)
No medical issues
No criminal history
2. Create an Express Entry profile to join the pool
If you have checked through the eligibility status and are qualified, the next step is creating a profile in the Express Entry. Once the profile is created, you can access a scoreboard given to you that shows your rank among the other applicants.
The express entry scoreboard will be based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and the total point you can get is 1200 points. You can increase your CRS score by getting a valid job offer or being nominated from any Canadian province. If your CRS score is higher, it will increase your chances of getting an Invitation to Apply (ITA) from Express Entry.
The ranking of the CRS score is based on your skills, educational achievement, career, language and qualifying work offer or provincial nomination. If you have an excellent CRS score, you will meet up to the Express entry draws done bi-weekly.
3. Open a job bank profile (non-compulsory)
This is no longer a mandatory step as of June 2017 but can help increase your chances of getting selected. What you need to do is to register in the Canada job bank that selects skilled workers. Once you can secure a valid job offer from them, it will be advantageous for you.
4. Expect an Invitation to Apply (ITA)
Once you have submitted your profile into the express entry pool, you can wait for the bi-weekly draw for your name to be pulled out and receive an invitation to apply (ITA). If you are not invited after 12 months of responding to the ITA, your profile will expire.
5. Build your CRS score
If you weren’t selected in the express entry pool, you have the chance to improve your CRS score and increase your selection chances. One way to do this is by updating your profile with information about educational achievement, language score increase, additional work experience, provincial nomination or valid job offer.
6. Apply for permanent residence
If you were invited to apply from the Express Entry draw, the next step is starting your permanent residence application. A deadline of 60 days is given for you to complete your application, or else it expires, and you begin the process all over again.
Once you have submitted the permanent residence application, you will wait for not more than six months for the application to be processed. You can only update your permanent residency status once the application has been approved.
FAQ.
The primary documents used for your PR application are:
- Police clearance certificate
- Medical Certificate
- Proof of identity (Birth certificate, passport etc.)
- Proof of family members (Marriage certificate, birth certificate etc.)
- Proof of financial stability for yourself and your family.
Before qualifying for Canadian express entry, you must have attained an IELTS score dependent on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB). For English proficiency, you must have at least a CLB of 7 to qualify. This benchmark is based on the conditions the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) laid down.
Applying for Canadian permanent residency can be done without any consultant. However, the process can be longer, especially if you miss some specific rules. Some documents need to be complete before submission if you don’t want any delay in the application process. Therefore, to boost your chances of doing it right once, using the services of an Immigration consultant is a great choice.