Express Entry

Express Entry (EE) is an application management system, used by the Canadian Government to select applicants for Permanent Residence. To submit a profile into the EE system, applicants must meet the basic requirements of one of the three main economic immigration programs; Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), Federal Skilled Trades (FST) and Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Increasingly, various Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) are also relying on the Express Entry pool of applicants to identify potential nominees for admission to their province or territory.

It is important to note that simply meeting the requirements of any of the programs does not guarantee that applicants will be invited to submit an official application for Canadian permanent residence. Express Entry is a competitive immigration selection system, so only the highest-ranking candidates will be invited to apply.

To read about the main economic immigration programs under the Express Entry System, we invite you to discover the different categories outlining program introductions, that are noted in the tab on your left.

Please note that submitting the profile to EE is NOT an application for permanent residence, but rather an indication of interest on the applicant’s part. After submitting the profiles into the EE system, applicants are evaluated against the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) that awards points based on age, work experience, language skills and adaptability.

Approximately every two weeks, IRCC (Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada) conducts selection draws, and issues Invitation to Apply (ITA) letters to applicants that meet selection criteria of that draw. Upon the receipt of the ITA, Applicants have 90 days to electronically submit all documents pertaining to their permanent residence application.

Immigration process under Express Entry consist of two steps:

1. Submission of the EE profile: in order to submit an Express Entry profile, applicants must have a valid language test (English and/or French) taken within the last two years. IRCC only accepts IELTS and CELPIP for English language, TEF and TCF for French. Applicants must have valid work experience required under at least one of the economic immigration programs administered under EE. In addition, those who received their post-secondary degree(s) outside of Canada require an educational credential assessment (ECA) to earn points for their education. We included a list of approved ECA organizations at the bottom of this page.

   Upon profile creation, the system will ask the applicant to indicate which province they would be interested in receiving a nomination through Provincial Nominee Programs aligned with EE. Applicants can decline this option, indicate specific provinces and territories, or choose to be considered for all PNPs. This allows the selected province(s) to view the profile and assess the applicant’s experience in light of their own requirements. 

   For details on how the PNP programs work see the Provincial Nominee Programs section (Link: PNP Overview)

   After the applicant successfully submits the profile into the EE system, it will remain on the portal for one year, until the language test expires or until the applicant receives an ITA to apply for permanent residence, whichever comes first.

   Once again: submitting the profile to Express Entry is NOT an application for permanent residence, but rather an indication of interest. Selection process identifies candidates with the highest scores and offers them an Invitation to Apply through regularly conducted rounds of invitations.

2. Submission of PR application post-ITA: once the applicant receives the ITA, they have 90 days to submit a complete permanent residence application with all supporting documents mentioned in their EE profile (language tests, ECA, identity documents, employment documents, etc.). At UL Lawyers, we guide all our clients through the required documents so that our applicants have them ready to submit before the 90 day deadline.

   Once the application is submitted for processing, it can take anywhere between 6 - 12 months for processing and issuance of Confirmation of Permanent Residence. Government standard processing is 6 months, however with expected processing delays we advise on the mentioned range.

Educational Credential Assessment

An educational credential assessment (ECA) is used to verify that the applicant’s foreign degree, diploma, or certificate is valid and equal to a Canadian standard. A valid ECA certificate must be obtained in order to create an Express Entry profile and gain points for education received outside of Canada. The assessment must be completed by approved organizations such as:

• Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies;
• International Credential Assessment Service of Canada;
• World Education Services;
• International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS);
• International Credential Evaluation Service.

For details regarding processing, fees and required documents, applicants must contact the organization directly.

To check your eligibility for permanent residence under any of these programs or assist you with building an immigration plan with a goal of obtaining permanent residence, we invite you to contact us without delay. At UL Lawyers, for all immigration matters, we offer free consultation for the first 15 minutes and in the event our law firm is retained, we will credit the consultation fee towards your legal fees. For more information, you can contact us via telephone or WhatsApp at 1-905-744-8888 or email us at info@ullaw.ca. We look forward to assisting you with your immigration matter.

This program targets skilled workers with non-Canadian work experience. To qualify, an applicant is required to have at least one year of continuous full-time work experience in an occupation with skill level 0, A or B, as classified under the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system. This means managerial, professional and technical roles. A summary paragraph about what is NOC is prepared at the bottom of this page.

In addition, the applicant must meet language requirements and demonstrate that they have enough funds to settle in Canada. Applicants are further assessed on a FSW based points grid (just like CRS) and must score at least 67 out of 100 on the FSW points grid. There is no requirement to have a job offer in Canada to qualify for the program, it is open to all eligible applicants.

This program targets individuals with experience in specific skilled trades who have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer. This means to have an LMIA-based or LMIA-exempt work permit or have a valid “Certificate of Qualification” issued by a Canadian federal/territorial/provincial authority. Qualifying groups of occupations include the following:

• Major Group 72: industrial, electrical and construction trades;
• Major Group 73: maintenance and equipment operation trades;
• Major Group 82: supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture and related production;
• Major Group 92: processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators;
• Minor Group 632: chefs and cooks;
• Minor Group 633: butchers and bakers.

To qualify under the FST category, applicants must also have at least 2 years of full-time work experience in the skilled trade, which was gained within the past five years, and have valid licenses if the profession requires them to do so.

This program targets skilled workers who obtained Canadian work experience on a valid work authorization.  To qualify, applicants need at least one year of work experience in an occupation with skill level 0, A or B of the NOC, which was obtained within the last three years. Work experience obtained while on a study permit does not count toward this class. Applicants are also allowed to use part-time employment gained on a valid work permit as long as the total amount of hours worked adds up to having an equivalent of 1 year full-time.

Eligible work experience must be obtained on a post-graduation work permit (PGWP), employer specific work permit, open spousal work permit, or work permit obtained through International Experience Canada (IEC). Any work obtained on a study permit or co-op work permit does not count.

For more information about work permits, please click on the Work in Canada tab located above.

National Occupation Classification (NOC) is a list of all the occupations in the Canadian labor market. It describes each job according to skill type and skill level. For immigration purposes, the following are the main job groups:

• Skill Type 0 (zero): Management jobs;
• Skill Level A:Professional jobs that usually call for a degree from a university;
• Skill Level B:Technical jobs and skilled trades that usually call for a college diploma or training as an apprentice;
• Skill Level C: Intermediate jobs that usually call for high school and/or job-specific training;
• Skill Level D: Labour jobs that usually give on-the-job training.

To check your eligibility for permanent residence under any of these programs or assist you with building an immigration plan with a goal of obtaining permanent residence, we invite you to contact us without delay. At UL Lawyers, for all immigration matters, we offer free consultation for the first 15 minutes and in the event our law firm is retained, we will credit the consultation fee towards your legal fees. For more information, you can contact us via telephone or WhatsApp at 1-905-744-8888 or email us at info@ullaw.ca. We look forward to assisting you with your immigration matter.