How Express Entry works

Entry is used to manage applications for permanent residence under these federal
economic immigration programs:

Federal Skilled Worker Program

Federl Skilled Trades Program, and the

Canadian Experience Class

Provinces and territories can also recruit candidates from the Express Entry system
through their Provincial Nominee Programs to meet local labour market needs.
Ministerial Instructions set out the rules for governing the Express Entry application
management system.

The Express Entry system has two steps:

Step 1) Potential candidates complete an online Express Entry profile

Potential candidates will complete an online Express Entry profile. This is a secure form
that they will use to provide information about their: skills, work experience ,language
ability, education, and other details that will help us assess them. Those who meet the
criteria of one of the federal immigration programs listed above will be accepted into a
pool of candidates. Note: It is now optional to create a Job Match account with Job Bank.

Step 2) The highest-ranking candidates in the pool will be invited to apply for permanent
residence

Candidates will be ranked against others in the pool using a point-based system called the
Comprehensive Ranking System. Points are awarded using the information in their
profile. Candidates with the highest scores in the pool will be issued an invitation to apply.
Candidates will be awarded points for: a job offer, and/or a nomination from a province
or territory, and/or skills and experience factors.

A candidate can get additional points for:

qualifying education in Canada a valid job offer or a nomination by a province or territory

These additional points can make a candidate rank high enough to be invited to apply at
the next eligible round of invitations. If someone is invited to apply, they will have 90 days
to submit an online application for permanent residence.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada(CIC) will process the majority of complete

applications (meaning those with all the necessary supporting documents) in six months
or less.

It's all on the CIC site: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/imm...

But...
Where Do I Start?

First, let’s understand which program you need to apply to. Canada has three immigration
programs where skilled immigrants can apply as permanent residents.

1. Federal Skilled Worker Program – For working professionals who have at

least one year of full time paid work experience in a skilled occupation.
2. Federal Skilled Trades Program – For individuals with an employment
offer in Canada with 2 years of qualified work experience in a skilled occupation
in the last 5 years.
3. Canadian Experience Class – For foreign workers already working in
Canada looking to become a Permanent Residence.
So if you are looking to move to Canada, look for a job once you get a PR than you will be
part of Federal Skilled Worker Program.

Another term you will come across is Express Entry. It is not an immigration program
in itself, but rather a system to apply and select candidates for immigration to Canada.

Check If You Are Eligible To Apply

The first step you should take is to check if you are eligible to apply for this program.

The quickest way to check if you are eligible is to use Comprehensive Ranking System
(CRS) Calculator. In this tool, enter your details for each question and get your CRS score
within few minutes.

So what is Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)?

Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) ranks eligible candidates for immigration to

Canada through Express Entry under the various components like skills education,
language ability, work experience and other factors.

There is a total of 1,200 points available under the Comprehensive Ranking System.

• 600 points for core human capital factors like age, education and work
experience.
• 600 points available for additional factors like the provincial nomination, an
offer of arranged employment, Canadian study experience, a sibling in Canada,
and/or French language ability.
Average CRS scores for 2017 was 438 and for 2018 is 443 (as on Feb 21, 2018
draw). Note: I have excluded scores PNP and FSTC scores because they skew the
numbers. More about PNP and FSTC later.

So what score is good enough? So you can say that a score of 445 or more should be a
good score.

Once you get your score you can go to the Government of Canada site and use
their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) tool to confirm your eligibility.
For latest and past cut-off scores check out this page.

More details about CRS here.

The Government of Canada has complete details on who can apply for a Federal Skilled
Worker program.

Yay!…I Am Eligible…What Next?

So, if you have a good score and eligible to apply, then its time to move to the next step.

There are two main tasks you need to complete before you can create your profile and
submit your application.

• IELTS Score
• Education Credentials Assessment (ECA)
1. IELTS Score
You should immediately sign up for IELTS test because you will need to enter your IELTS
score in the application when you create your Express Entry Profile. It takes anywhere
between 1-2 months to get an exam date in India.

In India, there are two institutes that conduct IELTS – British Council and IDP
Education. You need to select General Training module and not Academic.

Results: You get results 13-15 days after the test date.

Tip: IELTS score is one of the most important variable factor influencing your score. A
low IELTS score will drop your score dramatically.

You need a minimum of CLB level 7 to be eligible. However, you enter various CLB levels
(from CLB7 onwards) in the calculator for all four abilities and see the difference in
overall score.

1. Education credentials Assessment (ECA)

You will also need to get your education degrees verified from any of the recognized
organisations listed by Canada Government. ECA tells you what your education is equal
to in Canada.

In India, most applicants use World Education Services (WES) for their ECA. Here is the
link to know the required documents you need submit.

Timelines: 7 business day completion time once you apply and all required documents
have been received and accepted (20 business days for ECA evaluations for Canada
immigration).

Tip: If you do not get a response from WES, you should contact them over the phone.
Here is their Toronto, Canada helpline number – +1 416-972-0070. Avoid trouble with
sending emails or feedback form as you will get templated responses.
Creating Express Entry Profile

Once you receive your IELTS score and ECA report you are all set to make an application
and get into the pool.

You can create your account and submit your application at My Immigration or
Citizenship Application.

Once you create the application you will need to wait for the next Express Entry Draw.
The Government of Canada releases cut-off CRS scores every fortnightly (dates not fixed)
and invites applicants to apply for permanent residence.

If your score is more or equal to the cut-off score of that entry draw you will receive an
invitation to apply.

This is where you can check the latest Express Entry Draw Figures. I will also
recommend signing up for Canada Immigration Newsletter to keep up to date with
latest cut-off scores, provincial nominees programs and other news.

All the best!

(Please note that this info does not apply to the Federal Skilled Trades Program)

1) Determine your eligibility by doing this CIC quiz http://www.cic.gc.ca/ctc-vac/ee-

...

2) Get your language test(s) done. You must get at least CLB 7 in each of the four
sections for the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), Provincial Nomination Program (PNP) or
Canadian Experience Class (CEC) streams. But getting CLB 10 gives you maximum points
for language.

How does CLB match back to the language tests? That info is here --
>http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/res...

3) Get your qualifications assessed by doing an Education Credential Assessment.

Details here --> http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/imm...

4) Determine the code that best applies to you on the National Occupation
Classification (NOC) list http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/imm...

The occupation must be NOC 0, A, or B for FSW or CEC.

5) When you have those in hand you create your express entry profile.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/imm... and register for the Job Bank
http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/home-en...
You'll be given points based on your age, education, number of years work experience,
and language skills. The points system is detailed here --
>http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/exp...

You'll be in a pool with thousands of other applicants

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/imm...

Of course, the more points you have the better. The max is 1200, with 600 of those points
coming from your ability to snag a PNP or a job offer with a very hard to get Labour
Market Impact Assessment http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/wor...

For CEC applicants, the max is 600 but someone who has no work experience in Canada
who is only eligible for FSW can only get up to 520 points.

6) Finally, wait for your invitation to apply (ITA). But in the interim you will need
to do the following:

a) Have your application fee (C$550 each for principal applicant and spouse) and right
of permanent resident fee (C$490 each for principal applicant and spouse) ready
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/inf...

b) Identify how you will provide proof of funds http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/imm...

c) check out what is required for the police certificates

http://www.cic.gc.ca/English/inf...

d) find out how long it takes to get a date for the medical exam.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/inf...

e) contact previous and current employers about them providing job letters. You must
have at least 12 months of full-time, or an equal amount in part-time, skilled work
experience. Full-time work means at least 30 hours of paid work per week. Work
experience while you were a full-time student does not count.

f) research cities in the province(s) where you want to live.