What is Express Entry?
The Express Entry is a new electronic system that has been implemented by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to handle applications for permanent residence under the following federal economic immigration programs:
Provinces and territories can also recruit candidates from the Express Entry system through their Provincial Nominee Programs to meet local labour market needs. An Invitation to Apply for permanent residence will be given to those who were accepted into the Express Entry pool. These invitations will be regularly issued throughout the year. The top candidates will be chosen regardless of when they were accepted. The 1st batch of invitations went out during the last week of January 2015.Upon receiving an invitation, you then have 60 days to submit your application for permanent residence online.Ensuring strong links between economic immigration and Canada’s labour market is the goal of Express Entry.
The Express Entry Mechanism
The Express Entry System has two steps:
1. Potential candidates first have to create and complete an online Express Entry profile:
To do this, the candidates have to fill up a secure form, online, which requires them to fill up details about the following:
If the candidates meet the eligibility criteria for any one of the three programs supported under the Express Entry (as mentioned earlier), they will be added into a pool of candidates. The candidate pool comprises of all the candidates who have cleared this first test for express entry. This does not mean that the candidate is granted permanent residence or is issued an ITA (Invitation to Apply). A candidate can remain in the pool for a maximum of one year before receiving an ITA.
2. The highest ranking candidates present in the candidate pool are then issued an ITA (Invitation to Apply):
Based on the information filled by the candidates on their profile, they are given a rank among all other candidates using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Following this, candidates with the highest scores are issued an ITA.
Candidates are evaluated and given points based on the following factors:
In order to boost their points, the candidates can have one or both of the following:
After receiving the ITA, the candidates have 60 days to submit an online application for permanent residence. CIC processes in six months or less all the complete applications that have all the necessary documents and information.
Finding your NOC
NOC stands for the National Occupational Classification (NOC). Since jobs are bunched together based on the types of work and types of job duties, the Canadian government uses the NOC, which is a system used for classifying jobs or occupations.
For immigration purposes, the main groups are:
Your job and previous work must be skill type 0, level A, or B to use Express Entry and apply as a skilled immigrant.
Skilled trades
Federal Skilled Class under Express Entry program
Canadian Experience Class
The Express Entry is a new electronic system that has been implemented by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to handle applications for permanent residence under the following federal economic immigration programs:
- The Federal Skilled Worker Program
- The Federal Skilled Trades Program
- 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. An Invitation to Apply for permanent residence will be given to those who were accepted into the Express Entry pool. These invitations will be regularly issued throughout the year. The top candidates will be chosen regardless of when they were accepted. The 1st batch of invitations went out during the last week of January 2015.Upon receiving an invitation, you then have 60 days to submit your application for permanent residence online.Ensuring strong links between economic immigration and Canada’s labour market is the goal of Express Entry.
The Express Entry Mechanism
The Express Entry System has two steps:
1. Potential candidates first have to create and complete an online Express Entry profile:
To do this, the candidates have to fill up a secure form, online, which requires them to fill up details about the following:
- Skills
- Work experience
- Language ability
- Education
- Other details that will help CIC in assessing them
If the candidates meet the eligibility criteria for any one of the three programs supported under the Express Entry (as mentioned earlier), they will be added into a pool of candidates. The candidate pool comprises of all the candidates who have cleared this first test for express entry. This does not mean that the candidate is granted permanent residence or is issued an ITA (Invitation to Apply). A candidate can remain in the pool for a maximum of one year before receiving an ITA.
2. The highest ranking candidates present in the candidate pool are then issued an ITA (Invitation to Apply):
Based on the information filled by the candidates on their profile, they are given a rank among all other candidates using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Following this, candidates with the highest scores are issued an ITA.
Candidates are evaluated and given points based on the following factors:
- A job offer
- A nomination from a province or territory
- Skills and experience
In order to boost their points, the candidates can have one or both of the following:
- A job offer with LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment)
- A nomination by a province or territory
After receiving the ITA, the candidates have 60 days to submit an online application for permanent residence. CIC processes in six months or less all the complete applications that have all the necessary documents and information.
Finding your NOC
NOC stands for the National Occupational Classification (NOC). Since jobs are bunched together based on the types of work and types of job duties, the Canadian government uses the NOC, which is a system used for classifying jobs or occupations.
For immigration purposes, the main groups are:
- Skill Type 0 (zero) – management jobs
- examples: restaurant managers, mine managers, shore captains (fishing)
- Skill Level A — professional jobs. People usually need a degree from a university for these jobs.
- examples: doctors, dentists, architects
- Skill Level B — technical jobs and skilled trades. People usually need a college diploma or to train as an apprentice to do these jobs.
- examples: chefs, electricians, plumbers
- Skill Level C — intermediate jobs. These jobs usually need high school and/or job-specific training.
- examples: long-haul truck drivers, butchers, food and beverage servers
- Skill Level D — labour jobs. On-the-job training is usually given.
- examples: cleaning staff, oil field workers, fruit pickers
Your job and previous work must be skill type 0, level A, or B to use Express Entry and apply as a skilled immigrant.
Related Pages
Summary of points per factor for Express EntrySkilled trades
Federal Skilled Class under Express Entry program
Canadian Experience Class
