Express Entry: December 10th, 2021

In 2015 the Canadian government created the Express Entry System to alleviate immigration backlogs and expedite skilled workers immigrating to Canada as permanent residence. Express Entry is not a program but rather an online system that the Canadian government uses to manage applications for permanent residency from skilled workers. 

There are four programs under the Express Entry system umbrella, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Trades Worker & Provincial Nomination Programs. 

• Canadian Experience Class: Program for candidates with Canadian work experience
• Federal Skilled Worker: Program for candidates with Canadian or outside Canada work experience
• Federal Trades Worker: Program for candidates in the trades and hold certification
• Provincial Nomination Programs: Programs designed by Canadian provinces to meet their economic and labour shortages

How does Express Entry Work?

The Canadian government or Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) more specifically, holds an Express Entry draw every two weeks to select candidates from the express entry pool. The IRCC selects a number of candidates every two weeks to meet their immigration quotas for the year and the exact amount of candidates selected fluctuates throughout the year. The draws are sometimes specific to one of the programs mentioned above or they might hold a “General Draw” which is a selection from all the programs under the Express Entry umbrella. 

In each draw, the IRCC will select the top-ranked candidates in the express entry pool on a points-based system. Candidates are selected and ranked based on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS takes into consideration a few factors, age, education, language skills, and work experience being some of them. 

The top candidates in each draw will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA), allowing the candidate to apply for permanent residency. After applying the IRCC will review the candidate and request documents and possibly an interview. If the IRCC approves the application they will issue a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) and the applicant will be able to start their landing process.