Canada’s Express Entry system isn’t new – but it feels like it is. On July 6, 2022, the Canadian government resumed draws of Canadian Experience Class candidates for the first time since September 2021, though the December 2020 pause of the intake of applications for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, implemented as part of its COVID-19 response, continues. The transition of Express Entry back to its pre-pandemic state, as well as the evolution of Express Entry since its 2015 introduction, makes it a good time to revisit Canada’s Express Entry system, how it works, and its role in the Canadian Immigration process, and to consider what we’ve learned about Express Entry post-pandemic and where it might be headed. Here are the answers to five frequently-asked questions about Canada’s Express Entry system.

1. What is Express Entry?

At its most basic, Express Entry is the online system the Canadian government uses to assess candidates for permanent residency and manage the intake of permanent residence applications for a number of key Canadian immigration programs. But Express Entry is far more than simply an online portal candidates can use to submit an application. The Canadian government introduced the Express Entry system in 2015 to control the intake of applications, and to prioritize those immigrants most likely to succeed economically, such as those with advanced education and high English or French language proficiency.

2. How does Express Entry work?

Express Entry largely replaced the previous “first come, first served” policies that resulted in many programs getting bogged down by a high volume of applications and very long processing times. Under Express Entry:

Language & Education. As an initial step, each applicant must obtain language test results and an educational credential assessment (ECA) from approved third-parties that Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has deemed to be reliable. Applicants will require these before proceeding to the next step in the process.

Express Entry Profile. Applicants can no longer apply directly to key programs, including the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Instead, under Express Entry, they must first submit an Express Entry profile, disclosing their age, education, Canadian and international work experience, and language proficiency in English and French.

Comprehensive Ranking System. Candidates are then scored using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), a points-based system.

Invitation To Apply (ITA). The government manages the volume of applications received in each specific immigration Program by controlling the number of individuals invited to apply via Express Entry. IRCC conducts rounds of invitations, inviting the candidates with the highest CRS scores to apply for permanent residency in Canada. The invitation criteria are transparent, and, as IRCC notes,“…each invitation round has a set of instructions that are posted online at the time of the invitation round [and] used by the Express Entry system to invite candidates from the pool.”

Application. Only after an applicant has received an Invitation To Apply can they formally submit an application via IRCC’s online system and receive confirmation that they – in fact – have an immigration application in process.

Some applicants mistakenly believe that creating an Express Entry profile guarantees an individual’s selection for an Invitation To Apply by IRCC. This is not the case. If an individual doesn’t have a sufficiently high CRS score, IRCC will not invite them to apply and their Express Entry profile will expire in one year. They may submit a new profile, but no additional points are awarded to a candidate that wasn’t selected in a prior year. Candidates with poor scores can therefore languish for years in the Express Entry pool – and never receive an Invitation To Apply.

3. What Immigration Programs are accessed through Express Entry?

Express Entry is the gateway to Canada’s three key permanent residence programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Stream. In addition to obtaining a qualifying Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, a candidate must also meet the criteria for one of these programs to be invited to apply.

Canadian Experience Class. The program criteria is:

• Work Experience. Minimum of one year of full-time work or equivalent experience in Canada in the last three years in National Occupation Code (NOC) O, A, or B. Candidates can demonstrate this experience with, for example, pay stubs, contracts, tax documents, or a detailed support letter from their employer.

• Language Ability. Minimum CLB 7 in all four areas (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) if NOC 0 or A; minimum CLB 5 in all four areas if NOC B.
• Education. There’s no minimum education requirement. However, points are awarded in the CRS for higher education.

• Job Offer. Similarly, a job offer isn’t mandatory, but additional points for a “qualifying job offer” are awarded in the CRS system.

As a result of the lack of minimum education requirements and a job offer, it’s far more likely that a candidate with advanced university education and a “qualifying job offer”, as defined by IRCC, will receive an Invitation To Apply.

Federal Skilled Worker Program. This program has its own points-based system to assess eligibility. Before a candidate is eligible for this program and can create an Express Entry profile, they must score 67/100 points. Only candidates eligible to create a profile will then have their CRS score ranked in the Express Entry pool.

• Work Experience. Minimum of one year or equivalent of full-time Canadian or foreign work experience in NOC 0, A, or B. Candidates can demonstrate this experience with, for example, pay stubs, contracts, tax documents, or a detailed support letter from their employer.

• Language Ability. Minimum CLB 7 in all four areas (reading, writing, listening, and speaking). Additional points are awarded in the CRS for higher language ability or bilingual ability.

• Education. Minimum secondary school. Additional points for higher education are available in the CRS.

Federal Skilled Trades Program. The program criteria is:

• Work Experience. Minimum two years or equivalent of trade specific full-time Canadian or foreign work experience in the prior five years in NOC B. Candidates can demonstrate this experience with, for example, pay stubs, contracts, tax documents, or a detailed support letter from their employer.

• Language Ability. Minimum CLB 5 for speaking & listening; minimum CLB 4 for reading and writing.
• Job Offer. A valid job offer of full-time employment for at least one year, or a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial, or federal authority.
  

4. What have we learned from the Express Entry draws since July 2022?

Overall, the approach appears to be a slow and steady expansion of draws, with the numbers going up slowly and the scores slowly coming down. Since July 6, 2022, the government has conducted four Express Entry draws, and has demonstrated a very cautious and conservative approach. The number of candidates drawn started low (1,500 on July 6, 2022) and has remained low (2,250 on August 17, 2022). However, the minimum scores have been high: from a high of 557 to a low of 525 on August 17, 2022. These four draws haven’t been dedicated to any particular Program, but are targeting the highest scoring candidates across all Programs. As a result, it’s not known how many candidates fall into each specific Program.

5. What’s next for Express Entry?

Although it’s not known when dedicated draws for the Canadian Experience and the Federal Skilled Worker Program will resume, we expect to see this in the near future. However, we also expect a continued cautious approach given the considerable strain on IRCC due to the recent and ongoing crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine, as well as the residual impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and dedication of resources for special programs, including for Ukrainian citizens. As a result, processing times in all areas, from work permits to permanent residence applications, have grown, and we expect extensive delays to persist throughout 2022.

Despite these challenges, Express Entry has been a successful and well-received innovation. It’s unlikely the federal government will make any major changes to Express Entry or abandon this approach: Express Entry is here to stay. In the longer term, it’s likely that more Programs – including more Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams – will be integrated with the Express Entry system. The provinces have been playing an increasing role in Express Entry since 2015 and can award additional CRS points to desired candidates; it’s likely this provincial role will continue and expand.

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Please contact your McInnes Cooper lawyer or any member of our Business Immigration Team @ McInnes Cooper to discuss how to use the Express Entry system.