We updated this publication on August 10, 2023.

Canada’s Express Entry system, introduced in 2015, has been a successful and well-received innovation. It’s unlikely the federal government will make any major changes or abandon its current 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. To help you understand what it achieves, here are the answers to three 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 one or more of Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 job categories. 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 TEER 0 or TEER 1 jobs; minimum CLB 5 in all four areas if TEER 2 or TEER 3 jobs.
• 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 TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3. 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 one of the designated National Occupation Classification (NOC) job categories below:

• • Major Group 72, technical trades and transportation officers and controllers, excluding Sub-Major Group 726, transportation officers and controllers.
  • Major Group 73, general trades.
  • Major Group 82, supervisors in natural resources, agriculture and related production.
  • Major Group 83, occupations in natural resources and related production.
  • Major Group 92, processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors, and utilities operators and controllers.
  • Major Group 93, central control and process operators and aircraft assembly assemblers and inspectors, excluding Sub-Major Group 932, aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors.
  • Minor Group 6320, cooks, butchers and bakers.
  • Unit Group 62200, chefs.

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.

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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 Canada’s Express Entry system.