Express Entry

Express Entry

How Express Entry work

  1. you can now earn additional points for study in Canada
  2. a valid job offer now only needs to be for one year, and some job offers no longer need an LMIA
  3. the amount of points you get for a job offer has changed
  4. you now have 90 days to apply instead of 60.

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:

  1. skills,
  2. work experience,
  3. language ability,
  4. education, and
  5. 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.

Anyone who does not already have a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) (if you need one), or a nomination from a province or territory, must register with Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) Job Bank. Job Bank will help connect Express Entry candidates with eligible employers in Canada.

Candidates are also encouraged to promote themselves to employers in other ways, such as using job boards, recruiters etc.

For a job offer to be valid in Express Entry and receive points, employers will usually need an LMIA from ESDC (there are a few exceptions).

There is no LMIA fee for permanent resident applications.

Note: If you meet the entry criteria for the Express Entry pool, you are not guaranteed an invitation to apply for permanent residence. All applicants for permanent residence also need to meet eligibility and admissibility requirements under Canada’s immigration law (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act).

 

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 will process the majority of complete applications (meaning those with all the necessary supporting documents) in six months or less.

Candidates can stay in the pool for up to 12 months. If they do not get an invitation to apply for permanent residence within 12 months of submitting an Express Entry profile, they may submit a new profile. If they still meet the criteria, they can re-enter the pool. This will prevent backlogs and ensure quick processing times.

The Comprehensive Ranking System ranks eligible candidates for immigration to Canada through Express Entry under the following components:
  • core human capital factors;
  • accompanying spouse or common-law partner factors;
  • skill transferability factors; and
  • factors relating to a provincial nomination or a qualifying offer of arranged employment.

 

Comprehensive Ranking System Points Breakdown

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) contains three factors:

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

For candidates without an accompanying spouse or common-law partner, there are:
  • a maximum of 500 points available for core human capital factors;
  • a maximum of 100 points available for skill transferability factors; and
  • 600 points available for additional factors (including a provincial nomination, an offer of arranged employment, Canadian study experience, a sibling in Canada, and/or French language ability).
For candidates with an accompanying spouse or common-law partner, there are:
  • a maximum of 460 points available for core human capital factors of the principal applicant;
  • a maximum of 40 points for the core human capital factors of the spouse or common-law partner;
  • a maximum of 100 points available for skill transferability factors; and
  • 600 points available for additional factors (including a provincial nomination, an offer of arranged employment, Canadian study experience, a sibling in Canada, and/or French language ability).

French ability

  • 25 additional points for French-speaking candidates who prove adequate intermediate (equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark 7) or better French ability, and English language test results of CLB 4 or lower, or no English test results at all.
  • 50 additional points for French-speaking candidates who prove adequate intermediate or better French ability, and who also prove English language test result of CLB 5 or better.

Sibling in Canada

  • 15 additional points for candidates with a sibling in Canada who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of at least 18 years of age. These points may also be awarded if the candidate’s spouse or common-law partner has a sibling in Canada. The candidate or his or her spouse/common-law partner must share a mother and/or father with the sibling in Canada. This relationship can be through blood, adoption, marriage, or common-law partnership.

 

Comprehensive Ranking System: Core Human Capital Factors

For the purposes of this table, "PA" refers to the principal applicant and "spouse" refers to the spouse or common-law partner.

 

Age

Age (in years) With an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 100) Without an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 110)
under 18 0 points 0 points
18 90 99
19 95 105
20-29 100 110
30 95 105
31 90 99
32 85 94
33 80 88
34 75 83
35 70 77
36 65 72
37 60 66
38 55 61
39 50 55
40 45 50
41 35 39
42 25 28
43 15 17
44 5 6
45 or older 0 0

 

Level of education

Level of education With an accompanying spouse
(maximum points available: 140 for PA, 10 for spouse)
Without an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 150)
Less than secondary (high) school credential 0 points 0 points
Secondary school credential 28 for PA; 2 for spouse 30
One-year post-secondary program 84 for PA; 6 for spouse 90
Two-year post-secondary program 91 for PA; 7 for spouse 98
Post-secondary program of 3 or more years 112 for PA; 8 for spouse 120
Two or more post-secondary programs, of which at least one was completed after a post-secondary program of three or more years 119 for PA; 9 for spouse 128
Master's or entry-to-practice professional degree 126 for PA; 10 for spouse 135
Doctoral Degree (PhD) 140 for PA; 10 for spouse 150

 

First Language Ability (English or French)

Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) With an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 128 for PA; 20 for spouse) Without an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 136)
For each language ability 32 points for PA; 5 points for spouse 34 points
CLB 3 or lower 0 0
CLB 4 6 for PA; 0 for spouse 6
CLB 5 6 for PA; 1 for spouse 6
CLB 6 8 for PA; 1 for spouse 9
CLB 7 16 for PA; 3 for spouse 17
CLB 8 22 for PA; 3 for spouse 23
CLB 9 29 for PA; 5 for spouse 31
CLB 10 or higher 32 for PA; 5 for spouse 34

*Points in the chart above are for each language ability: speaking, writing, reading and listening, respectively.

 

Second Language Ability (English or French)

Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) With an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 22) Without an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 24)
For each language ability 6 6
CLB 4 or lower 0 0
CLB 5 or 6 1 1
CLB 7 or 8 3 3
CLB 9 or higher 6 6

*Points in the chart above are for each language ability: speaking, writing, reading and listening, respectively.

 

Canadian Work Experience

Number of years With an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 70 for PA; 10 for spouse) Without an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 80)
Less than 1 0 points 0 points
1 year 35 for PA; 5 for spouse 40
2 years 46 for PA; 7 for spouse 53
3 years 56 for PA; 8 for spouse 64
4 years 63 for PA; 9 for spouse 72
5 years or more 70 for PA; 10 for spouse 80

 

Comprehensive Ranking System: Skill Transferability Factors

A maximum of 100 points are awarded for a candidate's skill transferability factors. There are five combinations of such skill transferability, with a maximum of 50 points awarded for each combination. Even if a candidate scores more than 100 points in total, only 100 points will be awarded under the Comprehensive Ranking System. Candidates with or without an accompanying spouse or common-law partner are awarded points for skill transferability in exactly the same way. There are no points available for the skill transferability of a candidate's spouse or common-law partner.

For the purposes of this table, "CLB" refers to Canadian Language Benchmark.

 

Education and Canadian Work Experience

Education 1 year of Canadian work experience 2 or more years of Canadian work experience
No post-secondary education 0 0
Post-secondary education of 1 year or longer 13 25
Two or more post-secondary credentials, the first of which was 3 or more years in duration 25 50
A university-level credential at the master’s level or at the level of an entry-to-practice professional degree for an occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification matrix at Skill Level A for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required 25 50
A university-level credential at the doctoral level 25 50

 

Education and Language Ability

Education CLB 7 or higher on all language abilities, with at least one of these CLB 8 CLB 9 or higher for all language abilities
No post-secondary education 0 0
Post-secondary education of 1 year or longer 13 25
Two or more post-secondary credentials,
the first of which was 3 or more years in duration
25 50
A university-level credential at the master’s level or at the level of an entry-to-practice professional degree for an occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification matrix at Skill Level A for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required 25 50
A university-level credential at the doctoral level 25 50

 

Language Ability and Non-Canadian Work Experience

Non-Canadian Work Experience CLB 7 or higher on all language abilities, with at least one of these CLB 8 CLB 9 or higher for all language abilities
No non-Canadian work experience 0 0
1 or 2 years of non-Canadian work experience 13 25
3 or more years of non-Canadian work experience 25 50

 

Canadian and non-Canadian Work Experience

Experience 1 year of Canadian work experience 2 or more years of Canadian work experience
No non-Canadian work experience 0 0
1 or 2 years of non-Canadian work experience 13 25
3 or more years of non-Canadian work experience 25 50

 

Certificate of Qualification in a Trade and Language Ability

Certificate of Qualification CLB 5 or higher on all language abilities, with at least one CLB 5 or 6 CLB 7 or higher on all language abilities
Certificate of qualification in a trade occupation issued by a province 25 50

 

Comprehensive Ranking System: Additional Factors

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nomination certificate Points
For an enhanced nomination certificate from a Canadian province (except Quebec) 600 points
Qualifying offer of arranged employment Points
For a qualifying job offer of arranged employment from a Canadian employer if the offer is in an occupation contained in Major Group 00 Senior Management Occupations 200 points
For a qualifying job offer of arranged employment from a Canadian employer if the offer is any other qualifying offer of arranged employment 50 points
Canadian study experience Points
If the candidate has an eligible credential from a one-year or two-year post-secondary program in Canada 15 points
If the candidate has either:

  • an eligible credential from a post-secondary program of three years or more, or
  • an eligible credential from a university-level program at the master’s level or at the level of an entry-to-practice professional degree for an occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification matrix at Skill Level A for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required, or
  • an eligible credential from a university-level program at the doctoral level
30 points
French language ability Points
If the candidate proves adequate intermediate (equivalent to CLB 7) or better French ability, and English ability of CLB 4 or lower (or no English language test result) 25 points
If the candidate proves adequate intermediate (equivalent to CLB 7) or better French ability, and English ability of CLB 5 or better 50 points
Sibling in Canada 15 Points
If the candidate, or the accompanying spouse/common-law partner, has a sibling in Canada who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of at least 18 years of age

  • The candidate or his or her spouse/common-law partner must share a mother and/or father with the sibling in Canada. This relationship can be through blood, adoption, marriage, or common-law partnership
15 points

 

Points are only assigned for Canadian study experience if, for the purpose of obtaining the credential, the candidate:

  • studied in Canada at a Canadian educational institution;
  • was enrolled in full-time study or training for at least eight months; and
  • was physically present in Canada for at least eight months.

A maximum of 15 points may be awarded for a sibling in Canada, regardless of how many siblings the candidate (and his or her spouse/common-law partner, if applicable) has in Canada.

The maximum available number of points for these additional factors for any one candidate is 600 points. Therefore, if a candidate has completed a Canadian post-secondary study program and obtains an enhanced nomination certificate from a Canadian province, he or she will be awarded 600 points for these additional factors (rather than 615 or 630 points).

 

Improve your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score

The highest-ranked candidates in the Express Entry pool are often guaranteed an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence. Therefore, individuals interested in immigration to Canada are encouraged to take every opportunity to increase their chances of receiving an invitation to apply. For more information, visit our dedicated page to learn how to improve your CRS score.