Permanent Residence

Express Entry

On January 1, 2015 Citizenship and Immigration Canada has launched a new recruitment model known as the "Express Entry" system to manage applications for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), and the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and the Provincial Nominees Program (PNP) in part. The first invitations to apply has been issued on January 31, 2015. CIC will invite candidates from the Express Entry pool to apply on a regular basis. Every round of invitations will have a set of instructions the electronic system will use to invite candidates from the pool. These instructions will be posted on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website before each round of invitations..
These instructions will include:
  • the date and time of the round of invitations
  • the number of candidates that will get an ITA, and
  • if it applies, which specific immigration program(s) will be included.
If the instructions do not specify which immigration program the candidates must be eligible for, the invitations will be based solely on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.

Express Entry: how it works

Express Entry will work in 2 steps:

  1. Express Entry Profile

    Prospective immigrants will indicate their interest in coming to Canada by providing information electronically through an online Express Entry profile about their skills, work experience, and other biographical information.
    Candidates will be assessed through their profiles on:
    • Language proficiency
    • Education
    • Canadian work experience
    • Other factors that lead to success in Canada
    Candidates who successfully meet the criteria through their online profile will then be placed in the Express Entry pool of candidates.
    If the candidate does not already have an offer of employment in Canada, he or she will be required to register with Canada's job bank which will help them to connect with Canadian employers.
    Candidates in the pool will be prompted to promote themselves to employers in order to receive a job offer.

  2. Invitation to Apply

    Canadian and Citizenship Immigration (CIC) will evaluate and rank candidates in the pool based on their chances of economic success in Canada. Those with qualifying offers of arranged employment or provincial/territorial nominations will be ranked highly.
    Candidates ranked the highest will then receive a letter of invitation to submit an electronic application for permanent residency.
    Would-be applicants to the FSWP, FSTP, and CEC, will not be allowed to make an application for permanent residence unless invited to apply.

Processing Time

CIC aims to cut back the time it takes to process applications in the Federal Economic Programs through Express Entry.
Immigration candidates who have successfully been invited to apply for permanent residency will have 60 days to do so upon receiving their invitation. CIC aims to processes all Permanent Resident Applications within 6 months from the date of their submission.
If the application is approved, candidates and their spouse and children will then be allowed to land in Canada as permanent residents. If candidates in the pool do not receive an invitation to apply for permanent residency within 12 months, they may resubmit their online profile and enter the pool again.

Who Can Apply

Anyone is eligible to submit an online profile for Express Entry. Unlike the Federal Skilled Worker Program there is no cap on the amount of candidates who can apply to be in the pool.
There is also no requirement to have a certain occupation to apply: all valid occupations are eligible to receive an invitation for permanent residency.

Preparing For Express Entry

Global Vision Immigration Office will prepare you to take steps to better prepare yourself as a potential candidate for the Express Entry system. We will prepare your online Express Entry profile to maximize the probability of you receiving a letter of invitation from Citizenship and Immigration Canada to submit an electronic application for permanent residency.
If you receive a letter of invitation, Global Vision Immigration Office will then professionally prepare and submit your permanent application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada for processing.
After submission of your application, Global Vision Immigration Office continues to be your legal representative with Citizenship and Immigration Canada right up until a final determination has been made by the visa office on your FSW permanent resident application.