Canadian Immigration’s Express Entry System now makes it possible for you to secure your permanent residency for Canada in 6 months or less!
What exactly is the Canada express entry system?
Express entry is a system which makes it possible for skilled workers to come to Canada as permanent residents. Since this system is completely electronic, thus the processing times under it is a maximum of 6 months. Prior to 2015, Canada’s skilled worker immigration system was paper-based. Under the paper-based system, people who wanted to secure Canadian permanent residence had to first file their application. After that, Canadian authorities used to process those applications and if the candidate was found eligible based on various criteria then they were given permanent residence. Since the Canada express entry system was completely paper-based, it used to take as much as 4-5 years to complete the process.
The Canadian government decided to completely revolutionize its immigration system and introduced the express entry system. Express entry is a two-step process according to which candidates who are interested in immigrating to Canada file an expression of interest and upon meeting the eligibility criteria they are placed in a pool of candidates. The top-ranked candidates from the pool are given an invitation to apply every two weeks and thus they can apply for permanent residence. The biggest difference between paper-based and express entry systems is that express entry is not a first come first serve a system which means that even if you enter last in the pool but if your points are higher than the other applicants, you can still get an invitation to apply before the others.
How the Canada express entry system actually works and Who Qualifies to immigrate through this system?
Under the express entry system, candidates are given points based on different factors such as their age, English/French language ability, work experience, educational qualification, etc. The first step under the express entry system is to check your eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker Program. In this process, candidates are given points on a scale of 100 based on six different factors. To qualify, a candidate must secure 67 points. The six factors are language ability, education, work experience, age, employment in Canada and adaptability Language ability if measured as per CLB or Canadian Language Benchmark. If you give IELTS exam, then your points would be converted to CLB and points are given accordingly For example, if in IELTS, you secure 8 in listening and 7 in other modules (reading, writing and speaking) then it would be equivalent to CLB 9 and you would get 24 points for language ability For educational qualification, you would have to get ECA (Educational Credential Assessment) done for your highest qualification (graduation/post-graduation). This assessment can be done through any of the approved agencies You would get points on the basis of your ECA report.
Example, you would get 21 points for graduation. The next factor is work experience. You would get points for the number of years that you have been employed in a full-time job Your occupation should be on either O, A or B categories of the National Occupation Classification list If you have 6 or more years of work experience then you would get 15 points. You should have a minimum of 1 year of experience. The next factor is age. If you are between 18 to 35 years then you would get 12 points for age You would lose 1 point for every year above 35 and candidates 47 years and older will not get any points for age If you have a valid job offer in Canada then you can get 10 points for the same. The last factor is adaptability according to which you get points for different factors such as your spouse’s language ability, your or your spouse’s Canadian education history, your past work experience in Canada, and your/your spouse’s blood relatives in Canada who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents, First of all, you have to ensure that you get 67 points as per the qualification criteria.
If you qualify then you may go to Canada.ca website and create an account. Upon account creation, you would be placed in a pool of qualified candidates. Upon entering this pool, you would be given ranking points again based on different criteria Top ranked candidates from the pool would be chosen in draws held every two weeks and invited to apply for permanent residence Candidates in the pool are given points as per CRS or Comprehensive Ranking System Your points would also depend on whether you are applying as a single applicant or with your spouse/common law partner CRS points are divided into four categories, which are human capital factors spouse/common law partner factors, skill transferability factors and additional factors Under Human Capital Category, the first factor is age If you are a single applicant between 20 to 29 years then you would secure 110 points for age Your points will decrease if you are older/younger Next comes level of education Based on your ECA report, if you have a master’s degree then you would get 135 points Likewise, for PhD would get 150 points Again, if you are married or with a common law partner then your points will decrease Next comes language ability If you secure CLB 10 then you get 34 points for each module (reading, writing, listening, speaking) If you know both English and French then you can claim points for both the languages If you have Canadian work experience then you can claim points for that too Example, you get 80 points for 5 or more years of Canadian work experience Second category is spouse/common law partner factors You could get points for your spouse’s education, language ability, and Canadian work experience Example, if your spouse/common law partner has a master’s degree then 10 points 9 or higher band in CLB then 5 points, 5 or more years Canadian work experience then also 10 points Next category is Skill Transferability Factors Example, if you have two or more post secondary degrees in your ECA report and CLB 9 or higher then you can get 50 points Similarly, two or more post secondary degrees plus 2 years of Canadian work experience fetches you 50 points You can also get 50 points for 3 years of foreign work experience and CLB 9 Next category is additional points You could also get points for certain additional factors Example, if you have a sibling who is a Canadian permanent resident or citizen then 15 points if you know both English and French languages then 30 points if you have a Canadian post secondary degree then 30 points 200 points for a qualifying job offer in Canada and 600 points for provincial nomination. We will write one more article to give you more details about provincial nomination programs. So, you may calculate your points on the basis of different factors explained here The lowest score which has resulted in an invitation to apply in all express entry draws till date is 413 points However, over the last few draws, then score has been over 440 If you have a CRS of more than 440 then you can expect to receive invitation in the next few draws After you receive the invitation, you have 60 days in which to submit your complete application The processing time after you submit your application is maximum 6 months You must keep in mind that any information/documents submitted as part of your application should be 100 per cent true and correct If you submit any false information/document then it may result in a 5 year immigration ban. This was the Canada express entry system in its complete detail If you have any questions related to this article then please mention those in comments below.