Latest changes for Express Entry
you can now get additional points for at least one sibling (brother or sister) living in Canada who is a citizen or permanent resident
you can now get additional points for strong French language skills
it is now optional to create a Job Match account with Job Bank
Express Entry is used to manage applications for permanent residence under these federal economic immigration programs:

• the Federal Skilled Worker Program,
• the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and
• the Canadian Experience Class.

Provinces and territories can also recruit candidates from the Express Entry system through their Provincial Nominee Programs to meet local labor market needs.

Ministerial Instructions set out the rules for governing the Express Entry application management system.

The Express Entry system has two steps:
1. 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: skills, work experience, language ability, education, and 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.

If you are in the Express Entry pool, you can start your job search by creating a Job Match account with Job Bank. Once you come to Canada, you can continue using Job Bank to find a job.

A Job Match account with Job Bank is an easy, online tool to help match you with employers looking for workers with your skills. To create an account:

go to the Job Match sign-in page click the “Sign up now!” button read the privacy notice and click “I agree”
follow the instructions to create an account 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.

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).

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.

Federal Skilled Worker Program

• Minimum requirements
• Skilled work experience
• Your work experience must be:

in the same type of job as your primary NOC within the last 10 years paid work (volunteer work, unpaid internships don’t count) at skill type 0, or skill levels A or B of the 2011 National Occupational Classification (NOC) at least 1 year (1,560 hours total / 30 hours per week), continuous:

• full-time at 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
  equal amount in part-time: 15 hours/week for 24 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
  full-time at more than 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months at more than 1 job = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)

You must show that you did the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC, including all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.

If you cannot show that your work experience meets the description in the NOC, you are not eligible under this program.

Language ability

You must:
meet the minimum language level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7, and
take a language test approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) that shows you meet the level for speaking, listening, reading and writing.
You must show that you meet the requirements in English or French by including the test results when you complete your Express Entry profile. Your test results must not be more than two years old on the day you apply for permanent residence.

Education
You must have:
a Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree,
OR
a completed foreign credential, and
an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from an agency approved by CIC. [The report must show your foreign education is equal to a completed Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree.]

Six selection factors
If you meet all the conditions set out in the minimum requirements, we will assess your application based on the selection factors in the federal skilled worker points grid.

The selection factors are:
skills in English and/or French (Canada’s two official languages),
education,
work experience,
age,
whether you have a valid job offer, and
your adaptability (how well you are likely to settle here).

Proof of Funds
You must show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada, unless you:

are currently able to legally work in Canada, and
have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada.

Principal applicant
If you are married or live with a common-law foreign national partner in Canada, and that person also meets the above conditions, you can decide which one of you will apply under Express Entry as a principal applicant.

A common-law partner is a person who has lived with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. Common-law partner refers to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

Look at each selection factor and see which one of you is most likely to meet the eligibility requirements and earn the most points. That person should apply as the principal applicant.

Other Requirements
You must be admissible to Canada. Find out more about inadmissibility.
You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec.

Federal Skilled Trades Program
Minimum requirements
Skilled work experience
Your work experience must be:

in the same type of job as your primary NOC
within the last 10 years
paid work (volunteer work, unpaid internships don’t count)
at skill type 0, or skill levels A or B of the 2011 National Occupational Classification (NOC)
at least 1 year (1,560 hours total / 30 hours per week), continuous:
full-time at 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
equal amount in part-time: 15 hours/week for 24 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
full-time at more than 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months at more than 1 job = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
You must show that you did the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC, including all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.

If you cannot show that your work experience meets the description in the NOC, you are not eligible under this program.

Find out the NOC code, title and skill type or level for your job.

Language Ability
You must:
meet the minimum language level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7, and
take a language test approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) that shows you meet the level for speaking, listening, reading and writing.
You must show that you meet the requirements in English or French by including the test results when you complete your Express Entry profile. Your test results must not be more than two years old on the day you apply for permanent residence.

Education
You must have:
a Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree,
OR
a completed foreign credential, and
an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from an agency approved by CIC. [The report must show your foreign education is equal to a completed Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree.]

Six Selection Factors
If you meet all the conditions set out in the minimum requirements, we will assess your application based on the selection factors in the federal skilled worker points grid.

The selection factors are:
skills in English and/or French (Canada’s two official languages),
education,
work experience,
age,
whether you have a valid job offer, and
your adaptability (how well you are likely to settle here).

Proof of Funds
You must show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada, unless you:

are currently able to legally work in Canada, and
have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada.

Principal Applicant
If you are married or live with a common-law foreign national partner in Canada, and that person also meets the above conditions, you can decide which one of you will apply under Express Entry as a principal applicant.

A common-law partner is a person who has lived with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. Common-law partner refers to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

Look at each selection factor and see which one of you is most likely to meet the eligibility requirements and earn the most points. That person should apply as the principal applicant.

Other Requirements
You must be admissible to Canada.
You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec.

Canadian Experience Class
Minimum Requirements:
You must:

have at least 12 months of full-time (or an equal amount in part-time) skilled work experience in Canada in the three years before you apply,
have gained your experience in Canada with the proper authorization,
meet the required language levels needed for your job for each language ability (speaking, reading, writing and listening),
plan to live outside the province of Quebec.
Self-employment and work experience gained while you were a full-time student (for example, on a co-op work term) does not count under this program.
Note: The province of Quebec does not use Express Entry. They select their own skilled workers. See Quebec-selected skilled workers to find out more.

Skilled work experience
To be considered for the Canadian Experience Class, you need to have Canadian skilled work experience within three years of applying. According to the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC), skilled work experience means:

Managerial jobs (NOC skill level 0)
Professional jobs (NOC skill type A)
Technical jobs and skilled trades (NOC skill type B)
Your experience must be at least 12 months of full-time (30 hours of paid work per week or more) or an equal amount in part-time hours.

Full Time
30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)

Part time
15 hours/week for 24 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
OR
30 hours/week for 12 months at more than one job = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)

You must show that you did the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC, including all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.

If you do not show that your experience meets the description in the NOC, we will not accept your application.

Find out the NOC code, title and skill type or level for your job.

If your existing work permit is about to expire, you may be eligible for a bridging open work permit. If you are eligible, this permit can let you keep working while you wait for a final decision on your permanent residence application.

Education
There is no education requirement for Canadian Experience Class. But, if you want to earn points for your education under Express Entry, you either need:
a Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree,
OR

a completed foreign credential, and
an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from an agency approved by CIC. [The report must show your foreign education is equal to a completed Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree.]

Note: You will only benefit from getting an ECA if your foreign education is equal to a completed Canadian high school diploma or greater.

Language Ability
You must:
meet the minimum language level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 for NOC 0 or A jobs OR Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 for NOC B jobs, and
take a language test approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) that shows you meet the level for speaking, listening, reading and writing.
You must show that you meet the requirements in English or French by including the test results when you complete your Express Entry profile. Your test results must not be more than two years old on the day you apply for permanent residence or you will need to retake the test.

Principal Applicant
If you are married or live with a common-law foreign national partner in Canada, and that person also meets the requirements, one or both of you can fill out an Express Entry profile.

The person who is invited to apply and submits an application is the “principal applicant.”

A common-law partner is a person who has lived with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. Common-law partner refers to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.