Express Entry: An Overview
- Ramjas Singh
- Aug 1, 2024
- 6 min read
While planning your move to Canada, get used to hearing one term again and again and that is “Express Entry”. Why so? Because this is the name of the most popular and efficient online management system that the Canadian immigration authorities use to assess permanent residence (PR) applications of skilled foreign workers. Through this system, Canada manages a pool of highly skilled and qualified workers who are immigration ready and keen to live and work here.
Express Entry was launched on 1st January, 2015 to replace the original “first-come, first-served” system in place at that time. And it has been a huge success! For starters, it removed the arbitrary selections done by the previous system and created a new framework that favored merit, skills, and qualifications of the immigration applicants and focused on their potential to contribute positively to Canada’s economic growth. Second, the system is highly efficient and targets to process 80% of applications in six months or less. Now, that certainly is an achievement! And last, but not the least, this system is considered more responsive to skill shortages in regional labor markets. That helps spread the economic benefits of immigration to tiny and far-flung regions often left out of the mainstream.
On a broad level, Express Entry uses a points-based system called the Comprehensive Points System (CRS) that automatically ranks immigration applications on various factors defined by the Canadian immigration authorities. The Canadian government then decides on a cutoff score to select the most eligible candidates for permanent residence opportunities. The core factors used by the CRS include age, educational qualifications, level of language proficiency in either English or French or both, professional skills, and work experience. The whole system is designed to be extremely competitive so that applicants who are most likely to succeed in Canada’s economic ecosystem are invited for PR.
Now, let’s look at the programs currently managed under Express Entry.
Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP): This program focuses on foreign skilled workers who are qualified in a skilled trade like bakers, carpenters, drivers etc. To apply for this program, you must have a valid job offer or a certificate of qualification.
Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP): This program targets skilled workers with foreign or Canadian work experience. To apply, you must fulfill all asked requirements for education and other criteria.
Canadian Experience Class (CEC): This program aims at skilled workers with Canadian work experience. This work experience should have been gained in the last three years before your application.
So, how do you apply under Express Entry? Well, the first step is to find out if you are eligible for a program that is part of Express Entry. Read the detailed requirements for each program and that should tell you whether you meet the minimum requirements. If you are eligible, you can also apply for Provincial Nomination Programs (PNPs) through Express Entry. If a province nominates you, you get extra points that almost guarantee your PR. The next step is to submit an online profile that provides information needed to rank your application. If you make the cutoff CRS score, you will be sent an Invitation to Apply (ITA) which will give you 60 days to submit a complete online application with all supporting documentation. This application is usually processed in six months or less and, viola, you have your PR!
So, how do you know whether you have cleared the CRS cutoff and received an ITA? This is done through Express Entry draws. Also called Rounds of Invitation, these typically happen every two weeks when the Canadian immigration authorities select candidates best suited to the needs of the labor markets and issue invitations to apply for PR to these selected candidates. Trust me, these draws will be the most nerve-wrecking time of your immigration experience! Sometimes, it just seems never-ending!
There are three kinds of draws, based on the priorities outlined by IRCC:
General draws: Usually, all applicants eligible for Federal Skilled Workers, Federal Skilled Trades, and Canada Experience Class programs are considered for these draws and the top CRS scores are invited to apply. For example, if top 500 applicants are invited, it will not matter if they are eligible for any of the programs under Express Entry, they will receive an ITA if they are ranked in top 500 applicants as per their CRS scores.
Program-specific draws: These draws focus on specific economic immigration programs that have distinct requirements for applicants like Caregiver Pilot Program or even some PNPs like Atlantic Immigration Program. Canadian government uses these programs to fill specific gaps in the labor market. For example, if top 100 applicants eligible only for the Caregiver Pilot program are invited, then it doesn’t matter even if your CRS score is higher than these applicants, you will not be invited if you have applied under any other program.
Category-based draws: These draws target specific categories of applicants, like people proficient in French language, whose skills and qualifications will contribute positively to Canada’s economic growth.
When a draw for Express Entry is made, the most important aspect of your immigration application is your rank in the applicant pool. Always remember that your rank in the pool will change with every express Entry draw because the candidate pool against which you are competing will change. In a general draw, usually the higher your CRS score, more is your chance of getting an ITA. However, in case of program-specific and category-based draws, this rule doesn’t apply.
Now, let’s look at the how these Express Entry draws are structured so as to understand what influences these draws and their outcomes. This will help you to prepare a better immigration application and increase your odds of getting PR in Canada. So, this is the information that each Express Entry draw provides:
Number of the Draw: This number tells you the order of the current draw within the year so that you can track how many draws have taken place and what schedule is being followed by the Canadian government.
Date of the Draw: This specifies the date when the draw took place. This helps you understand the timeline so that you can plan for future draws.
Category: This tells you whether the conducted draw was general, program-specific, or category-based. You will also know which program or category was targeted.
Tie-Breaking Rule: Sometimes, it so happens that CRS scores of many applicants are at the CRS cutoff score. For these situations, IRCC uses the tie-breaking rule to decide which candidates will be issued ITAs. This means that only those applicants who have scored at or above the CRS cutoff score and submitted their profile before the tie-breaking rules are invited to apply.
CRS Cutoff Score: This will tell you the minimum CRS score that is needed by an applicant to receive an invitation for PR in this particular draw.
Number of ITAs Issued: This provides information about how many ITAs were issued for PR in this particular draw.
For example, below are the details for the latest express Entry draw that happened on July 31, 2024 for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program:
Ministerial Instructions respecting invitations to apply for permanent residence under the Express Entry system
Draw Number 307 – July 31, 2024
Canadian Experience Class
Number of invitations issued: 5,000
Rank required to be invited to apply: 5,000 or above
Date and time of round: July 31, 2024 at 14:48:13 UTC
CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited: 510
Tie-breaking rule: June 30, 2024 at 20:39:14 UTC
If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.
Sometimes, after a draw, IRCC also releases updates on the candidates in the Express Entry pool. You can use this information to give you insights into profiles of the applicants in the Express Entry pool at a particular time, like the number of candidates and distribution of their CRS scores. This information can help you decide the future strategy of your application like whether you need improvements in your CRS score or maybe apply for a PNP nomination.
It is always a good thing to learn to analyze the information that is released in Express Entry draws because that provides you with clarity and confidence on the direction of your immigration application. You can decide whether you are on right track or need a course correction. After all, it’s a marathon and not a sprint. So, hang tight and keep dreaming!
Disclaimer:
The content available on this page is for informational purpose only. For professional advice, please book an appointment with our licensed immigration consultants through our website.
Comments