Canada Express Entry
Canada's Express Entry is the fastest and most popular immigration system offering Canadian Permanent Residence. It was introduced by the Canadian federal government in January 2015, replacing the 'first come, first served' process.
Express Entry, in itself, is not an immigration program, it is an online system created to manage Canada's immigration applications intake. It is an application management system used by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to manage and process applications received through three of Canada's federal economic immigration programs for skilled workers.
Instead of being a 'first come, first served' system, Express Entry is a competitive immigration system, ranking all eligible candidates against one another and then inviting the best ranking candidates to apply for Canadian permanent resident status. Candidates are ranked against one another based on their age, education, language proficiency, work experience, and other factors. All of these are used to determine the point achieved by the candidates using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) and the points in turn are used to determine the ranking of candidates in the Express Entry pool.
Applicants who meet the eligibility criteria submit an online profile known as an Expression of interest (EOI), under one of the 3 federal Canada immigration programs or a participating provincial immigration program, to the Express Entry Pool.
The highest-ranked candidates, based on the points determined by CRS, will be considered for an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence. Those receiving an ITA must quickly submit a full application and pay the processing fees, within a delay of 90-days.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) uses the Express Entry system to select the desired candidates to apply for permanent residence.
Immigration Programs under Canada's Express Entry System
The Canadian Experience Class, as the name suggests is an immigration program for those who have a minimum of one year working experience in Canada.
The Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP), is an immigration program that enables skilled professionals with foreign (outside Canada) work experience to apply for Permanent Residency in Canada.
The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), is an immigration program that enables skilled workers (in certain trades) with a valid job offer in Canada to apply for Canada Permanent Residence.
You need to be eligible to one of the above-mentioned programs to be able to enter the Express Entry pool of candidates, where each candidate is assigned a CRS score. Read more about Canada's CRS score here.
Highest ranking candidates from Canada's Express Entry pool are invited to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada. These invitations are issued as sets in draws. Check your score and then compare the information of the draw with your application to see how likely you are to get an invitation in the next round. Check here to check the latest draws.