Express Entry is a new electronic management application system for immigration to Canada. It is not a new immigration program. Rather, it facilitates the selection and processing of Canada's economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Class (formerly the Federal Skilled Worker Program), the Federal Skilled Trades Class (formerly the Federal Skilled Trades Program), the Canadian Experience Class, and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Programs. Applicants make an "expression of interest" (EOI) in immigrating to Canada and, if they are eligible for at least one of the aforementioned programs, they then enter the Express Entry pool. The federal government and provincial governments, as well…

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, formerly known as CIC) aims to process applications within six months from the date of submission, hence the name Express Entry. Note that this does not mean six months from the date a candidate made an expression of interest in immigrating to Canada, but rather six months from the date he or she submits a complete application for permanent residence after an invitation to apply has been issued.

Express Entry came into operation on January 1, 2015.

The Express Entry system applies to the following Canadian economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class, the Canadian Experience Class, and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Programs. Provinces and territories are able to recruit candidates from the Express Entry system for a portion of the Provincial Nominee Programs in order to meet local labour market needs.

No. Express Entry does not change Canadian immigration program requirement. Express Entry is not a new program. Rather, it is a new management and selection system for existing immigration programs.

Potential candidates make an expression of interest (EOI) in coming to Canada by creating an Express Entry profile and providing information about their skills, work experience, language ability, education, and other personal information. This profile is self-declared; that is to say that the material provided by the potential candidate is based on his or her own assessment of his or her personal information.

If the information provided by the potential candidate turns out to be false, this is known as misrepresentation and, depending on the nature and severity of the false claim, carries penalties. A potential candidate who has been found to have provided false information going into the Express Entry pool can be banned from re-entering the pool for five years. Therefore, it is hugely important to provide accurate and correct information always. Candidates who are unsure about how to assess their own abilities and credentials may want to seek advice from an immigration lawyer before entering the Express Entry pool.

Potential candidates who create an Express Entry profile and are eligible for one of Canada's economic immigration programs enter the Express Entry pool. These programs are the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class, the Canadian Experience Class, and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Programs. The federal government and provincial governments, as well as Canadian employers, are able to select candidates from this pool. Candidates who are selected then receive an 'Invitation to Apply' (ITA) for immigration to Canada under one of the programs.

No.

The Comprehensive Ranking System is the government of Canada's internal mechanism for ranking candidates bases on their human capital, determined by factors such as age, level of education and language ability. This helps to enable Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, formerly known as CIC) to decide which candidates may be issued invitations to apply for permanent residence. There are up to 600 points available under the system for a candidate's core human capital and skills transferability factors. An additional 600 points will be given to anyone with a confirmed job offer (i.e. having received a positive Labour Market Impact…

The Canada Job Bank is an online search engine for open job positions across Canada. It helps match candidates with Canadian employers and jobs based on their skills, knowledge, and experience. Under Express Entry, candidates need to register with the Job Bank if they do not already have a Canadian job offer or a Provincial/Territorial nomination. If a candidate is currently working in Canada on a Labour Market Impact Assessment-based work permit, he or she will not have to reapply for a new LMIA, insofar as the LMIA is still valid. Should the Express Entry candidate choose to apply to…

Candidates are required to update their profile to reflect any changes in their status, such as in language ability, family composition, work experience, or education credentials.

An Invitation to Apply (ITA) is offered to any candidate in the Express Entry pool who has been selected to apply for immigration to Canada by the federal government, a Canadian province or territory, or a Canadian employer. An ITA is offered if a candidate: is among the top ranked in the Express Entry pool based on his or her skills, education and experience; is nominated by a province or territory; or has a valid job offer from a Canadian employer (subject to the Labour Market Impact Assessment in place at that time).

Whereas previously potential candidates who were eligible for a Canadian immigration program could apply directly to that program, that is no longer the case. Under Express Entry, candidates with higher points totals in the Express Entry pool may have a better chance of being invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence by either the federal government, a Canadian province or territory, or a Canadian employer. Highly educated candidates with skilled work experience and strong language skills in English and/or French, for example, are likely obtain a greater number of points than those who do not possess these qualities.

Yes.

No.

Yes, the federal government of Canada is able to select candidates from the Express Entry pool. These candidates do not necessarily need to have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer in order to receive an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence.

A certain number of candidates in the pool are issued invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence when a draw from the pool is made, but candidates do not know in advance when these draws will be.

No, there will not be any eligible occupation lists for any of the programs. Under previous versions of the Federal Skilled Worker Class, there were lists of eligible occupations deemed in demand by the government of Canada. Under the most recent version of the Canadian Experience Class, there was a list of ineligible occupations. These lists are no more. It must be noted, however, that in order to be eligible for any of the programs under Express Entry, the candidate needs to have work experience in an occupation that has a National Occupation Classification (NOC) code of skill type 0,…

All provinces and territories, except for Quebec and Nunavut, use Express Entry or have indicated that they may do so in the future. Provinces and territories are able to nominate a certain number of candidates through the Express Entry system to meet their local and provincial labour market needs. These are known as "enhanced" nominations. If an applicant gets an enhanced nomination from a province or territory, he or she is then given 600 additional points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) and will receive an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence at a subsequent draw from the pool.…