Express Entry

Express Entry
| Last Updated: Dec 1, 2024

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Express Entry

Since January 1st, 2015 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, formerly Citizenship and Immigration Canada or CIC) has initiated a new immigration program called Express Entry. Think of it as being like getting a job. Your online application to migrate to Canada gets placed in a pool with other candidates and evaluated according to a list of criteria. The top ranking candidates in each pool will then be invited to immigrate to Canada. This is a significant change in Canada’s immigration system and may very well affect how you apply for and whether you receive acceptance by CIC to move to Canada and embark on a new life. It is important to take the time and familiarize yourself with Express Entry. We will give you a comprehensive overview of the program as well as a guide to understanding the steps involved.

 

Index

 

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry is an online electronic system that manages those applications for permanent residence in Canada that fall under specific immigration programs:

Who Can Apply For Express Entry?

In order to apply for Express Entry, you will need to qualify for one of the above Canadian immigration programs. This means you must have:

  • at least 1 year of full-time Canadian work experience (or equivalent part time experience), and / or
  • at least 1 year of full-time work experience (or equivalent part time experience abroad in an occupation that Canada deems “skilled” (see below), and / or
  • at least 2 years of full-time work experience (or equivalent part time experience) abroad in a trade.

If your work experience is abroad, usually you are required to have a job offer in addition.

There are additional requirements which you can learn about by reading about the individual programs.

How to Apply

To apply with IMMIgroup,

If you are not sure if you can apply or not, you will need to go to the Come to Canada tool and see if you qualify for acceptance into a pool of candidates. If you get a positive result you will be re-directed to MyCIC where, if you do not already have an account, you will have to create one. You will then begin to build your Express Entry profile.

You will need to support your application with a language test. If educated outside Canada, you will need to undergo an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). You will need the ECA result to qualify for the Foreign Skilled Worker Program and to gain points under the Federal Skilled Trades Program as well as the Canadian Experience Class program. You will also need to see how your job skills match up with Canada’s job classification system. Go here to find out what your National Occupational Classification (NOC) code is. This will help determine if your job skills and work experience is valid under FSW, FST, or CEC.

Building Your Express Entry Profile

Remember that to complete your Express Entry online profile you will need the following:

  • Your Passport or Travel Document;
  • Your NOC code and NOC job title;
  • Your language test results (IELTS, CELPIP, or TEF);
  • Your ECA result;
  • A copy of a written job offer from a Canadian employer, if you have such an offer;
  • A copy of your provincial nomination, if you have been nominated;
  • Your personal reference code from the Come to Canada tool (for example, JM1234567890). If you began building your Express Entry profile without going to Come to Canada, you will not have one.

Step 1

Armed with the above list, you then follow these basic steps to complete your online profile:

  1. Use your MyCIC number that you will receive when you create your MyCIC account to sign in each time you want to enter.
  2. If you have undergone the test at Come to Canada use your personal reference code. If not, go to step 3.
  3. Begin to enter your personal information like work experience and education. You may exit at any time and your information will be saved but you must complete the profile within 30 days or you will have to re-start the process.
  4. Submit the Express Entry Profile you have created online. Remember to register with Job Bank as detailed below.

Once submitted online, your express entry profile will be screened by immigration authorities to see if you are eligible for the pool of candidates.

Step 2

If you are admitted to a pool of candidates:

You will be placed in the pool for a period of 1 year from the day you get in.

If you do not have a job offer waiting for you in Canada, or a nomination from a province or territory then you should use the personal reference code that you will be given to register in Job Bank, an online labour market service that matches jobs available and skills needed as well as information on salaries with qualified job seekers. This will enable you to seek work for which you are qualified and for which there is a demand.

A points score will be calculated based on the data you give when completing your online profile. A comprehensive ranking system will be used to rank you. It is based on factors which have proven to be good predictors of an immigrant’s success in integrating into the workforce and Canadian society in general. The factors are:

  • Skills possessed.
  • Language ability.
  • Work experience.
  • Education and other factors.

As well, if you have a written job offer or nomination under the Provincial Nominee Program you will be granted additional points. Your employer will have to submit to a Labour Market Impact Assessment.

On the basis of regular draws from any pool of candidates, CIC will issue invitations to the highest ranked candidates to come to Canada. If you have a valid job offer, or a nomination under the PNP, then your chances of being invited are very good. Only once you have been invited by CIC, through a message to your MyCIC account and to your personal email address, can you then apply online for permanent residence.

Complete Guide to the CRS Points System

Step 3

Once you have filled out all the required fields, a personalized document checklist will be generated. This shows you all the documents you will need to submit with your application for permanent residence. You will need to make digital copies of the documents using the scan function on your computer’s printer, or a digital camera. You will then upload the documents along with your application. This will include things like: passports, language test results, written job offers, provincial nominations, and proof of sufficient funds. It will also include Medical Tests and Police Certificates.

You must pay your fees, including for all accompanying family members, online through your MyCIC account using a credit card.

Once you have submitted your application along with clear, legible scans or photos of all required documents, CIC will begin to process your application. This means that all the information you have submitted will be verified by CIC before you are eligible to immigrate and admissible to Canada.

Things to Remember

Remember that if your situation changes (you get a new job or change careers, you take a new language test with better results, you get married and have children, for example), then you must update your online profile at Express Entry as soon as possible.

If, after a year of being in the pool, you do not get invited to come to Canada, then your Express Entry profile will expire. You must then re-submit your Express Entry profile with any updated information relevant to your profile, within 60 days of your expiry. If you meet the minimum entry criteria once more, you will receive a new personal reference code.

If you are invited to come to Canada, you will then have 60 days to fill out and submit your online application for permanent residence. Remember that documents like police certificates take longer than 60 days on average, so you should apply for them as soon as you are accepted into a pool so they will be ready to submit with your application for permanent residence, should you be invited.

To improve your chances of ranking highly in your pool you should consider doing at least some of the following:

  • Secure a valid job offer from a Canadian employer using Job Bank or private sector job boards.
  • Get in touch with Provinces and Territories in order to qualify for a Provincial Nominee Program nomination.
  • Try to improve your language skills through courses or online sites to improve your language test scores.
  • Improve and update your education by taking additional courses and/or degrees in areas relevant to needed skills in the Canadian job market.
  • Improve your work experience by taking on jobs and careers that add to your skills.
  • Never give false information to dress-up your profile. If caught, you could be banned from re-applying for 5 years.

Express Entry Costs and Processing Time

IMMIgroup’s legal fees range from around CAD$3000+HSt for those with Canadian work experience to CAD$4500+HST for those without Canadian work experience.

Government Fees

It costs CAD$550 to submit your application.

If you are approved, you will then have to pay CAD$490 for your Right of Permanent Residence.

Processing Times

Under the new system, processing times are supposed to be significantly better than in the past. Citizenship and Immigration Canada endeavours to process 80% of applications within 6 months of submission, regardless of whether or not you have Canadian experience, and regardless of whether or not you are nominated by a province.

Processing Times Prior to Express Entry

Program processing time
Federal Skilled Worker Varied by visa office, from 3-34 months
Federal Skilled Trades Not known
Canadian Experience Class 13 months
Provincial Nominees Varied by visa office, 11-59 months

 

Required Documentation

  • Your Passport or Travel Document;
  • Your NOC code and NOC job title;
  • Your language test results (IELTS, CELPIP, or TEF);
  • Your Education Credentials Assessment result;
  • A copy of a written job offer from a Canadian employer, if you have one;
  • A copy of your provincial nomination, if you have been nominated by a province as a skilled or semi-skilled worker, a student or as a business immigrant;
  • Your personal reference code from the Come to Canada tool (ex, JM1234567890). If you began building your Express Entry profile without going to Come to Canada, you will not have one.

Language Test Details

In order to immigrate to Canada as a permanent resident, you need to schedule and sit a language test at an agency approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada in one of Canada’s two official languages. Here are the acceptable tests:

Your successful language test results contribute points to your Express Entry application. See the relevant page for details:

For Federal Skilled Worker, you get a maximum of 24 points for your first language and 4 points for your second.

For Federal Skilled Trades and Canadian Experience Class, your score has to be up to the skill level of your job.

Learn more about IELTS

Express Entry Historical Points Cutoffs by Draw

Express Entry Historical ITAs by Draw

Express Entry Historical Draws

Draw Number of invitations issued CRS score of lowest-ranked candidate invited
#196 – July 8, 2021 4500 369 points
(CEC only)
#195 – July 7, 2021 627 760 points
(PNP only)
#194 – June 24, 2021 6000 357 points
(CEC only)
#193 – June 23, 2021 1002 742 points
(PNP only)
#192 – June 10, 2021 6,000 368 points
(CEC only)
#191 – June 9, 2021 940 711 points
(PNP only)
#190 – May 31, 2021 5,956 380 points
(CEC only)
#189 – May 26, 2021 500 713 points
(PNP only)
#188 – May 20, 2021 1842 397 points
(CEC only)
#187 – May 13, 2021 4147 401 points
(CEC only)
#186 – May 12, 2021 557 752 points
(PNP only)
#185 – April 29, 2021 6000 400 points
(CEC only)
#184 – April 28, 2021 381 717 points
(PNP only)
#183 – April 16, 2021 6000 417 points
(CEC only)
#182 – April 14, 2021 266 753 points
(PNP only)
#181 – April 1, 2021 5000 432 points
(CEC only)
#180 – March 31, 2021 284 778 points
(PNP only)
#179 – March 18, 2021 5000 449 points
(CEC only)
#178 – March 17, 2021 183 682 points
(PNP only)
#177 – March 8, 2021 671 739 points
(PNP only)
#176 – February 13, 2021 27,332
(all time high
many times over)		 75 points
(CEC only
lowest cut off all time)
#175 – February 10, 2021 654 720 points
(PNP only)
#174 – January 21, 2021 4626 454 points
(lowest cutt off in a draw open to all since April)
#173 – January 20, 2021 374 741
(PNP only)
#172 – January 7, 2021 4750 461 points
#171 – January 6, 2021 250 813 points
(PNP only)
2020
#170 – December 23, 2020 5,000 468 points
#169 – December 9, 2020 5,000 469 points
#168 – November 25, 2020 5,000 469 points
#167 – November 18, 2020 5,000 472 points
#166 – November 5, 2020 4,500 478 points
#165 – October 14, 2020 4,500 471 points
#164 –  September 30, 2020 4,200 471 points
#163 – September 16, 2020 4,200 472 points
#162 – September 2, 2020 4,200 475 points
#161 – August 20, 2020 3,300 454 points
(CEC ONLY)
#160 – August 19, 2020 600 770 points
(PNP ONLY)
#159 – August 6, 2020 250 250 points
(FST ONLY)
#158 – August 5, 2020 3,900 476 points
#157 – July 23, 2020 3,343 445 points
(CEC ONLY)
#156 – July 22, 2020 557 687 points
(PNP ONLY)
#155 – July 8, 2020 3,900 478 points
#154 – June 25, 2020 3,508 431 points
(Year Low, CEC ONLY)
#153 – June 24, 2020 392 696 points
(PNP ONLY)
#152 – June 11, 2020 3,559 437 points
(CEC ONLY)
#151 – June 10, 2020 341 743 points
(PNP ONLY)
#150 – May 28, 2020 3,515 440 points
#149 – May 27, 2020 385 757 points
(PNP ONLY)
#148 – May 14, 2020 3,371 447 points
#147 – May 13, 2020 529 718 points
(PNP ONLY)
#146 – May 1, 2020 3,311 452 points
(Year Low)
#145 – April 29, 2020 589 692 points
(PNP ONLY)
#144 – April 16, 2020 3,782 455 points
(Year Low)
#143 – April, 15, 2020 118 808 points
PNP ONLY)
#142 – April 9, 2020 505 698 points
(PNP ONLY)
#141 – April 9, 2020 3,294 464 points
(CEC ONLY)
#140 – March 23, 2020 3,232 467 points
#139 – March 18, 2020 668 720 points
(PNP ONLY)
#138 – March 4, 2020 3,900 471 points
#137 – February 19, 2020 4,500 470 points
#136 – February 5, 2020 3,500 472 points
#135 – January 22, 2020 3,400 471 points
#134 – January 8, 2020 3,400 473 Points
(Year High)
2019
#133 – December 19, 2019 3,200 469 points
#132 – December 11, 2019 3,200 472 points
#131 – November 27, 2019 3,600 471 points
#130 – November 13, 2019 3,600 472 points
#129 – October 30, 2019 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 475 points
(Year High)
#128 – October 16, 2019 500 357 points
(Federal Skilled Trades ONLY)
#127 – October 2, 2019 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 464 points
#126 – September 18, 2019 3,600 462 points
#125 – September 4, 2019 3,600 463 points
#124 – August 20, 2019 3,600 457 points
#123 – August 12, 2019 3,600 466 points
#122 – July 24, 2019 3,600 459 points
#121 – July 10, 2019 3,600 460 points
#120 – June 26, 2019 3,350 462 points
#119 – June 12, 2019 3,350 465 points
#118 – May 29, 2019 3,350 470 points
#117 – May 15, 2019 500 352 points
(Federal Skilled Trades ONLY)
#116 – May 1, 2019 3,350 450 points
#115 – April 17, 2019 3,350 451 points
#114 – April 3, 2019 3,350 451 points
#113 – March 20, 2019 3,350 452 points
#112 – March 6, 2019 3,350 454 points
#111 – February 20, 2019 3,350 457 points
#110 – January 30, 2019 3,350 438 points
(Year Low)
#109 – January 23, 2019 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 443 points
#108 – January 10, 2019 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 449 points
2018
#107 – December 19, 2018 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 439 points
(Year Low)
#106 – December 12, 2018 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 445 points
#105 – November 28, 2018 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 445 points
#104 – November 14, 2018 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 449 points
#103 – October 29 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 442 points
#102 – October 15 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 440 points
#101 – October 3, 2018 3,900
(Tied Year High)		 445 points
#100 -September 24, 2018 400
(Federal Skilled Trades ONLY)		 284 points
(Federal Skilled Trades ONLY)
#99 – September 19, 2018 3,500 441 points
#98 – September 5, 2018 3,900
(Year High)		 440 points
#97 – August 22, 2018
(Tied Year High)		 3,750 440 points
#96 – August 8, 2018 3,750 440 points
#95 – July 25, 2018 3,750 441 points
#94 – July 11, 2018 3,750 442 points
#93 – June 25, 2018 3,750 442 points
#92 – June 13, 2018 3,750 451 points
#91 – May 30, 2018 700
(PNPs and Federal Skilled Trades ONLY)		 288
(Federal Skilled Trades ONLY)
#90 – May 23, 2018 3,500 440
#89 – May 9, 2018 3,500 441 points
#88 – April 25, 2018 3,500 441 points
#87 – April 11, 2018 3,500 444 points
#86 – March 26, 2018 3,000 446 points
#85 – March 14, 2018 3,000 456 points
(Year High)
#84 – February 21, 2018 3,000 442 points
#83 – February 7, 2018 3,000 442 points
#82 – January 24, 2018 2,750 444 points
#81 – January 10, 2018 2,750 446 points
2017
#80 – December 20, 2017 2,750 446 points
#79 – December 6, 2017 2,750 452 points
#78 – November 15, 2017 2,750 439 points
#77 – November 8, 2017 2,000
(Year Low)		 458 points
#76 – November 1, 2017 505
(Federal Skilled Trades ONLY)		 241 points
(Federal Skilled Trades ONLY)
#75 – November 1, 2017 290
(Provincial Nominees ONLY)		 673 points
(Provincial Nominees ONLY)
# 74 – October 18, 2017 2,757
(Year Low)		 436 points
#73 – October 4, 2017 2,801 438 points
#72 – September 20, 2017 2,871 433 points
#71 – September 6, 2017 2,772
(Year low)		 435 points
#70 – August 23, 2017 3,035 434 points
#69 – August 9, 2017 2,991 433 points
#68 –  August 2, 2017 3,264 441 points
#67 – July 12, 2017 3,202 440 points
#66 – June 28, 2017 3,409 449 points
#65 – May 31, 2017 3,877 413 points
(All Time Low excluding FST and CEC)
#64 – may 26, 2017 400
(Federal Skilled Trades Only)		 199 points
(Federal Skilled Trades Only)
#63 – May 26, 2017 143
(Provincial Nominees Only)		 775 points
(Provincial Nominees Only)
#62 – May 17, 2017 3,687 415 points
#61 – May 4, 2017 3,796 423 points
#60 – April 19, 2017 3,665 415 points
#59 – April 12, 2017 3,923 423 points
#58 – April 5, 2017 3,753 431 points
#57 – March 24, 2017 3,748 441 points
#56 – March 1, 2017 3,884 434 points
#55 – February 22, 2017 3,611 441 points
#54 – February 8, 2017 3,644 447 points
#53 – January 25, 2017 3,508 453 points
#52 – January 11, 2017 3,334 459 points
#51 January 4, 2017 2,902 468 points
2016
#50 December 22, 2016 2,878 475 points
#49 December 16, 2016 1,936 497 points
#48 November 30, 2016 559
(year low for 2016 to date)		 786 points
(year high for 2016 – PNP only)
#47 November 16, 2016 2,427 470 points
#46 – November 2, 2016 2,080 472 points
#45 – October 19, 2016 1,518 484 points
#44 – October 12, 2016 1,518 484 points
#43 – September 21, 2016 1,288 483 points
#42 – September 7, 2016 1000 491 points
#41 – August 24, 2016 750 538 points
#40 – August 10, 2016 754 490 points
#39 – July 27, 2016 755 488 points
#38 – July 13, 2016 747 482 points
#37 – June 29, 2016 773 482 points
#36 – June 15, 2016 752 488 points
#35 – June 1, 2016 762 483 points
#34 – May 18, 2016 763 484 points
#33 – May 6, 2016 799 534 points
#32 – April 20, 2016 1,018 468 points
#31 – April 6, 2016 954 470 points
#30 – March 23, 2016 1,014 470 points
#29 – March 9, 2016 1,013 473 points
#28 – February 24, 2016 1,484 453 points 
(year low for 2016)
#27 – February 10, 2016 1,505 459 points
#26 – January 27, 2016 1,468 457 points
#25 – January 13, 2016 1,518 453 points 
(year low for 2016)
#24 – January 6, 2016 1,463 461 points
2015
#23 – December 18, 2015 1,503 460 points
#22 – December 4, 2015 1,451 461 points
November 27, 2015 1,559 472 points
#20 – November 13, 2015 1,506 484 points
#19 – October 23, 2015 1,502 489 points
#18 – October 2, 2015 1,530 450 points
#17 – September 18, 2015 1,545 450 points
#16 – September 8, 2015 1,517 459 points
#15 – August 21, 2015 1,523 456 points
#14 – August 7, 2015 1,402 471 points
#13 – July 17, 2015 1,581 451 points
#12 – July 10, 2015 1,516 463 points
#11 – June 26, 2015 1,575 469 points
#10 – June 12, 2015 1,501 482 points
#9 – May 22, 2015
 1,361 755 points
#8 – April 17, 2015 715 453 points
#7 – April 10, 2015 925 469 points
#6 – March 27, 2015 1,637 453 points
#5 – March 20, 2015 1,620 481 points
#4 – February 27, 2015 1,187 735 points
#3 – February 20, 2015 849 808 points
#2 – February 7, 2015 779 818 points
#1 – January 31, 2015 779 886 points

 

PNP Draw Points Cut-Offs

Some of the PNP streams for the provinces of Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba use the same scoring system as Express Entry. Here are the cut-offs for 2021:

PNP Invitations

British Columbia PNP Points Cut-Offs

British Columbia uses its own scoring system:

British Columbia PNP Notifiations

BC Entrepreneur PNP Points Cut-Offs

BC Entrepreneur PNP Notifications

Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program Points Cut-Offs

Saskatchewan uses its own scoring system:

Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program Notifications

If you would like information about other PNPs not listed here, please let us know by emailing us or posting in our forum.

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