Requirements for Canada Express Entry Program

Alisha Khan
[Published 18 Feb, 2022 | 06:51 PM]
About Author - 9 min read
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The Express Entry Program of Canada is amongst the highly advanced immigration systems globally. Express Entry Canada was launched by the Government of Canada in 2015. It is designed in a way to align the needs of the labor market and the skills of the immigration applicants.

Express Entry Program is the chief means through which Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada manages and accepts skilled workers. The aim of IRCC is now to welcome around 110,000 fresh immigrants every year through Express Entry Canada.

Express Entry Canada is the major pathway for skilled workers across the globe to migrate to Canada. It is not an immigration program in itself. But it manages the intake of immigrants through 3 federal programs and selected streams in Provincial Nominee Programs.

Check Your Eligibility for Canada PR

Immigration Pathways under Express Entry Program

The first step for immigrating to Canada through Express Entry is assessing your eligibility for one of the 3 programs in it. These are: 

• FSWP - Federal Skilled Worker Program
• FSTP - Federal Skilled Trades Program
• CEC - Canadian Experience Class

You can create a profile in Express Entry on the website of IRCC if you fulfill the criteria for any of the 3 programs. You will be asked to provide your crucial details like education, age, work experience, relationship status, and proficiency in French and/or the English language. Based on this information you will be offered a CRS - Comprehensive Ranking System Score by IRCC. 

Express Entry draws are held by IRCC once in around every 2 weeks. It offers ITAs - Invitations to Apply for Canada Permanent Residence to candidates in the pool with the highest CRS scores. Once you are offered the ITA, you have to submit the complete application for Canada PR with IRCC within 60 days. 

If you have not stayed in Canada earlier, FSWP will be mostly your best option for immigration through Express Entry Program. It is advisable that you enter the pool of candidates in Express Entry after you confirm that you are qualified for the program. If your profile is active in the pool, you have chances of obtaining extra CRS points through Provincial Nomination (600 points) or a lawful employment offer ( 200 or 50 points).  

The essential requirements are variable for each of the 3 programs under Express Entry. But fulfilling these requirements does not assure an ITA automatically. Express Entry Canada has been designed in a way to select the candidates with the highest CRS scores. This is based on several factors that include age, education, language proficiency, work experience, and a job offer. 

The essential requirements for the three Express Entry Canada streams are briefly discussed here.

Federal Skilled Worker Program – FSWP 

The minimum requirements of the Canada Federal Skilled Worker Program are as follows: 

Work Experience

You must have a minimum of 1 year full-time, paid work experience, or corresponding part-time work experience in the past ten years in Skill Level B or A or Skill Type 0 as per the NOC - National Occupational Classification.

Language Proficiency

You must possess at least CLB - Canadian Language Benchmark Level 7 in French or English in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing through assessment from an approved test for language.

Education

You must possess a Degree, Diploma, or Certificate from a Post-secondary or High School institution in Canada or a corresponding overseas credential. Overseas education credentials are subject to ECA - Educational Credential Assessment.

After you fulfill the eligibility criteria, your profile will be assessed and offered a score based on the following factors:

• Age
• Work experience
• Education
• Language ability
• Job offer
• Adaptability

Federal Skilled Trades Program – FSTP

The minimum requirements of the Canada Federal Skilled Trades Program are as follows: 

Work Experience

You must have a minimum of 2 years full-time, paid work experience, or corresponding part-time work experience in the past 5 years in a skilled trade. 

NOC

You must fulfill the requirements for FSTP as per the specification in the NOC - National Occupational Classification.

Job Offer

You are required to have: 

• A job offer full-time that lasts for a minimum of 1 year; or
• A Certificate of Qualification for the skilled trade offered by an authority in Canada

Language Proficiency

You have to fulfill the following CLBs - Canadian Language Benchmarks in French or English: 

• Listening - CLB 5
• Writing - CLB 4 
• Speaking - CLB 5
• Reading - CLB 4

Canadian Experience Class

The minimum requirements of the Canadian Experience Class are as follows: 

Work Experience in Canada

You must have a minimum of 1 year full-time, paid work experience, or corresponding part-time work experience in Canada in the past 3 years in Skill Level B or A or Skill Type 0 as per the NOC - National Occupational Classification. The work experience must have been obtained while residing in Canada as a Temporary Resident having work authorization. 

Language Proficiency

You must possess at least CLB - Canadian Language Benchmark Level 7 in French or English in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing for NOC Skill Level A or 0 jobs. 

You must possess at least CLB - Canadian Language Benchmark Level 5 in French or English in Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing for NOC Skill Level B jobs. 

Proof of Funds

If you are applying through FSTP or FSWP streams in Express Entry Program, you have to offer evidence for funds except if you have a lawful job offer and authorization to work in Canada. 

Evidence for funds is not required if you are applying through the Canadian Experience Class stream. Proof of funds demonstrates that the applicant has adequate money for settling in Canada. 

You must note here that these are just the minimum requirements for qualifying through any of the streams under the Express Entry Program. 

Factors and allocation points under CRS

A vital feature of the Express Entry Program is that you have the option to improve your score while you have an active profile in the pool without filing a fresh application. You are offered points in CRS based on the details that you have provided in your profile. The candidates in the Express Entry pool are ranked over one another based on these scores. You are offered scores based on these factors:

• Education 
• Work experience and skills 
• Language proficiency in French and /or English 
• Education and language proficiency of your Common-law partner or spouse 
• A job offer validated by an affirmative LMIA - Labor Market Impact Assessment
• Nomination from a Province for Canada Permanent Residence 
• Specific combinations of work experience, education, and language proficiency that enhance applicants’ employability

The allocation of points is as follows:

Total available points: 1,200

• Nomination from Province: 600
• LMIA backed job offer at Senior management level, NOC 00: 200
• LMIA backed Other job offers in NOC B, 0, A: 50
• Master’s /Doctoral/Professional Degree or 3 years post-secondary education in Canada: 30
• 1 or 2 years post-secondary education in Canada: 15
• Other education, skills, work experience: 500
• Transferability of skills and combinations: 100
• Sibling residing in Canada: 15

Immigration Levels and popular pathways to Canada

Canada seeks to welcome 432,000 fresh immigrants every year through its Immigration Levels Plan for 2022-2024. Almost 60% of these fresh immigrants will arrive as skilled workers in Canada. The skilled worker applications for Canada are chiefly processed through the Express Entry Program.

In a normal scenario, the majority of the candidates who are successful in immigrating to Canada through the Express Entry program are from the Federal Skilled Worker stream. Almost 50% of the immigrants to Canada annually were through FSWP prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The remaining 50% arrived through CEC, FSTP, and PNPs.

However, all along in 2021 IRCC has offered ITA for Canada PR Visa through Express Entry Program only to PNP and CEC candidates. This is because as they are already residing in Canada, they would not face travel disruptions due to the pandemic hindering their ability to complete the PR process.

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