If you meet the criteria for one of the federal economic immigration programs managed by Express Entry, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will invite you to apply for permanent residence. Your eligibility is determined by your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
Several factors can increase your CRS score, such as receiving a qualifying arranged job offer or graduating from a Canadian post-secondary institution.
Educational Credentials
If you are considering applying for Canada’s Express Entry program, you need to have a good understanding of the necessary educational credentials. This is because the program primarily awards points based on your education and language abilities. To receive the maximum number of points, you need to have a bachelor’s degree or higher from a recognized Canadian university or college. You also need to have a valid Canadian language proficiency level of CLB 7.
If your schooling was completed outside of Canada, you need to have your qualifications assessed by World Education Services (WES) or another approved assessment agency. This process can take time and requires dealing with various educational institutions and assessing agencies, but it is essential if you want to be considered for the Express Entry program.
Once you have a WES report, you need to submit it to your Express Entry profile. This will ensure that you are awarded the maximum points possible under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) for your education. You can find an ECA calculator on the IRCC website to determine how many points you will be awarded for your education.
In addition to your ECA, you will need to have a valid language test score of at least CLB 7 in English or French. You can use the Pearson Test of English Core (PTE CORE) or the Canadian Language Benchmark Assessment (CLB 7) to demonstrate your language ability.
The highest-scoring candidates in the Express Entry pool are invited to apply for permanent residence by IRCC. The invitations are made based on a CRS score that considers your skills, work experience, language ability, and other factors that contribute to your economic success in Canada.
Some of the top-ranked candidates are offered a spot in a Provincial Nominee Program where they can live and work in a specific province in Canada. The candidates are usually those who have worked in management jobs and who meet the minimum language requirements for the Provincial Nominee programs. If you are unsure of which program is right for you, it is important to consult with an immigration professional.
Work Experience
As part of the Express Entry process, candidates enter a pool where they are assessed on their eligibility to migrate to Canada and ranked using a points grid. Your work experience is a significant component of your score. If you have substantial professional experience, it can significantly increase your chance of receiving an invitation to apply for permanent residency.
The first step is to create an online Express Entry profile, which includes details of your qualifications and work experience. You can do this yourself, or you can hire an authorized representative to submit the profile on your behalf.
Once you complete your Express Entry profile, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will assign you a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which will be used to determine your chances of becoming a Canadian permanent resident. Your CRS score is based on the information you provide on your profile, including your age, education, work experience, language proficiency in English and French, family details, and ties to Canada.
To improve your chances of receiving an invitation, you need to have a CRS score in the mid to high 400s. However, the final selection of candidates for permanent residence by a province is based on many factors, not just their CRS score. For example, a high CRS score can be offset by a poorer job offer or a lower level of province-specific requirements in the Express Entry system.
In addition to improving your CRS score, you can also increase your chances of selection by obtaining a provincial nomination or a Canadian job offer. Both of these options can increase your score by up to 600 points. Before changes in the Express Entry system in 2016, a valid job offer supported by an LMIA could award you additional points under the CRS system.
If you are applying under the Federal Skilled Trades program or the Canadian Experience Class, it’s a good idea to get an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) done. Although not a requirement, the ECA can help you increase your scores in the Express Entry system by providing IRCC with more detailed information about your education and training.
Language Proficiency
Regardless of how you learn a language, your ability to use it in real-world contexts during spontaneous interactions is what determines your level of proficiency. There is a range of proficiency, from a beginner to an expert. An objective framework used to assess a language user’s proficiency helps employers and educational institutions identify what their skill level is at any given point in time.
For Express Entry, IRCC weighs your language abilities in four different categories: reading, writing, talking, and listening. These categories are further subdivided into the specific areas of your language abilities that are most relevant to your career or life. The maximum number of points you can receive in this category is 32 (with a spouse or common-law partner) or 34 (without a spouse or common-law partner).
To score well on your official language test, it is important to understand the meaning of each component and how they work together. You can start by looking at the linguistic levels that define the proficiency scale for each of the four areas and compare them to your own experiences with the languages you speak.
Canadian permanent
While it is impossible to know what your overall CRS score will be, you can try to maximize your chances of success by working toward a high enough language benchmark to gain an invitation to apply for permanent residence. This means trying to get as high as possible on your official language test by studying and retaking the exam as many times as needed until you achieve a score you are comfortable with.
Getting higher than the Express Entry CRS cut-off score is not always easy, but it is possible. In many cases, a low initial CRS score may be high enough to obtain an invitation to apply if you can meet the other requirements in the Comprehensive Ranking System, such as eligible education and work experience or having a Canadian citizen or permanent resident as a spouse or common-law partner.
Another option is to pursue an education pathway towards Canadian permanent residence through the Canada Experience Class (CEC) program. This requires obtaining one year of qualifying Canadian work experience in NOC skill type B and meeting the minimum language proficiency requirement.
Spouse or Common-Law Partner
If you plan on immigrating to Canada with a spouse or common-law partner, you’ll need to provide proof of their relationship. If you don’t, you’ll be ineligible for the Express Entry system and will not be able to update your profile. The only way around this is to submit a new application when your circumstances change.
A common-law partnership is defined as two partners living together for a minimum amount of time in a conjugal fashion but not legally married. Spouses, on the other hand, have gone through the formal process of marriage and are legally recognized as such in family law.
The minimum age for a spouse or common-law partner to be considered a conjugal partner is 18 years of age. However, a conjugal partnership can begin before this date if the couple has been living together for one year since both partners were 18 years old.
common-law partner
In addition to providing evidence of your relationship, you’ll need to provide financial records for yourself and your sponsored spouse or common-law partner. This is necessary to demonstrate that you have enough money to support your family and yourself in the early stages of Canadian life.
You can find detailed information on the requirements for sponsoring your partner or spouse in the Basic Guide for Spouses and Common-law Partners. The guide will help you understand what documentation you’ll need to provide, including a statutory declaration from individuals with knowledge of your relationship and supporting evidence of your income, assets, and debts.
If you’re unsure about the specifics of your situation, it is highly recommended that you speak with a registered immigration consultant. They can assess your case and provide you with the best advice about your options moving forward.
If you meet the basic eligibility requirements for Express Entry, you may be able to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence through the Express Entry system. To see if you qualify, complete our free assessment and start the next step in your Canadian journey. Our experienced consultants will guide you through the process every step of the way.
