VERUSCHKA MUNGROO
In January 2015 the Canadian federal government launched the Express Entry – an online management system to streamline the process for those interested in immigrating to Canada as permanent residences through specific immigration streams without necessarily needing a Canadian job offer.
Since then, this approach by the IRCC (Immigration Refugees Citizenship Canada) has developed into an immensely popular portal that has seen over 202 229 successful applicants between 2018 – 2019 awarded permanent residency via the Skilled Worker Program; the Skilled Trades Program; the Canadian Experience Class and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program, according to the 2019 Express Entry Year-End Report.
Deemed as one of the world’s most innovative and highly regarded economic immigration systems, the Express Entry provides the Government of Canada with the means to manage the intake of applications for permanent residence under the above specific economic immigration categories, while also facilitating the selection of individuals who are most likely to succeed in Canada.
This method is designed mostly for immigrants residing outside of Canada, as opposed to those who are in Canada.
How does Express Entry works?
Once an applicant completes an Express Entry profile, they are ranked in an Express Entry pool on points based off the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) that qualifies as potential candidates for permanent residency.
Eligibility is determined on several factors including:
- Education level
- Proficiency in English and/or French (Canada’s two official languages)
- Work experiences and skills
- Age
- Proof of funds to show that the applicant have sufficient funds to settle in Canada and sustain themselves without a job for up to six months.
- A job offer in Canada and your spouse or common law partner’s education, language proficiency and work experience – an approved job offer is of definite benefit to an applicant, but not necessarily required.
- Additional points are allocated if you have an immediate family who is a Canadian permanent resident or citizen and/or has a Canadian qualification or a provincial nomination.
An ideal Express Entry candidate will be one would meets the following requirements:
- Be under 35 years old
- Hold at least two Bachelor’s degrees or a Master’s degree
- Be able to demonstrate moderate to high English and/or French language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark [CLB] level nine or higher)
- Have at least three years or more of skilled work experience
The top-scoring candidates are issued an Invitations to Apply for permanent residence via periodic immigration draws, by the IRCC usually conducted every two weeks.
Once issued a coveted ITA, the candidate has 60 days to perfect their application for permanent residence under one of the programs above.
If they fail to make the 60-day deadline, the ITA becomes invalid.
The target processing time for applications received via Express Entry is six months, which is achieved 85 percent of the time.