Express Entry: The Express Entry system is one of the newer selection processes adopted by Canada, which is designed to identify and choose the skilled and talented workers wanted to immigrate to Canada and make the process smoother, swifter, and more efficient than ever.
This program was implemented first time in January 2015. The Express Entry program is one of the new visa systems developed in Canada to help it meet the present and future labor market needs and thus ensuring its steady and robust economic growth.
It should be emphasized that Express Entry is not an immigration system in itself, but in fact it is a system devised and used by the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to manage the applications received for permanent residence under the following federal economic immigration programs:
- The Federal Skilled Worker Class
- The Federal Skilled Trades Class
- The Canadian Experience Class
The candidates who qualify are now in with a better chance of clearing the selection and receiving the invitation to apply for work in Canada. Additionally, the streamlined and efficient system now means that processing times for the visa of the applicants are very much reduced, and thus they provide further opportunities for the applicants.
How does Express Entry work?
The Express Entry program is an electronic process involving the local provincial government and also the Federal Canadian Government as well as the Canadian employers. The desiring applicants have the option of registering online under Express Entry after giving the providing the following necessary information:
- Skills
- Work experience
- Education
- Language
- Abilities
After evaluating the data and considering the credentials of the applicants, the Canadian Government then chooses the candidates and invites them to file in an application under the various Federal Immigration Programs such as the Federal Skilled Workers Class or the Federal Skilled Trades Class. What makes Express Entry special is that it also provides the Canadian employers access to the Express Entry pool of potential skilled applicants. This presents the employers with an opportunity to be able to hire the candidates by offering them the jobs for which they are best suited according to their qualifications and skills. Once the candidate is offered a job by a Canadian employer, they are then invited to apply for the Permanent Residency visa of Canada depending on the pre-arranged offer of employment.
As part of the Express Entry pool, the various candidates are then ranked as per the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which allows for the applicants to be ranked in accordance of the following factors:
- Core human capital factors
- Accompanying spouse or common-law partner factors
- Skill transferability factors
- Factors relating to a provincial nomination or a qualifying offer of arranged employment.
The CRS or the Comprehensive Ranking System has a total of 1,200 points available up for grabs. The Canadian government chooses the candidates from the Express Entry pool depending on their CRS scores.
The candidates who obtain the highest ranks and also those who have valid job offers or provincial nominations are then invited to apply for a Canadian permanent residency visa. The applicants thus selected have a maximum of 90 days to submit the complete application, and this application has to be processed within a period of 6 months.
The Express Entry program makes it possible also for the various different Canadian provinces to be able to select and recruit the candidates registered under the Express Entry program so that they are able to fulfil their local labor market needs through their Provincial Nominee Programs.
FEDERAL SKILLED WORKER PROGRAM
The Federal Skilled Worker Program now comes under the Express Entry Program since January 1, 2015, and is now a part of this more efficient and swift process, which allows for a fast-track and smooth immigration process.
Canada has been facing labor shortage and this in turn has created a golden opportunity for everyone wishing to being a new career and life in Canada. As part of the Express Entry system, if your profile is selected from among the pool of very talented candidates, you will be allowed to live as a permanent resident in Canada.
How to Qualify for the program: To be eligible to apply for the Canadian Skilled Worker Visa under Express Entry, the following will be the factors used to assess your application:
- Your skills in English and/or French (Canada’s two official languages)
- Your education
- Your work experience
- Your age
- Whether you have a valid job offer,
- Your adaptability (how well you are likely to settle in Canada)
