Express Entry Canada 2018

Implemented in January 2015, the Canadian Express Entry program is Canada's new system for managing immigration applications for several of the country's economic immigrant programs including Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, and Federal Skilled Trades. People interested in immigrating to Canada to live and work on a full-time basis, who meet the criteria for at least one of these immigration programs, can formally express their interest in becoming a permanent resident of Canada by creating an Express Entry profile. Once added to the Express Entry pool, candidates will be scored according to the program's point-based Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and this score will determine the candidate's rank within the pool. People with the highest scores will then be invited to apply to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) invites the highest ranking candidates from the Express Entry pool to apply for expedited Canadian immigration on a frequent basis via official "rounds of invitations". In order to be selected in one of these Express Entry draws and issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA), an applicant must rank near the top of the pool of potential candidates according to the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System. The program's CRS will assess the details of a candidate's Express Entry profile and rank them according to major predictors of economic success, factoring in their education, skills, work experience, language abilities, and a variety of other elements that are known to help migrants flourish in Canada. Provinces and territories, as well as eligible employers in Canada, can also directly recruit potential immigrants from the Express Entry pool, and candidates who receive an eligible job offer or an enhanced provincial nomination are awarded a significant number of points giving their Express Entry score a major boost.

To ensure you have the best possible chance of being selected for immigration to Canada, you can retain the services of a Canadian immigration lawyer who can help you take the necessary steps before and during your application to maximize your chances of success.

How to Become a Permanent Resident of Canada

The fastest way to move to Canada as a permanent resident is via the new Express Entry system. The immigration management program is completed entirely online, and makes the Canadian immigration process extremely efficient for qualified candidates from across the world. Most Canada PR applications submitted under Express Entry will be processed in six months or less.

Express Entry Canada

In order for Canada to assess a potential immigrant's eligibility for Express Entry, the program requires that applicants create an online profile containing all their credentials. Once an Express Entry profile has been created for the candidate and he or she has been accepted in the program, the potential immigrant's profile will be put into a pool with other candidates and potential employers and provincial nominee programs can then compare the different applications. If an eligible employer or Canada PNP chooses a candidate from the Express Entry pool, he or she will then receive 600 CRS points for the enhanced provincial nomination or up to 200 points for the qualifying job offer. There are then official Express Entry draws where top candidates are given an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian residency.

In order to participate in the Canadian Express Entry immigration system, you must satisfy all the Express Entry criteria including the requirements of one or more of Canada's economic immigration programs. If you do not meet the Express Entry requirements, you will not be accepted into the system's pool of candidates.

How Do I Confirm a Provincial Nomination Within Express Entry?

If a province or territory has already nominated you under their Express Entry stream, you must add the nomination to your Express Entry account in order to receive the additional Canadian immigration points. To do so, follow these instructions.

Confirming a PNP nomination:

1. Open your Express Entry profile
2. Go to "application details" and then the "nomination and selection" section
3. Where it asks if you have a Canada PNP Express Entry nomination, change your answer to "yes"
4. Use the drop-down menu to choose the province or territory that has nominated you
5. Submit your updated profile
6. Contact the province directly, outside of Express Entry, and provide them with your Job Seeker Validation Code and Express Entry profile number
7. The province will then use this information to confirm the Canada PNP nomination with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Once confirmed, you will receive a MyCIC message regarding the nomination.
8. Click "accept" at the top, and you will be instantly awarded 600 Express Entry points on your CRS immigration score. You have 30 days to accept a PNP Canada nomination in Express Entry before it officially expires.

Once you have accepted the Canadian Province Nominee Program nomination, you will receive a confirmation letter in PDF format in your MyCIC account. A copy of your nomination certificate will also be mailed to you. Please be aware that provincial nominations obtained through the traditional paper-based process, called base nominations, cannot be processed through Express Entry.

Does a Notification of Interest (NOI) Count as a Nomination?

Receiving a notification of interest (NOI) from a province is not the same as receiving a provincial nomination. If you have received a notification of interest from a Canada PNP program, and you wish to be nominated by them, you must then apply to that province's Express Entry stream.

Can a Person Accept Nominations From Several Provinces?

In Express Entry, a prospective immigrant can only be nominated by a single Provincial Nominee Program at one time. If you have received a Canadian PNP nomination in Express Entry, and you wish to accept a provincial nomination from a different province, you must first click "not accept" on the original nomination.

Canadian Immigration 2018

The Federal Government of Canada has announced their 2018 Canadian immigration levels plan. In 2018, the Government plans to accept 300,000 Canadian permanent residents, the majority of which will be selected from economic immigration programs. Citizenship and Immigration Canada is aiming to approve 172,500 applicants and accompanying family members under economic class immigration programs such as Canada Express Entry, Quebec Skilled Worker, and the various Canadian Provincial Nominee Programs. For additional information about immigrating to Canada through Express Entry, you can visit the official Government of Canada Express Entry immigration website here.

Will There Be a Cap on the Number of People Allowed to Apply for Express Entry?

There is no cap on the number of prospective immigrants who can submit Express Entry Canada applications. This will likely result in a diverse range of occupations, experience and qualifications for employers and provinces to choose from to fill their labor market shortages. This also means that the pool will contain all applicants with high-quality skills and experiences, rather than just the candidates who submitted their applications before the deadline or cap is met. This being said, the number of people given an Invitation to Apply for permanent residency will be subject to the Annual Immigration Levels Plan which will set out a basic range of admissions for the Express Entry Program.

In general, labor market demand will determine the successful applicants for the Express Entry program, as a job offer, nomination from a province or a positive Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) can give an applicant extra points that may enable them to rank highly enough to qualify for a Invitation to Apply. This also means that any shortages found in the Canadian job market can be assessed and addressed in a short space of time, which could be extremely beneficial to Canada's economy.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada's commitment to processing most Express Entry PR applications within six months of being submitted means that many Express Entry applicants will be able to enter the job market and start contributing to the Canadian economy in a very short space of time.

Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residency in Canada

If an Express Entry Canada immigration candidate is selected out of the pool during a "round of invitations" (Express Entry draw), he or she will then be given an Invitation to Apply for Canada PR. Once given an ITA, applicants have 90 days to submit their application for Canadian permanent residency.