Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Express Entry System

Express Entry – Brief outline of the process

If you create an Express Entry profile and CIC finds you eligible, you will be put into the Express Entry pool of candidates. You will get a message in your MyCIC account to let you know.

• You will be in the pool for one year from the day you get in.  
• You will get a personal reference code to use to register in Job Bank.
• If you do not have a job offer or a nomination from a province or territory you must register for Job Bank to be eligible for the pool.
• You will receive a points score based on the information you provided in your profile.
• Candidates will be ranked using the Comprehensive Ranking System, which is based on factors that have been shown to help immigrants prosper in Canada.
• There will be regular draws to invite top candidates to apply for permanent residence.
• You must have an Invitation to Apply from CIC before you can apply online for permanent residence.
• You may be invited to apply if you are among the top ranked in the pool based on your skills and experience.
• If you are invited to apply for permanent residence, CIC will tell you at that time which program to apply under.
• If you are invited to apply, you will have 60 days to fill out and submit your application for permanent residence. Some documents (for example, police certificates) may take longer than 60 days to get. You should start applying for these documents right away, so that you have them ready and can apply for permanent residence within the 60-day time limit. 

Note: Completing an online Express Entry profile or entering the pool does not guarantee that you will get an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence.

Try to improve your score

There are things that you can do to improve your score and increase your chances of being drawn from the Express Entry pool. For example, you may want to:

• secure a valid job offer using:
• Job Bank, or
• by promoting yourself to employers in Canada using private sector job boards,
• contact provinces and territories to be considered in a Provincial Nominee Program,
• improve your language score,
• improve your education, or
• gain more relevant work experience.

Offer of employment – Skilled immigrants (Express Entry)

If you have a job offer (offer of arranged employment), you need to update your Express Entry profile in MyCIC with:

• Employer name and address
• Start date
• Labour Market Impact Assessment number
• NOC code related to the job

Federal Skilled Workers and Canadian Experience Class

A valid job offer has to be:

• for continuous, paid, full-time work (at least 30 hours a week),
• for work that is permanent and not seasonal,
• skill type 0, or skill levels A or B of the 2011 National Occupational Classification (NOC)

and either:

1. the employer making you the job offer must have a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment from Employment and Social Development Canada OR
2. you are currently working in Canada in a NOC 0, A or B job on a work permit that was issued based on a Labour Market Impact Assessment, and
• you are working for an employer listed on your work permit,
• you are authorized to work in Canada on the day you apply for a permanent resident visa, and when the visa is issued, and
• your current employer made you an offer to give you a full-time job if you are accepted as a permanent resident.

The only time the employer making you the offer does not need to get a new LMIA is when you are already working for them with a work permit that is based on an LMIA.

Federal Skilled Trades workers

A valid job offer has to be:

• made by up to two employers
• for continuous, paid, full-time work (at least 30 hours a week),
• for work that is for at least one year,
• in a skilled trade occupation (job with codes that start with 72, 73, 82, 92 as well as 632 and 633 in the 2011National Occupational Classification [NOC])

and

1. the employer making you the job offer must have a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment from Employment and Social Development Canada, OR
2. you are currently working in Canada in a skilled trade job on a work permit that was issued based on a Labour Market Impact Assessment, and
• you are working for an employer listed on your work permit,
• you are authorized to work in Canada on the day you apply for a permanent resident visa and when the visa is issued, and
• your current employer made you an offer to give you a full-time job if you are accepted as a permanent resident for a period of at least one year, in a job that is in the same three digit level of the NOC as your current job.

All applicants

CIC officers must be convinced that you will be capable of doing the work you are offered. If the job is regulated in Canada, officers must also be convinced that you will likely qualify to be licensed or certified by the relevant regulatory body once you are in Canada.

Note: In Canada, provinces and territories are responsible for designating professions and trades in their jurisdiction. Designation and certification requirements vary from province to province. Get more information on licensing andregulatory requirements for specific professions or contact the relevant body in the province/territory where you plan to live.

EMPLOYERS CAN GET ASSISTANCE WITH THEIR LMIA APPLICATION AT http://www.whatislmo.com

Before you start

1. You will need to take a language test. We will use your test results to see if you are eligible to immigrate to Canada under one of the federal programs that are part of Express Entry.
2. If you were educated outside Canada, you may need to have your educational credentials assessed against Canadian standards. 
   
   

This is not mandatory if:

• you got at least one year of recent work experience in Canada, or
• your work experience is in a skilled trade (skilled manual work).

Note: Even if you do not need to have your foreign education assessed to be eligible under Express Entry, you may want to do so in order to increase your score and chances of being invited to apply.

3. You need to know the skill type of the job your work experience is in (as well as the job you plan to have in Canada, if they are different).You will use Canada’s job classification system (the National Occupational Classification or NOC) to find out whether your work experience is valid under one of the three federal programs.

To find your job title, code and skill type

This job code is referred to as your "NOC code" in the Express Entry profile. See Find your NOC to find the NOC information that best matches your jobs.

You will need this information again, so make sure to write it down and keep it with the other papers you need, such as your passport.

Step 1: See if you may be eligible

You can use CIC online tool, Come to Canada, to see if you meet the criteria to get into the Express Entry pool.  It will take you about 15 minutes.

You will need your language test results, your NOC skill type or level described above and your Education Credential Assessment (ECA).

When you get to the end, a reference number will show on the screen. Write it down. You will need it later when you go to build your profile.

Step 2: Build your online Express Entry profile 

If you get a positive result from Come to Canada, it will send you to MyCIC. If you do not already have a MyCIC account, you will need to create one. Then you will fill out an Express Entry profile to tell CIC about your:

• identity
• contact information
• education in more detail
• work experience in more detail
• language
• family who would come with you to Canada (dependants)

You will need:

• your passport or travel document (or other national identity document, if you do not have one of these)

• your NOC job title and code (see Before you start, above)
• your language test results (either IELTS, CELPIP or TEF)
• your Educational Credential Assessment result, if you have one (see Before you start, above)
• a copy of your written job offer from an employer in Canada, if you have one
• a copy of your provincial nomination, if you have one, and
• your personal reference code from the Come to Canada tool, if you have one. (It looks like this: JM1234567890. CIC uses it to bring the answers you provided in the tool into MyCIC so you do not have to answer the questions again. If you go to the profile builder directly through MyCIC, you will not have one.)

To create your Express Entry profile

1. Follow the instructions to create a MyCIC account if you do not already have one. The system will give you a MyCIC number that you will use each time you sign in.
2. If you have a personal reference code from the Come to Canada tool, enter it when it prompts you. If you do not have a code, go to Step 3.
3. Enter your personal details, work experience, education, etc. (Note: You may exit the profile at any time. Your information will be saved. But, if you do not complete the Express Entry profile in 30 days, you will not be able to submit it and will have to start again.)
4. Submit your profile online.

If you meet the Express Entry criteria, including the requirements for at least one of the three immigrationprograms, you will be accepted into the Express Entry poolof candidates. If you are invited to apply for permanent residence, CIC will tell you at that time which program to apply under.

Be sure that your profile is fully up-to-date and accurate.

If you are invited to apply, you will be responsible for any information in your profile and application for permanent residence.

If CIC finds that you misrepresented yourself (gave us false information or left out important details), CIC will refuse your application. In that case:

• your application could be refused,
• you could be found inadmissible, and
• you could be barred for five years from applying for permanent resident status.

Note: you must update the information in your profile if your situation changes. For example, if:

• there are changes to your work experience.
• you get a different language test result,
• you complete more education,
• there is a change in your family, such as the birth of a child or a divorce, or
• one of your children is no longer a dependent (including if they turn 19 during this time).

Register with Job Bank

To finish your Express Entry profile you must register with the Government of Canada’s JobBank if you do not already have:

• a valid job offer, or
• a nomination from a province or territory.

Job Bank is an easy, online job search tool which will connect you with employers and jobs in Canada based on your skills and experience.

If you do not register with Job Bank within 30 days your Express Entry profile will expire.

If you are eligible

The Express Entry pool

If you meet the requirements, CIC will place you into the Express Entry pool of candidates. You will get a message in your MyCIC account to let you know.

You will be given a score using a ranking system based on factors that have been shown to help immigrants prosper in Canada. The higher your score, the more likely you are to be invited to apply for permanent residence.

CIC plans to draw candidates from the pool regularly and invite them to apply.

If you are accepted into the Express Entry pool, you should start getting any supporting documents you may need for your application for permanent residence.

You could get an Invitation to Apply at any time.

You will have a better chance of being invited to apply if you:

• are nominated by a province or territory, or
• have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada.

You will get extra points for these factors.

Being invited to apply

If you get an Invitation to Apply, you can apply for permanent residence. You will be invited only if you:

• have a valid job offer,
• have been nominated by a province or territory, or
• are among the top ranked in the pool based on your skills and experience.

If you are invited, you will have 60 days to apply online forpermanent residence.

You must submit a complete application with all supporting documents or your application will be rejected.

Once you complete your application and submit it online, CIC will process it quickly.

CIC plans to process most applications in six months or less. (This period starts on the date we get a complete application and ends on the date a final decision is made on your application for permanent residence.)

You will have to include copies of all documents CIC ask you for, like police certificates, before CIC will process your application.

To keep your application from being rejected, you may want to get some of these documents ready while you are in the Express Entry pool.

Note that police checks are valid for 3 months.

If you do not get invited to apply for permanent residence after a year of being in the pool, your Express Entry profile will expire.

• If you still want to come to Canada as a skilled immigrant, you will need to complete and submit a new profile.
• You will have 60 days to resubmit your existing Express Entry profile through MyCIC.
• You will need to update and validate the information and if you still meet minimum entry criteria, you will receive a new personal reference code.

SUMMARY

Express Entry is used to manage applications for permanent residence under these federal economic immigration programs:

• the Federal Skilled Worker Program,
• the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and
• the Canadian Experience Class.

Provinces and territories can also recruit candidates from the Express Entry system through their Provincial Nominee Programs to meet local labour market needs.

Ministerial Instructions set out the rules for governing the Express Entry application management system.

The Express Entry system has two steps:

Step 1 -  Potential candidates complete an online Express Entry profile

Potential candidates will complete an online Express Entry profile. This is a secure form that they will use to provide information about their:

• skills,
• work experience,
• language ability,
• education, and
• other details that will help us assess them.

Those who meet the criteria of one of the federal immigration programs listed above will be accepted into a pool of candidates.

Anyone who does not already have a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) (if you need one), or a nomination from a province or territory, must register with Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) Job Bank. Job

Bank will help connect Express Entry candidates with eligible employers in Canada.

Candidates are also encouraged to promote themselves to employers in other ways, such as using job boards, recruiters etc.

In most cases when there is a job being offered to a candidate, employers will need an LMIA from ESDC. The LMIA process ensures employers have made an effort to hire Canadians for available jobs. There will be no LMIA fee for permanent resident applications.

For more information on LMIA application process please see www.whatislmo.com

Note: Entry into the Express Entry pool does not guarantee a candidate will be issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence. Invited candidates still have to meet eligibility and admissibility requirements under Canada’s immigration law (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act).

Step 2 -  The highest-ranking candidates in the pool will be invited to apply for permanent residence

Candidates will be ranked against others in the pool using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System. Points are awarded using the information in their profile.

Candidates with the highest scores in the pool will be issued an Invitation to Apply. Candidates will be awarded points for:

• a job offer, and/or
• a nomination from a province or territory, and/or
• skills and experience factors.

A candidate can get additional points for:

• a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment, or
• a nomination by a province or territory

These additional points will make a candidate rank high enough to be invited to apply at the next eligible draw of candidates.

If someone is invited to apply, they will have 60 days to submit an online application for permanent residence.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will process the majority of complete applications (meaning those with all the necessary supporting documents) in six months or less.

Candidates can stay in the pool for up to 12 months. If they do not get an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence within 12 months of submitting an Express Entry profile, they may submit a new profile. If they still meet the criteria, they can re-enter the pool. This will prevent backlogs and ensure quick processing times.

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