Express Entry is the online system Canada uses to select skilled workers for permanent residence. It needs no investment capital. Candidates are ranked on age, education, skilled work experience and language ability, and the highest-ranked profiles in each draw are invited to apply for permanent residence for themselves, their spouse and their dependent children. Thousands of people are admitted through it every year.
Express Entry settles your immigration status, not your right to practise. For that, see licensing for physicians in Nova Scotia.
Spouse and children
English or French
About 6 months after ITA
From CAD 1,590 per adult
A job offer from a Canadian employer, or a Canadian work permit, is a second way into the country. Canadian work experience gained on a permit later counts towards Express Entry and towards several provincial streams.
This group covers self-employed, business and entrepreneur streams. Applicants are expected to run or invest in a real Canadian business in manufacturing, services or technology, and to meet the net worth and investment conditions each programme sets.
Canada is one of the strongest destinations for international students, and a Canadian credential plus post-graduation work experience raises an Express Entry score considerably.
1Eligibility assessment and choice of stream
2Written retainer agreement and file opened
3Documents prepared, translated and biometrics booked
4Application submitted and followed through to decision
The 15 CRS points are for a sibling, yours or your spouse’s, who is 18 or over, lives in Canada and is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. You have to prove both the relationship and the status: birth certificates or a marriage certificate for the family link, and a copy of their citizenship certificate or PR card.
You create it in an IRCC secure account. Register through the GCKey sign-in page, then build your Express Entry profile online.
Raise your language score, add French as a second language, add a further qualification, add Canadian work or study experience, or obtain a provincial nomination, which is worth 600 points. A job offer no longer adds CRS points.
For English, IRCC accepts IELTS General Training, CELPIP-General and PTE Core. For French, TEF Canada and TCF Canada. TOEFL is not accepted for Express Entry.
Applicants under 18, and applicants aged 45 or over, score zero CRS points for age. The maximum age score runs from 20 to 29.
Have your profile checked before you file. A proper review tells you whether your CRS score is realistic for current draws, and saves you the cost of an application you were never eligible to make.
Express Entry is the main federal route to Canadian permanent residence for skilled and qualified workers. It asks for no investment capital. It rewards education, skilled work experience and language ability, which makes it the realistic option for people who are good at their job rather than wealthy.
This guide sets out the three programmes, the eligibility rules, the documents, the fees and the timelines, updated for 2026.
Express Entry is the online system Canada uses to manage applications from skilled workers who want permanent residence. You submit a profile, the system scores it, you are ranked against everyone else in the pool, and IRCC invites the highest-ranked candidates to apply.
It has run since 2015 and handles applications for three federal programmes:
You build the profile on the IRCC website, and your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score is calculated automatically. Being in the pool is not an application: only an Invitation to Apply lets you file for permanent residence.
Skilled workers with enough education, language ability and work experience can enter one of the three programmes below.
IRCC selects Federal Skilled Workers on education, work history and language ability. Eligibility is scored out of 100 on a separate grid that looks at:
Check your occupation on the National Occupational Classification (NOC) site and confirm its TEER level before you go any further.
Your work experience must be paid and gained in the last 10 years. It must be full time, or part time adding up to the full-time equivalent. Keep signed employment letters and payslips: unpaid and voluntary work does not count, so leave it out of the profile.
If you reach 67 points out of 100 on this grid you are eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and can enter the Express Entry pool.
Note: work out your CRS score with the official IRCC calculator.
| Selection factor | Points |
|---|---|
| English or French language ability | Up to 28 points |
| Education | Up to 25 points |
| Work experience | Up to 15 points |
| Age | Up to 12 points |
| Arranged employment in Canada | Up to 10 points |
| Adaptability | Up to 10 points |
You also have to show settlement funds. Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades applicants are exempt only if they are already authorised to work in Canada and hold a valid job offer; Canadian Experience Class applicants never need to show funds. A job offer still earns points on the 67-point grid, but since 2025 it adds nothing to the CRS score. The full rules are on the IRCC Federal Skilled Worker page.
Related: the biggest Express Entry change in recent years was the removal of CRS points for a job offer: what actually changed
Related: which category-based draws are running this year, and which have been dropped: the current Express Entry categories
Note: these programmes are for life outside Quebec. Quebec selects its own skilled workers under the Quebec Skilled Worker Program.
The Federal Skilled Trades Program is for qualified trades workers settling anywhere outside Quebec. Your experience has to sit in one of the eligible trade groups, such as:
Find your occupation on the NOC site and check whether it falls inside an eligible group before you apply.
To qualify for this programme you need:
Note: an application can be refused for criminal, security or medical inadmissibility, whichever programme you apply under.
The Canadian Experience Class covers every province and territory except Quebec, and is for people who already have skilled work experience in Canada. You need at least one year of skilled Canadian work experience gained lawfully in the last three years, plus a language result of CLB 7 for TEER 0 or 1 work and CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3 work. There is no minimum education requirement and no proof of funds requirement, although a credential still adds CRS points.
Note: this programme needs no job offer. It is only open to people whose skilled experience was gained inside Canada.
Before you pick a programme, be clear on how they differ. The differences sit in the minimum language level, the eligible NOC and TEER levels, and the work and study history each one demands. The tables below set them out side by side.
| Express Entry program | Difference in language factor |
|---|---|
| Federal Skilled Worker Program | CLB 7 in all four abilities |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program | CLB 4 for reading and writing / CLB 5 for listening and speaking |
| Canadian Experience Class | CLB 7 for TEER 0 and 1 / CLB 5 for TEER 2 and 3 |
| Express Entry program | Difference in work experience |
|---|---|
| Federal Skilled Worker Program | At least 1 continuous year in the past 10 years, in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program | At least 2 years’ full-time work (or 3,120 hours) in the past 5 years in an eligible skilled trade – NOC major groups 72 (excluding 726), 73, 82, 83, 92 and 93 (excluding 932), plus a certificate of qualification or a valid job offer |
| Canadian Experience Class | At least 1 year of skilled Canadian work experience (1,560 hours) in the past 3 years, in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 |
A Provincial Nominee Program is a second route to permanent residence, run by an individual province or territory. There are two ways in:
So you can approach a province on the strength of your occupation, language score and ties to it, enter the federal Express Entry pool, or do both at the same time.
This route runs inside the Express Entry system. You create the profile, become eligible for one of the three federal programmes, and register your interest with the province at the same time.
You then complete the province’s Expression of Interest. If the province selects you, the nomination adds 600 CRS points, which in practice lifts a profile well above the cut-off in the next general round. IRCC still assesses the permanent residence application on its merits and makes the final decision.
If your CRS score is too low for the pool, you can apply straight to a province through its own website. If it nominates you, you then file a separate permanent residence application with IRCC. This route is slower than the Express Entry-aligned one.
Once you have calculated your score and confirmed you are eligible, prepare the documents below and create your account on the IRCC website:
IRCC holds Express Entry rounds of invitations roughly every two weeks. Each round sets a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, and every profile at or above that score is invited to apply. Cut-offs move with the kind of round: general rounds, programme-specific rounds and category-based rounds for French speakers, healthcare, trades, education and agriculture all land at different scores. Nobody can tell you in advance what the next cut-off will be, and any adviser who does is guessing. Check the published result of every round on the IRCC rounds of invitations page.
An Invitation to Apply (ITA) is the point where Express Entry stops being a ranking exercise and becomes a real application. Everything that follows is time-limited and the deadlines are strict.
From the day the ITA is issued you have 60 calendar days to upload every document on your personalised checklist and submit the application. Miss the deadline and the invitation lapses; your profile can go back into the pool, but you wait for another round.
Note: any document not in English or French needs a certified translation, and scans must be legible. Incorrect or incomplete information can lead to a refusal, and a finding of misrepresentation carries a five-year bar on applying under section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The next step is paying IRCC’s fees, set out in the table below in Canadian dollars. IRCC reviews these amounts periodically, so check the official fee list before you pay.
| Service | Fee in Canadian dollars |
|---|---|
| Processing fee, principal applicant | CAD 990 |
| Right of Permanent Residence Fee | CAD 600 |
| Spouse or partner (if accompanying) | CAD 990 + CAD 600 |
| Dependent child under 22 | CAD 270 |
| Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) | CAD 200 to CAD 300 |
| Medical exam | CAD 100 to CAD 300 |
Note: budget separately for certified translations, the language test itself, any tuition or tutoring, travel for biometrics, and professional fees if you use an authorised representative.
Once you submit, IRCC reviews the file. The published service standard for Express Entry is six months from a complete application, although the real time varies with volumes and with your own circumstances. IRCC checks:
Note: IRCC can ask for more evidence at any stage through an Additional Document Request (ADR), or send a procedural fairness letter if it has concerns about the file. Both carry short deadlines.
If the application is approved, IRCC issues a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR), plus a permanent resident visa if your nationality needs one to travel. You then fly to Canada and land as a permanent resident. At the port of entry a border services officer checks:
Once you have landed and given IRCC a Canadian mailing address, your PR card is posted to you. Citizenship is a separate application, made years later once you meet the residency requirement.
Express Entry is a ranking system, not a queue. It rewards an accurate, well-evidenced profile and punishes guesswork. What a licensed representative can do is assess your eligibility honestly, calculate your CRS score, tell you which levers would actually move it, and prepare the file so nothing is missing when the 60-day clock starts. What nobody can do is change how IRCC decides: the decision rests with IRCC alone.
Aval Visa is led by Hadi Imani, a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC R522575) in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. Book an initial consultation to have your Express Entry eligibility reviewed before you commit time and money to it.
The 15 CRS points are for a sibling, yours or your spouse’s, who is 18 or over, lives in Canada and is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. You have to prove both the relationship and the status: birth certificates or a marriage certificate for the family link, and a copy of their citizenship certificate or PR card.
In an IRCC secure account. Register through the GCKey sign-in page, then build your Express Entry profile online.
Raise your language score, add French as a second language, add a further qualification, add Canadian work or study experience, or obtain a provincial nomination, which is worth 600 points. A job offer no longer adds CRS points.
For English, IRCC accepts IELTS General Training, CELPIP-General and PTE Core. For French, TEF Canada and TCF Canada. TOEFL is not accepted for Express Entry.
Applicants under 18, and applicants aged 45 or over, score zero CRS points for age. The maximum age score runs from 20 to 29.
