Express Entry Introduction FAQs

No. As of November 19, 2016, a valid job offer for Express Entry only needs to be for one year or more.

• at the NOC 0, A or B level
• from one employer for the FSW or CEC, or up to two employers for the FST
• supported by an LMIA (if you need one) or be for a candidate that is exempt from needing one.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Generally, a valid offer is for a job that is:

• full-time and non-seasonal,
• for at least one year,
• in a skilled job listed as Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B in the 2016 National Occupational Classification.

A job offer must be in writing, and must set out details of the job they are offering you, such as:

• your pay and deductions
• your job duties
• conditions of employment, like your hours of work.

In most cases, a valid job offer must be supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). The employer has to apply for one from Employment and Social Development Canada/Service Canada.

If they get a positive LMIA, they must give you a copy and a written job offer.

In some cases, your employer does not need an LMIA to support your job offer. Find out more about jobs that are exempt.

Under Express Entry, a valid job offer will give you additional points in the Comprehensive Ranking System.

A work permit on its own is not a job offer, even if it is an open work permit.

When you create your Express Entry profile, include the LMIA number to show that you have a valid job offer.

If you get invited to apply, we may ask you for the original document, so keep it in a safe place.

A job offer is not valid if your employer is:

• an embassy, high commission or consulate in Canada, or
  on the list of ineligible employers.
• If your employer is not eligible, does not get a positive LMIA, or is not LMIA-exempt you will not meet the requirements of a valid job offer for arranged employment.

Find out more about offers of employment and exemptions.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

No, a work permit is not a job offer. A job offer is valid if your current or future employer:

• has made a written offer to give you a full-time, non-seasonal job for one year or more if you are accepted as a permanent resident and
• has a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Employment and Social Development Canada (or the job is LMIA-exempt)

This is true whether you are working in Canada or not.

There are only two reasons that an employer making you a job offer does not need to get a new LMIA:

• if you are already working for them with a work permit based on that LMIA
• if you work in a job that does not need an LMIA.

Find out more about what makes a job offer valid.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

You may be able to apply to immigrate permanently after you graduate. To do so, you need one year of skilled work experience in Canada.

The year of skilled work experience must be in a job that is listed in the 2016 National Occupation Classification as:

• Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations)
• Skill Level A (professional occupations) or
• Skill level B (technical and trade occupations).

To qualify, you must also meet language standards (depending on your job).

One way to get this work experience is through a post-graduation work permit. You can get one if you graduate from certain Canadian post-secondary schools. To qualify, the school must take part in our Post-Graduation Work Permit Program.

Students can now also earn additional Comprehensive Ranking Score points for study in Canada above high school:

• 15 points for a one- or two-year diploma or certificate
• 30 points for a degree, diploma or certificate of three years or longer, or a Master’s, professional or doctoral degree of at least one year.

You must complete an Express Entry profile as the first step to immigrate to Canada permanently as a skilled worker.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Skilled workers are chosen as permanent residents based on their education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French, and other factors. These things often help them succeed in Canada.

Since January 1, 2015, completing an Express Entry profile is the first step in immigrating to Canada permanently as a skilled worker under the:

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

Under the Express Entry system, IRCC will invite people to apply for permanent residence based on the information they enter in an online profile. You cannot apply directly to any of these programs unless IRCC sends you an invitation to apply.

Skilled workers who want to live in Quebec apply under a separate category. The province of Quebec selects its own skilled workers. Applicants who intend to go to Quebec are known as “Quebec-selected” skilled workers.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Under the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Program, arranged employment means you have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer.

Having a valid job offer affects you in two different ways: for eligibility under the FSWP, and later, for points towards your total score.

Arranged employment is worth 15 points on the FSW selection factors. (This is how IRCC finds if you are eligible for the FSW program through Express Entry).

To immigrate to Canada as a FSW, you must complete an Express Entry profile and be invited to apply.

Under Express Entry, if you have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer, you can earn between 50 and 200 points under the Comprehensive Ranking System. This depends on the type of job. It will give you a better chance of being invited to apply at the next round of invitation.

For either, a job offer must be in writing, and must set out details of the job they are offering you, such as:

• your pay and deductions
• your job duties
• conditions of employment, like your hours of work

A work permit on its own is not a job offer, even if it is an open work permit.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

The minimum requirements for federal skilled workers are:

Skilled work experience
You must have at least one year, in the last ten years before you submit your electronic application for permanent residence, of continuous full-time work experience (or the equivalent in continuous part-time work) in a skilled occupation listed in Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B of the 2016 version of Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC).

Language ability
You must show that you meet or exceed the language threshold of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 with test results from a IRCC-designated language testing organization.

Education
You must provide either a Canadian educational credential or a foreign educational credential with an Educational Credential Assessment report for immigration purposes from a designated organization to prove that your overseas diploma, degree, or certificate is equivalent to a completed Canadian educational credential. (Points will be awarded based on the completed Canadian educational credential or the value of the foreign educational credential in Canadian standards.)

If you meet all the minimum requirements, IRCC will assess your application based on the selection factors in the federal skilled worker points grid.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Completing an Express Entry profile is the first step to immigrate to Canada permanently as a federal skilled worker. You will need to complete an Express Entry profile and meet the minimum criteria to be accepted into the pool.

If you are interested in the Federal Skilled Worker stream, you will need to meet, at minimum, the pass mark of 67 points out of 100 on the Federal Skilled Worker grid.

If you are accepted into the Express Entry pool, you are not guaranteed to receive an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence. An Invitation to Apply for permanent residence will be based on your score and rank in the Express Entry pool using the Comprehensive Ranking System.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

If you meet the criteria to get into the Express Entry pool:
Yes. If you are 47 or over, you will not get any points under the Age factor of the Comprehensive Ranking System, but you may get points for other factors such as a job offer, your skills, your language abilities, etc. You may still be invited to apply based on your CRS score and your rank in the pool.

If you receive an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence through the Express Entry system under the FSW program:
Yes. If you are over 47, you will not get any points under the Age factor of the FSW selection grid, but you can still apply. The applicant's age is worth 12 percent of the overall selection criteria on the FSW selection grid.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

The maximum amount of points for the adaptability factor is 10.

You can get them by adding up the points from up to two criteria. Even if more than two of these apply to you and your spouse, you can only get 10 points in total.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

You must prove your language skills by taking a third-party language test from an agency designated by IRCC.

When creating your Express Entry profile, you must fill in all the information related to the language test you have taken in English and/or French for your first and second official language.

You also need to make sure that you meet the minimum language threshold in order to be eligible for the program.

Your language test results must be valid (written in the last two years) when you submit your application for permanent residence. If they expire, you should retake the test and provide IRCC with valid results. Otherwise, your application will be rejected as incomplete or may be refused.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

It proves that a person is qualified to work in a certain skilled trade in Canada. This means that they:

• have passed a certification exam, and
• meet all the requirements to practice their trade in that province or territory.

This certificate is issued by the body that governs trades in a Canadian province or territory or by a federal authority.

Depending on which body or authority issues it, this certificate may be called a “certificate of qualification” or a “qualification certificate”. Find out how to get a certificate.

You must complete an Express Entry profile as the first step to immigrate to Canada permanently as a skilled worker.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

In the Federal Skilled Trades program, work experience in a trade can only count if you are qualified to independently practice that trade in the region where you got your work experience.

If you are qualified in one country, you might work in another country that has different rules for practicing your trade. In that case, the work experience from the second country will only count towards the two-year work experience requirement if you also met the requirements to practice there independently.

For example, if you are a plumber from Germany and worked for one year in Poland, you need to prove that you were certified to be a plumber in Germany, and that you were qualified to work in Poland according to Polish regulations at the time for this work experience to count.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

In Canada, provinces and territories

• are in charge of education and training, including skilled trades apprenticeships
• usually decide on the standards and conditions used to assess and recognize foreign credentials for certain trades

The regulatory body that governs trades in a province or territory

• must assess your training, trade experience and skills
• decides if you are eligible to write an exam to be certified

To get a certificate of qualification, you

• will likely have to physically go to the specific province or territory to write the certification exam
• may need an employer in Canada to give you training and work experience before you are allowed to write the exam

If your trade is not regulated by a province or territory (for example, airplane mechanic), it may be federally regulated. The Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials provides information on credential assessment for all regulated trades in Canada.

Contact the provincial, territorial or federal regulatory body for more information.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

In that case, to qualify for the Federal Skilled Trades Program you must have a qualifying job offer in your trade from a Canadian employer.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

This means an offer of continuous, full-time employment from up to two Canadian employers, for at least 30 hours a week. The job offer must be for a period of at least one year.

You must have a job offer if you do not have a certificate of qualification in your skilled trade issued by a Canadian province or territory.

Under Express Entry, most job offers need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

The LMIA verifies that Canadian labour market has a need for this type of worker, and that your employer(s) have tried to hire a Canadian or permanent resident first.

In some cases, your employer does not need an LMIA to support your job offer. Find out more about jobs that are exempt.

You must complete an Express Entry profile as the first step to immigrate to Canada permanently as a skilled worker.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Not necessarily. Standards and conditions of training for specific trades vary depending on the province or territory. (For example, ways to register apprentices, training curriculum, how to get accredited/certified/licensed)

It is up to you and your employer to make sure you have the documents needed to practice in the province or territory where you will work.

When IRCC assesses your application, they may check that you meet the requirements to be certified, licensed or registered to work in a regulated occupation in Canada.

If you have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer but do not meet the requirements, IRCC must be satisfied that you are capable of doing the job you were offered and that you are likely to qualify to be licensed or certified when in Canada.

Note: Even if you get certified in one province or territory, you may not be able to practice in another. After you immigrate, if you want to work in a different province or territory, check the requirements of the regulatory body that governs trades for that province or territory.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

To be eligible, you must:

• have at least 12 months of full-time (or an equal amount in part-time) skilled work experience in Canada in the three years before you apply, and
• meet or exceed the required language levels needed for the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level of your work experience in each language ability (speaking, reading, writing and listening).

To find out if your work experience qualifies, search for it in the official list.

There are also other requirements you must meet.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

The Canadian Experience Class is for people who already have skilled work experience in Canada.

You are not eligible for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class if you gained your work experience:

• without the proper authorization (for example, illegally, working without a visa),
• in a job not classified as skill type 0, or skill level A or B according to the National Occupational Classification,
• while you were self-employed, or
• while on a student work permit (co-op, off-campus, or on-campus).

You also must not:

• have less than one year of full-time (or an equal amount in part-time) skilled work experience in Canada, or
• plan to live in Quebec.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

No, you should not complete an Express Entry profile in this case. If you do not have a full year of experience, the system will not find you eligible.

To meet the minimum criteria for the Express Entry pool, you must be eligible for at least one of the programs under Express Entry.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

No. Any experience you list in your application under the Canadian Experience Class must be legal to be valid. You cannot have worked or studied without authorization. If you have ever done so, your application will be refused.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Yes. You can apply and count your work experience in Quebec.

If you plan to live in Quebec, you must apply to the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion du Québec. Quebec selects its own immigrants.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Yes, you can be eligible for the Canadian Experience Class so long as you meet the requirements under the class, including having gained at least 12 months of full-time (or an equal amount of part-time) work experience in a NOC 0, A, or B occupation in Canada in the three years before you are invited to apply.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Yes, as long as you gained skilled work experience of at least one year in an occupation listed under the 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) as Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations), Skill Level A (professional occupations) or Skill level B (technical and trade occupations).

Your work experience must have been gained in Canada within the three years before we receive your Canadian Experience Class application. Work experience gained while studying full time on a student permit (for example, experience gained while on co-op) does not count.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Work experience gained while you were on a study permit will not count towards meeting the Canadian Experience Class requirements.

But, you may still be eligible if you:

• already gained one year of skilled Canadian work experience while you were not on a study permit, and
• meet the language threshold for that occupation

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

To apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class, your skilled work experience must:

• be in a job classified as skill type 0, or skill level A or B according to the 2016 National Occupational Classification,
• amount to at least one year of full-time (or an equal amount in part-time) in the previous three years,
• have been with an employer in Canada (self-employment does not count),
• be gained with the proper legal authorization (for example, as a documented worker with a valid work permit), and
• not be gained while you were studying on a student permit.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

No. You can only count work experience in one or more of these 2016 National Occupational Classification (NOC) categories:

• Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations),
• Skill Level A (professional occupations) or
• Skill Level B (technical occupations and skilled trades), except for the six ineligible occupations (listed below).

You cannot count work experience in these National Occupational Classification (NOC) categories:

• Skill Level C, or
• Skill Level D.

National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill Levels C and D occupations include semi- and low-skilled workers in the trades, primary and manufacturing industries, sales and services, as well as certain clerical and assistant categories.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

You can count part-time work toward the work experience requirement, as long as you were not a full-time student at the time.

However, you must have gained the equivalent amount of experience as someone who worked full-time for at least one year (1560 hours)

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

It depends on where you were working and studying.

To be eligible for Express Entry, you must meet the minimum requirements for 1 or more Express Entry programs. This includes the work experience requirement.

Using student work experience for minimum requirements

Federal Skilled Worker Program

Student work experience gained while you were studying in Canada or abroad counts towards the minimum requirements for the Federal Skilled Worker Program if the work:

• was paid by wages or commissions
• was continuous (no gaps in employment), and
• meets all the other requirements of the Program

This includes co-op terms and apprenticeships.

Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades Program

Student work experience doesn’t count towards the minimum requirements for the Canadian Experience Class or Federal Skilled Trades Program.

How student work experience affects your profile ranking

Canadian work experience gained while you were a full-time student doesn’t count towards the score used to rank your profile.

The work experience gained as a full-time student outside Canada counts towards the score used to rank your profile.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Yes. The post-graduation work permit is an “open” work permit, meaning that you can work for any Canadian employer unless there are restrictions listed on the work permit. Keep in mind that skilled work experience is needed to qualify for the Canadian Experience Class. Skilled work experience means working in an occupation that is listed under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) at Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations), or Skill Level A (professional occupations) or Skill level B (technical and trade occupations).

More information on 2016 NOC codes is available on the Social Development Canada website.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

To be eligible for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class you must have completed, within the three years before you apply, at least:

• 12 months of full-time work:
  ⮞ 30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours), OR
• equal amount in part-time hours, such as:
  ⮞ 15 hours/week for 24 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
  ⮞ 30 hours/week for 12 months at more than 1 job = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)

You must also complete an Express Entry profile.

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/

Non-paid employment does not qualify under the Canadian Experience Class. You must have been paid a wage (or earned a commission) but there is no minimum wage requirement for your qualifying work experience.

Full-time work experience means working at least 30 paid hours per week. To qualify, you must have skilled work experience, meaning work in occupations listed at NOC Skill Type 0 (managerial), or NOC Skill Level A (professional occupations) or NOC skill Level B (technical and trade occupations).

source: https://www.cic.gc.ca/