The demand for highly-skilled workers continues to grow across Canada and, therefore, on January 1, 2015, the Canadian government launched Express Entry. This is a new electronic Canadian immigration system that will manage applications for a Permanent Resident (PR) Visa to Canada in a very FAST and EFFICIENT way for the following programs:

• Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP);
• Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP); and
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Program.

The Provincial Nominees Program (PNP) is also affected by the Express Entry Canadian immigration system. Provinces and territories across Canada who are looking for qualified skilled foreign workers will be able to review the profiles of Express Entry candidates who register with the Canadian government's Job Bank and may "nominate" skilled foreign workers for the Provincial Nominees Program (PNP) if they seem to meet the criteria established for their particular province or territory.

The Express Entry system for immigration to Canada involves two major stages.
During the first stage of the procedure, skilled foreign workers will complete an online Express Entry profile which will include details about their education, language abilities, job skills, work experience, age and other details. People who meet the criteria for one of the "economic immigration" programs mentioned above (i.e., FSWP, FSTP or CEC) will be placed into a pool of Canadian immigration candidates and will be ranked according to the others in the pool on the new Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Those who have a qualifying job offer from a Canadian employer or who have received a nomination from a province or territory in Canada “will be given high scores in the ranking system.”

If a candidate does not have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer or a provincial/territorial nomination when they submit their Express Entry profile, then he or she must register with the Government of Canada's Job Bank, which will connect him or her with eligible Canadian employers so that he or she may obtain a valid job offer. Canadian employers will be able to access the profiles of those who register with Canada’s Job Bank so they can find eligible skilled foreign workers and extend to them offers of employment in Canada. Provinces and territories across Canada will also be able to search the Job Bank and may offer nominations to their Provincial Nominees Program (PNP) to skilled foreign workers who seem to meet their eligibility requirements.

In the second major stage of the process, the Canadian government will review the qualifications of skilled foreign workers in the pool and will select eligible candidates (based on skills, experience and other factors) to be invited to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa to Canada. Those who receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for a Permanent Resident Visa to Canada will have 90 days to submit an electronic application for permanent residence and will be given a response within only 6 months. That is why this new Canadian immigration system is called Express Entry!

People who do not receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for a PR Visa to Canada after being in the pool for 12 months will be removed from the pool, but they may then submit a new Express Entry profile to re-enter the pool of Canadian immigration candidates, if they meet the criteria for the eligible Canadian immigration programs at that time.

Think Canada has prepared for these changes. All existing and new customers will have a great advantage as our company and its ICCRC-registered Immigration Consultants stay up-to-date regarding the latest changes made to Canadian immigration programs. We will carefully review their information and documentation, based on the most recent Canadian immigration regulations, and properly arrange for their Express Entry application for a Permanent Resident Visa to Canada!

Take an evaluation today to know if you are eligible for the Express Entry Program, Click here to evaluate yourself.