How to create an Express Entry Profile

Express Entry was launched on January 1st, 2015 by the Canadian Government as a means of selecting skilled immigrants as permanent residents to Canada depending on their qualifications, to settle in Canada.

It is one of the easiest and fastest means of relocating to Canada as an immigrant. Express Entry manages Permanent Residence applications in Canada under the following federal economic immigration programs;

1. Federal Skilled Trade Program (FST)
2. Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
3. Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSL

Through the Provincial Nominee Programs, provinces and territories can also recruit eligible candidates from the Express Entry System to meet local labor or market needs.

The following procedures must be followed.

Step 1. Eligibility Test

Step 2.  Fill the Express Entry Form online

Potential candidates or immigrants must complete and submit their profiles Express Entry Form online to the Express Entry pool.

• Eligible candidates or immigrants will be place in the Express Entry pool with other eligible immigrants also.
• Eligible candidates will be ranked against others using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
• Immigrants or Candidates with the highest scores in the Express Entry pool with be invited to apply to be a permanent resident.

The following factors will help candidates rank higher among others.

Candidates will be awarded points for;

• Skill and relevant work experience
• Job offer, with or without LMIA.
• Nomination by a province or territory
• A Canadian degree, diploma or certificate or equivalent Education
• Having a French language skills, candidate with English language skills often score higher (proficiency in both French and English would rank or score one higher)
• Having family or relative in Canada.

The above factors will make a candidate rank high enough to be invited to apply for permanent resident.

If the candidates are married, one of them must be the principal applicant. The principal applicant will submit a profile and list the spouse in it. It is advisable for couples or partners, that the person with better eligibility status should be the principal applicant.

The National Occupation Classification (NOC) is the Canada Government standardized system of Job classification. The Express Entry System allows candidates with the following skillset and work experience;

• Skill Type 0 (Management level job)
• Skill Level A (Professional jobs)
• Skill Level B (Technical Jobs and Trades)

Eligibility Questions

Note before creating an Express Entry Profile, candidates are required to answer few eligibility questions, which can be answered in less than 15 minutes.

 The following questions will be asked;

• Nationality
• Education
• Language proficiency
• Work experience
• Age
• Family members
• Details on any job offer

The candidate’s answer will determine what program he or she is eligible for.

At the end of the eligibility test, the tool generates a personal reference code which the candidate can use to move his or her information to Express Entry Profile.

How to create an Express Entry Profile

After the eligibility test, if the candidate is eligible, the tool will migrate him or her to an online account to fill out an Express Entry Profile.

Follow the following steps to fill the Express Entry Profile

• Create an account if you don’t have yet.
• Enter your Personal Reference Code.
• Enter your Personal information.

The following documents are required to complete your Express Entry Profile;

• Language Test Result.
• National Occupational Classification (NOC), Job title and code.
• A passport documents
• Provincial Nomination (if available)
• Bank statement or proof of fund
• Educational credential Assessment (ECA)
• Employment letter or job offer proof if available

In the course of filling the Express Entry Profile, one can exit at any time, every information is automatically saved until the 60 days expiration timeline.   Candidates have 60 days to completely fill their Express Entry Profile., otherwise he or she is expected to start over again.

After filing it, you are expected to submit it online.

Updating your Express Entry Profile

After submitting your profile, it is not a time to sleep, rather it is time to get the necessary documents required and necessary skills.

Why your profile is in the pool getting your document ready will help you meet the 60-day target if you are invited to apply for permanent residence.

You are expected to check the validity of each of your documents, and check if any has expired.  The language test results are only valid for two years.  It is expected they are valid on the date you are applying for Permanent Residency.

If your documents expire before the invitation, kindly declined the invitation and go for another language test. Applying for Permanent Residence with an invalid document could lead to rejection of the application or be a bar for five years from applying.

Candidates are required to get Police certificates for themselves or family members above the age of 18.

Candidate can start searching for a job by creating a job match account with Job bank, using the job seeker validation code they received when they submitted their Express Entry Profile, this help to match you with employers in search of workers with your skillset.

Ways to improve your scores while your entry is still in the pool

• Contact Province or territories for consideration for Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
• Get valid job offer
• Acquire relevant skills
• Get relevant educational certification

It is important to know that updating your Express Entry profile does not in any way affect the date entry was made, it only improves your chances of being invited to apply for Permanent Residence.

Invitation to apply for Permanent Residence

If you are invited to apply for Permanent Residence, the online application has a 60 days expiration timeline, within these days, applicants are expected to have filled it with the necessary documents required and submit the application for Permanent Residence. The response will be sent through your account stating:

• The next phase
• The program you have been invited for.

It is at this phase, the proof of every information or document used in filling the Express Entry profiles is demanded. If the information submitted in the profile is different from the application, or if vital and relevant information is left out, the following may happen to the application.

• Candidate application will be refused
• Candidate will be considered inadmissible
• Applicant may be bar 5 years from applying to Canada.

The IRCC (Immigration, Refugee, and Citizenship Canada’s) processes complete applications with document proof and necessary documents within six months. 

If an invitation to apply is sent to a candidate, and the candidate does not apply or decline the invitation within the stipulated 60 days. The invitation will expire and, the candidate profile will be removed from the pool.

It is better to decline an invitation instead of allowing it to expire. If an invitation is declined, the person profiled will be put back into the Express Entry Pool, hence the candidate will be considered for a future invitation.

 It is important to note that cut-off scores vary from one round to another, if one had been invited before is not a guaranty such will automatically earn another invitation in another round. Candidates might need to improve their scores.

What should Candidates not invite do after 12 months do?

The Express Entry Profiles automatically expire after twelve months of submission, this simply means that a candidate’s profile is removed from the Express Entry Pool when his or her profile expires.

A notification message will be sent to his account, notifying the candidate of the expiration of his or her profile. A candidate can create a new profile until the existing profile expires or the initial profile is withdrawn.