Canada to Launch “Express Entry” System in 2015

Canada’s government is preparing to launch its new “Express Entry” immigration system on January 1, 2015, which is designed to improve the processing of applications for a Permanent Resident (PR) Visa to Canada through certain “economic immigration” programs. The Canadian government recently announced its goal to issue a PR Visa to Canada for 260,000-285,000 foreign nationals during 2015, with 181,300 of these Canadian visas planned for eligible skilled foreign workers. The new “Express Entry” immigration system will speed up the process of applying for a PR Visa to Canada through the Federal Skilled Workers Program (FSWP); Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP); and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Program. The Provincial Nominees Program (PNP) will also be affected to a certain extent by this new system.

The “Express Entry” Canadian immigration system will involve two major steps. First, applicants for a PR Visa to Canada through one of the economic immigration programs (i.e., FSWP, FSTP, and CEC) will submit an online “Express Entry Profile” to the Canadian government which will include details about their education, work experience, job skills, language abilities, age and other factors. If the applicant does not already have a qualifying job offer from an employer in Canada, they will also register with the Canadian government’s Job Bank. Employers in Canada, as well as Canadian provinces and territories, will be able to search the Job Bank database for qualified workers to fill various jobs in Canada. The Canadian government will review each “Express Entry Profile” and those who appear to meet the qualifications for one of the Canadian economic immigration programs may then be moved into the “Express Entry Pool” of Canadian immigration candidates.

In order to move out of the “Express Entry Pool” by receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for a PR Visa to Canada, a candidate will need to obtain a qualifying job offer from an employer in Canada OR be nominated by a Canadian province or territory through the Provincial Nominees Program (PNP) OR receive enough points on the new "Express Entry" Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), AND they will also need to be among the highest ranked candidates in the "pool" when the Canadian government periodically issues ITAs for the PR Visa to Canada throughout the year. Candidates who remain in the “Express Entry Pool” for 12 months without receiving an Invitation to Apply will be removed from the pool, but they may then re-submit a new “Express Entry Profile” and, if they meet the eligibility criteria for one of the economic immigration programs at that time, may have another chance to enter the pool for another 12 months.  

During the second step of the Canadian immigration procedure, a skilled foreign worker who receives an Invitation to Apply (ITA) will have 60 days to submit their application for the PR Visa to Canada, along with all of the necessary documents, plus they will need to pay any required fees. The applicant will receive a decision from the Canadian government within six months after they submit their complete PR Visa Application and, if all goes well, may be approved for immigration to Canada!

In sum, there are at least two key benefits of the new “Express Entry” Canadian immigration system which will begin on January 1, 2015. First, it is supposed to speed up the process of applying for a PR Visa to Canada through the Canadian economic immigration programs (which is why this Canadian immigration system is called "Express Entry"). Another major benefit of this new Canadian immigration system is that a large number of applicants approved for a PR Visa to Canada through the economic immigration programs (such as the FSWP, FSTP and CEC) will already have a qualifying job offer from a Canadian employer. Canadian Visa Expert closely monitors the latest developments related to immigration to Canada and the authorized immigration consultants that it works with will evaluate clients based upon their personal profile and the most up-to-date Canadian immigration regulations. To receive your personalized professional Canadian immigration assessment, click here!