Canada’s Express Entry System Explained
TORONTO, Canada – As a Canadian immigration lawyer, many people ask me: how do I immigrate to Canada? This article provides a brief summary of how Canada’s front door for permanent residence works. Before proceeding, a disclaimer: this is not legal advice. Seek legal advice from a licensed immigration professional in Canada, such as a lawyer, or a notary (only in Quebec). Be wary of scams perpetrated by non-licensees and “ghost consultants” posing as immigration agents or licensed ICCRC consultants.
Canada’s main system in accepting economic immigrants into the country is called Express Entry. The system works by aggregating PR Candidates into a pool where they are assigned a score. From time to time (almost every two weeks), Canada holds a draw and issues an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence to candidates who have scores that are equal to or greater than the cut-off score.
Overview: Express Entry mainly runs with three programs
Federal Skilled Workers (FSW) – skilled workers whose experience is earned anywhere in the world;
Federal Skilled Trades (FST) – focused on the trades and related occupations (ex.: carpenters, plumbers, electricians, automotive technicians, etc.); and
Canadian Experience Class (CEC) – those with skilled work experience earned in Canada.
STEP ONE: Entering the Express Entry Pool
Before entering the system, there is a screening step. Permanent resident hopefuls must meet the requirements to enter whichever class they are aiming for.
For example, under the FSW program, a set of minimum entry criteria (MEC) needs to be met. The criteria are as follows with their corresponding MEC points:
Work Experience - 15
Language - 28
Education - 25
Age - 12
Arranged Employment - 10
Adaptability – 10
Each of the criteria listed above carries with it a maximum set of points. The first three factors have the heaviest weight in points. The maximum points that you can receive is 100. You need 67 points in order to meet the MEC requirements.
For CEC, the requirement is 12 months of skilled work experience in Canada, and the minimum language requirements (depending on the position worked) must be met.
Finally, for the FST class, the requirements for entry would be: language, work experience, relevant occupation requirements of the trade, an offer of employment.
STEP TWO: Obtaining a CRS Score
When Step One is met, you may enter the Express Entry Pool under a specific class (i.e, FSW, FST, and CEC). While in the pool, you are assigned a score. This time, the scoring system is called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
The Government of Canada describes CRS as a points-based system used to assess and score an applicant’s profile, which in turn allows the government to rank a candidate in the Express Entry Pool. This time, the CRS score has a ceiling of 1,200 points. The points are divided into two groups: (1) Core Points, and (2) Additional Points. They are as follows:
Core Points
Core Skills and Experience Factors (age, education, work experience)
Spouse or Common-Law Partner Factors (language skills, education)
Skills Transferrability (work experience, education)
Additional Points
Canadian degrees, diplomas or certificates
Valid Job Offer
Provincial/Territorial Nomination
PR/Canadian Citizen Siblings in Canada
French Language Skills
In general terms, a candidate who enters the pool must meet the applicable language requirement and prove it through a language test in either English or French. Where applicable, if a candidate’s education was earned outside Canada, the education credentials need to be assessed for equivalency in Canada. The government maintains a list of designated third-party organizations that assess and assign equivalence to foreign education credentials. Logically, the higher the education credential, the more points a candidate receives. The same goes for language.
To recap, the first step is that a candidate must be able to enter the Express Entry pool. Each class has a different set of requirements. It should be noted that a candidate may belong to multiple streams at the same time. A candidate’s profile remains active for a period of one year.
Next, the candidate is assigned a CRS score based on the factors outlined in the table above. Then the government conducts an Express Entry Draw and issues Invitations to Apply to candidates who meet the cut-off score. In other words, candidates whose scores are equal to or above the cut-off score receive an ITA for permanent residence.
STEP THREE: Application for Permanent Residence
Once a candidate receives an ITA, the journey is not over. A candidate has 60 days to gather the requirements to submit an electronic application for permanent residence (eAPR). The applicant then submits the eAPR and the application is assessed and vetted for fraud to preserve the integrity of the system.
Some of the steps that are taken include the background checks on criminality and security, as well as medical admissibility (a topic in a future article). The work and education credentials are also checked and verified by immigration officers.
Problems Faced Using the Express Entry System
The explanation above is deceptively simple. It hides the complexity that is involved in the process. There are specific rules that apply to each requirement that could make all the difference for a candidate who may have spent thousands of dollars in order to pursue immigration to Canada through this avenue.
I have heard of horror stories of applications being refused for superficial non-compliance to the specific sets of instructions. For example: scanned copies of police certificates must be submitted in colour. If it is not in colour, the eAPR is rejected.
Another example: police certificate requirements for Filipino applicants. In a case heard before the Canadian Federal Court called Doron v. Canada, 2016 FC 429 (see: http://canlii.ca/t/gpmjp), the applicant submitted a a NAPOLCOM police certificate. As a result, the APR was refused. The court ruled that the rules were clear that Immigration specifically requires NBI Clearance Certificates issued for immigration purposes.
Immigration has a one-touch policy when it comes to these types of applications. Typically, if one makes a mistake, you will have to live with the consequences, which is often a flat-out refusal. They tell you that you can apply again, however, your points may have decreased due to age, or the points cut-off could now be much higher. Diligence is therefore key.
Express Entry and Filipino Immigrants
In 2017, less than one percent of new permanent resident applicants via the Express Entry system were from the Philippines. That is, there were 501 candidates whose country of residence was the Philippines among 86,022 who gained permanent residence that year.
This is in direct contrast to a parliamentary report wherein the Philippines was shown to be the second top source of permanent residents in Canada after India (see: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/annual-report-parliament-immigration-2018/report.html).
Most new permanent residents in Canada from the Philippines that year came from other routes such as the caregiver program, or through various regional and provincial programs for immigration (another topic for another article). The underutilization of the Express Entry System by Filipinos may likely be attributed to various factors such as language skills and more importantly the education factor.
Education Factor
Bachelor’s degrees from the Philippines are generally given the equivalence of a two-year associate degree due to its education system (K-10 vs. K-12). This means the points obtained from education for the purposes of Express Entry are at the low-end. The Philippines, at least until the Aquino administration pushed for reforms, was a laggard and was seen as stunted when it comes to education qualifications.
Typical exceptions are graduates from bigger universities (such as UP, Ateneo, La Salle & UST); these candidates generally meet the equivalence of a full four-year bachelors. Another exception: medical doctors and lawyers. They are accorded points equivalent at the masters’ level.
What I have seen in my practice as a Canadian immigration lawyer is that Filipinos generally obtain CRS scores between 300 to 440.
There are of course ways to increase your CRS score by taking advantage of the additional points referred to in Table 1. One such strategy, and a lot of Filipinos are starting to realize this, is by studying in Canada. This will be the topic in my next articles. Stay tuned!
2023 Updates: Category-Based Draws
In 2023, IRCC began category-based rounds of invitations under Express Entry, where separate draws are made from a subset of the overall pool of Express Entry candidates. This subset of candidates possesses essential skills and experience needed by Canada, as determined by the Canadian government.
As of writing, the category-based draws generally focus on candidates with experience in healthcare, STEM, trade, transport, and agriculture occupations.
Because the pool of candidates for these category-based draws are much smaller than the overall Express Entry pool, the CRS cut-off scores for these draws are typically lower compared to the general draws.
2024 Updates: Higher Cut-Off Score Trends
Lately, the cut-off scores have been trending in the lower 500s for general draws, as well as for Canadian Experience Class draws. Several factors can influence the trend of high cut-off scores in Express Entry draws. These include the number of candidates in the Express Entry pool, the frequency of draws, changes in immigration targets set by the Canadian government, and the specific criteria used in each draw.
When there is a large pool of high-scoring candidates and draws are infrequent or the number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued per draw is limited, cut-off scores are likely to remain high. This happens because only the top candidates, based on their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores, receive invitations to apply for permanent residence.
On the other hand, if Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) increases the frequency of draws or the number of ITAs issued, or if there are adjustments to the CRS that benefit a wider range of candidates, cut-off scores might decrease. Additionally, if IRCC conducts program-specific or category-based draws targeting candidates with particular skills or qualifications, this can also impact the cut-off scores for general draws.
Predicting the movement of cut-off scores is difficult because it relies on IRCC’s immigration policies and goals, which can shift in response to Canada's economic needs and factors like labor market demands and demographic trends.
Candidates should remain informed about any updates or changes to the Express Entry system, as these can influence CRS score distribution and affect cut-off trends in future draws.