January 3, 2025
Everything you need to know about Express Entry
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has 3 main programs that allows you to submit a permanent residence application:
- Canadian Experience Class;
- Federal Skilled Worker Program; and
- Federal Skilled Trades Program.
Each program, however, has their own set of requirements, and our skilled lawyers can help you decide which program you should apply under.
What’s the Canadian Experience Class program?
The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program is for individuals who have at least 1 year of work experience in Canada in the National Occupational Classification’s (NOC) 0, 1, 2, or 3 TEERs.
The other requirements are,
- Work experience: You must have 1 year of skilled work experience in Canada that you obtained in the past 3 years.
- Education: There’s no education requirement, but you’ll get more points if you have a degree or diploma from a Canadian university or college.
- Residence in Canada: You must show that you intend to live in Canada (outside the province of Québec).
- Financial support: You must have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family.
- Language proficiency: You’ll need to take an approved language test, such as the CELPIP, IELTS, or the PTE Core, and get a minimum score of Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) 7 in TEERs 0 and 1 or CLB 5 in TEERs 2 and 3.
Keep in mind that your language test is valid for 2 years from the date of the exam, and they must be valid on the day you submit your application.
It’s also important to note that your work experience in Canada won’t count under CEC if,
- You obtained your work experience while you were a refugee claimant;
- You were working without authorization (e.g., a work permit); and
- You obtained your work experience without temporary resident status.
What’s the Federal Skilled Worker Program?
The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) ranks individuals on their education, language proficiency, and skilled work experience. More specifically,
- Work experience: You must have 1 year of continuous work experience, equivalent to 1,560 hours, that you obtained in the past 10 years in the NOC 0, 1, 2, or 3 TEERs.
- Education: If you went to school or university in Canada, you must have a certificate, but if you went to school or university abroad, you must have an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA).
- Residence in Canada: You must show that you intend to live in Canada (outside the province of Québec).
- Financial support: You must have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family.
- Language proficiency: You’ll need to take an approved language test, such as the CELPIP, IELTS, or the PTE Core, and get a minimum score of CLB 7.
With respect to work experience, you can obtain the experience in 1 full-time job, more than 1 full-time job, or take as many part-time jobs as you need to meet the requirement.
What’s the Federal Skilled Trades Program?
The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) is slightly different from the other programs, and,
- Work experience: You must have 2 years of full-time work experience, equivalent to 3,120 hours, or equal amounts in part-time work, that you obtained in the past 5 years in the NOC groups that can be found here.
- Education: There’s no education requirement, but if you provide a certificate from a Canadian institution or an ECA if you obtained your education abroad, you’ll get additional points.
- Residence in Canada: You must show that you intend to live in Canada (outside the province of Québec).
- Financial support: You must have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family.
- Language proficiency: You’ll need to take an approved language test, such as the CELPIP, IELTS, or the PTE Core, and get a minimum score of CLB 5 in speaking and listening and CLB 4 in reading and writing.
With respect to work experience, IRCC won’t count any hours of work you do over 30 hours per week – regardless of whether you obtained your experience at a full-time or part-time job.
Where can I find the latest round of Express Entry invitations?
You can find the latest round of Express Entry invitations here.
Let’s take it one step at a time
We know that we gave you a lot of information, and it can be overwhelming.
If you’re overwhelmed, or you read something and you didn’t understand it, or you want us to help you enter the Express Entry pool and subsequently file your permanent residence application, book a consultation with us today, and we’ll help you through the entire process.
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