Express Entry is the fastest and most popular pathway for newcomers seeking a new life in Canada. Express Entry organizes and processes applications for people who wish to immigrate to Canada and acquire Canadian permanent residence.

Candidates with university or college degrees with skilled work experience and moderate proficiency in English and/or French are ideal candidates. Candidates who qualify for the following programs are also eligible to submit an application under the Express Entry program:

• Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
• Provincial Nomination Program (PNP)
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

The easiest way to find out if your eligible is to use our free online assessment tool.

All Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) candidates must have a minimum of one year of skilled work experience. However, this program does not require a connection to Canada, so it can be an ideal immigration option for foreign nationals living outside of Canada. Please note that the program does have strict eligibility requirements regarding work experience, level of education, age, and language proficiency.

Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) offer a pathway to Canadian permanent residence for individuals who are interested in immigrating to a specific Canadian province or territory.

Each Canadian province and territory operates its own PNP designed to meet its specific economic and demographic needs

Every year, the Canadian federal government increases the number of invitations for PNP candidates. These programs are the fastest growing route to economic immigration in Canada.

Each province, with the exception of Quebec, operates several PNP streams. These streams are designed by the provinces to help meet their unique immigration goals, so the eligibility criteria and application procedures vary. However, PNPs are a popular option because they can be the fastest pathway to Canadian permanent residence.

All decisions regarding Canadian permanent residence must be approved at the national level by the federal government, so Canada’s provinces cannot approve permanent resident status on their own. This is why the provincial programs are considered “nominee” programs.

A successful applicant to a PNP will be nominated by the province to submit an application for permanent residence to the federal government. This means that securing a provincial nomination is always step one in a two-part process. First, an interested immigrant is approved at the provincial level and then they must apply to the federal level.

Express Entry can take as little as six months to process, from submission of the Express Entry profile to the issuance of a permanent resident visa. However, not all cases will proceed this quickly. Your Express Entry profile will remain active in the pool of candidates for 12 months if you are not invited to apply. If after 12 months you have not been selected, you are welcome to resubmit your profile and remain in the pool. To break it down further:

• Your profile will remain valid for 12 months in the Express Entry pool
• Upon issuance of the ITA, you will have 90 days to provide the requested full application of documents
• Once the immigration authorities have received your complete application, your permanent resident visa should be processed in six months or less