The Canadian Government set a yearly intake with a respective program to immigrate with or without family. Here we talk about the Express Entry Eligibility, Requirement, Processing Timelines, Cost and other needed factors.

The Canadian Immigration follows a point-based system called a Comprehensive Ranking System Score (CRS). There is a pool under which the selection process takes place with Comprehensive Ranking System Score calculated with points allotted to candidate based on Age, Education, Experience, Language Test Score, Adaptability Points (Blood Relative in Canada), provincial nomination and job offer.

Express Entry is a Point-Based Canadian Immigration developed by the Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) in 2015. With EE system, the Canadian government can allow and manage the skilled worker applications to migrate Canada. Candidates with the highest points receive an Invitation To Apply (ITA) for a PR in Canada.

Three programs under Express Entry System as follows:

• The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
• The Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
• The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)

Main Eligibility Factors

• Age must be between of 20 – 45
• Education Credential Assessment (ECA) Positive Report
• English language i.e. IELTS minimum of CLB 7 band
• Minimum of 1 or above years
• Good Medical Health & Financial as needed
• Minimum Points Required to Qualify Under Express Entry System

To immigrate to Canada under the Federal Skilled Worker Class, you need to score 67 out of 100 points in order to qualify for a Canada PR visa under the Express Entry System. These points are calculated on various factors which include your age, work experience, education, language skills, adaptability, etc.

Federal Skilled Worker Points – Maximum Points to Obtain Under Above Factors

Documents Required for Canada Express Entry:

Express Entry Categorized into 2 stages application submission.

Profile Submission (Expression of Interest) & Permanent Residence Application Submission

1. Passport
2. Education Credential Positive Report
3. IELTS Report Card
4. Employment Offer (if applicable)
5. Provincial Nomination (If accepted)
6. Permanent Residency Application Submission (PR post Invitation To Apply Receiving)
7. Medical Examination Report
8. Proof of Employment References
9. Proof of Funds obtained from Financial Institutions

How to Apply for Express Entry:

To apply, following are the steps:

• Eligibility check for Program
• Documents Collection
• Expression of Interest Application Creation
• Submission of application into the IRCC Pool
• Invitations given based on CRS scores
• Candidates with highest CRS scores get an Invitation To Apply(ITA)
• After ITA, Need to Submit the Permanent Residence Application within 60 days of the ITA Acceptance
• If asks for additional documents, need to submit
• After background and documents verifications, will receive a Confirmation Of Permanent Residence(COPR)
• Need to Get the Passport stamping at the nearest Canadian Visa Application Centres (VAC)

Check your CRS Score:

Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is point-based. It assigns points to applicants after assessing various factors. The factors and sub-factors are explained below.

Total = 1200 points

• Core or Human Capital factor + Spouse or common-law partner factors = Maximum 500 points
• Core or Human Capital factor + Spouse or common-law partner factors + Transferability factors = Maximum 600 points
• Core or Human Capital factor + Spouse or common-law partner factors + Transferability factors + Additional factors = Maximum 1200 points

Cost & Processing Time:

• Educational Credential Assessments: around 300 CAD per person

An Education Credential Assessment (ECA) for foreign degrees

• $220+$10 ($10 Courier charges approx)
• $220+$85 for Fast Express courier charges. ($85 for Fast Express Courier charges)
• Language tests: around 250 CAD per test
• Fees for IELTS: Rs. 14,500
• Expression of Interest: Free of Cost
• Provincial nomination

PR Application and RPRF Fee:

Application fees for a Canada PR visa:

• Single applicant fee: CAD 825 for CIC + 500 (Right to PR Fee) = CAD 1325 (Including visa fees and PR fees)
• Couple Applicant Fee: (CAD 825 *2) = CAD 2650 + 500 (Right to PR Fee)
• Dependent fee for Child: CAD 225 for each child

Other fees included in this step:

• Medical exam: INR 3,000 (varies depending on your source city)
• Police certificate: INR 500 (varies depending on your source city)

Biometric Fee:

• Biometric Fee CAD 85 for a single applicant
• Biometric Fee CAD 170 for two or more applicants

Miscellaneous Expenses: Transcripts, notaries/affidavits, couriers, translations, biometrics.

Proof of Financial funds for Family Members:

Processing Time: Usually it takes around 6 months to process the application once it is received by IRCC.

1. Federal Skilled Worker Program?

Federal skilled worker program is Canada’s key immigration program, which is managed by IRCC(Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada) under Express Entry System.  The candidates in the Express Entry pool who secure the highest CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) scores are offered the ITA (Invitations to Apply) for Canada PR Visa through the FSWP. The candidates who receive the ITA must submit the complete application to the IRCC within the 60 days. This is a 5 years multiple entry visa, which allows foreign skilled workers to work and settle in Canada.

With the Federal Skilled Worker Program, you are eligible to stay in any province in Canada except Quebec as it has a Different PR System.

1. Age

A maximum of 12 points are allocated based on your age. Below is the point grid for the age factor.

2. Education

If applicant studied in Canada, one must have a certificate of diploma or degree from a high school or post-secondary institution. If applicant completed education outside Canada, one must provide an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report.

3. Work Experience

Applicant can get a maximum of 15 points with work experience. For this, applicant must have 1 year of full-time skilled work experience or equivalent part-time work experience. And applicant must have been working in an occupation in Skill level 0, A or B of the National Occupation Classification.

4. Language Proficiency

1. Language Skills

To apply for a study visa, PR or work permit it is very important to be able to communicate in English or at least one of the official languages of the country.

You can get a maximum of 28 points with your language skills in English and French-based on your ability to Write, Read, Listen & Speak. And you must take an approved language test to prove your language proficiency.

IELTS Test for English

French Language Test

5. Adaptability

If you have a job offer from Canadian Employer, you will be awarded a maximum of 10 points. And a valid job offer has to be for at least 1 year, full-time in an occupation listed as Skilled Type 0, A or B of the NOC.

And to get 10 points one of the below situations must also apply.

Step 1:

• Currently working in Canada on a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA)-based work permit in a skilled occupation.
• The work permit must be valid when the application is made.
• The employer has made a full-time job offer in a skilled occupation to the candidate.

Step 2:

• The candidate is currently working in Canada on an LMIA-exempt work permit or a work permit issued under a provincial/territorial agreement.
• The work permit must be valid when the application is made and the employer has made a full-time job offer in a skilled occupation to the candidate.

Step 3:

• The candidate holds a valid Canadian work permit or is otherwise authorized to work in Canada, but does not fall into either of the above scenarios.
• The work permit authorization is valid when the application is made.
• A prospective employer has offered a permanent, full-time job to the candidate and this job offer is supported by a positive LMIA.

Step 4:

• The candidate does not hold a valid Canadian work permit.
• A prospective employer has offered a permanent, full-time job to the candidate and this job offer is supported by a positive LMIA.

6. Arranged Employment
7. Is your spouse coming along with you? Then, you can increase the score by providing your spouse‘s factors like education, work experience, and language proficiency.

Visa Application Procedure:

Below is the step-by-step procedure to follow with FSW Program

• Check Your Eligibility
• Create Profile Under Express Entry
• Receive an Invitation To Apply (ITA)
• Application Review and Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR)
• Apply for PR Card

Canadian Experience Class:

Canadian Experience Class is a program under Express Entry Stream, which allows the applicants who have previously worker in Canada for at least one year to immigrate to the country permanently. This provides immigration that suits the best for students and highly skilled workers who are willing to immigrate to Canada.

The probability of candidate pickup according to the IRCC is, if you have the skills and ability to contribute to the growth of the economy of Canada, you might be selected. Candidates who have higher scores and ranking in the Express Entry pool are sent an ITA or invitation to apply directly from the country.

Eligibility:

Not every person who is residing in Canada is eligible to apply for the Canada Experience Class program. Only an individual who is currently residing in Canada and meets certain eligibility criteria is eligible to apply for Canadian Experience Class Program

The person who is willing to apply for the Canadian Experience Class must have at least one year of skilled work experience in the provinces of Canada within three years of their application date.

You must meet the following eligibility requirements in order to apply for the Canadian Experience Class program:

1. If you wish to apply for the Canadian Experience Class, you must have at least one year of skilled work experience in any of the provinces in Canada within three years of your application date.
2. The work experience that you have in Canada must be done under proper authorization.
3. The Canadian NOC or National Occupational Classification list has stated clearly about the skilled work. A skilled working experience means that your job must be either from the managerial ones, professional jobs, technical jobs or skilled trade.
4. Your working experience must be a minimum of 12 months of full-time work, which is 30 hours of paid work per week or even more, or it can also be an equivalent number of hours if it is a part-time job.
5. If the candidate has a working experience while they were a full-time student, then that experience shall not be taken into account.
6. You must meet or exceed the Canadian Language Benchmark or the CLB, which is the required language levels that are needed for the job.
7. You must also take the language test which is approved by the CIC or Citizenship and Immigration Canada, that would help in demonstrating your proficiency in speaking, reading, listening, and writing in either English or French or both together.
8. You must also be willing to live and work outside the province of Quebec. The state of Quebec has its own program called the Quebec skilled worker program
9. Even though the education is not that an important requirement when it comes to the Canadian Experience Class, if you wish to earn more points for your education in the CRS or  under the Express Entry program, you must provide your:
   1. Canadian high school or post-secondary certificate, or your diploma or degree certificate.
   2. Your completed foreign credential along with an ECA or Educational Credential Assessment report provided by an agency which is approved by the CIC.
10. Apart from this, the candidate must go through the medical examinations and obtain a security clearance. The processing time for the Canadian Experience Class is roughly around 6 months.

Benefits under Canadian Experience Class PR Visa:

These are as follows:

1. The Canadian Experience Class immigrants have already built up a year of working experience. This factor is highly valued under the Comprehensive Ranking System and gives the migrant the access to the CRS points for the experience they have.
2. Since the required documents are quite less, the Canadian Experience Class applications are processed much faster, which is often within three to four months.
3. Candidates which are under the Canadian Experience Class are not required to show any kind of proofs when it comes to the settlement funds, unlike the Skilled Trade and Skilled Worker Class are.

Costs:

• Right of Permanent Residence fee: 500 CAD
• Principal applicant fee: 475 CAD
• If the principal applicant is less than 22 years of age and is not a spouse or common law partner:75 CAD
• The family member of the principal applicant who is over 22 years of age or is less than 22 years of age and is a common law partner or spouse: 825 CAD
• The family member of the principal applicant who is less than the age of 22 years and is not a common law partner or spouse: 225 CAD

3.Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

Eligibility, Documentation, Application Process

The PNP is a right opportunity for you if you don’t qualify for the requirement of Express Entry Stream.

Highlights:

• Canada PNP program
• PNP: Eligibility Factors, Application Type, Application Fee & Visa processing time
• PNP Basic Documentation

Canada PNP Program:

PNP option is an alternative to get Permanent Residence in Canada. This helps to

• Candidates who cannot meet the minimum points to qualify for the PR visa of Canada.
• Applicants who cannot score enough (CRS) to receive an invitation to apply in the Express Entry Pool to proceed for the final stage.

Upon receiving the Provincial nomination, massive 600 points will be added into your current Express Entry Pool CRS Score. Then more chances of getting an Invitation to Apply (ITA). When you receive the ITA, you can apply for a Permanent Residency visa.

PNP: Eligibility Factors, Application Type, and Application Fee & Visa processing time 

Candidate can apply for province in two ways:

1. Express Entry Stream – Online
2. Non-Express Entry Stream – Paper Based

PNP Basic Documentation:

Some of the mandatory documents which are needed to proceed for provincial application as follows:

1. Passport copies of main applicant and dependant family members
2. Birth Certificate of main applicant and dependant family members
3. Online application form and other Several Forms which are filled and signed
4. Photographs
5. Educational Credentials Assessment (ECA) positive report
6. Language ability report
7. Proof of fund documents
8. Medical and police clearance certificate as applicable
9. Employment references
10. Other supporting documents per case specific