Did you know that you can apply for the Canadian Express Entry Visa without the assistance of a third party or agent?
How to Apply for Express Entry in 2023
The Express Entry Visa application portal for the Government of Canada is now open and accepting applications from interested foreign immigrants. Express Entry is the application process for skilled immigrants who want to permanently settle in Canada and contribute to the country’s economy. You are hereby invited to determine your eligibility and apply.
What is Express entry?
The Express Entry program provides qualified workers in Canada and around the world with a pathway to permanent residence. Processing times for potential skilled foreign workers applying through Express Entry are expected to be reduced to six months or less.
Starting in early July, international students, skilled workers, and other immigrants will be able to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry through immigration streams such as the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Programme, and the Federal Skilled Trades Programme. “The vast majority of new applications will be processed within the 6-month service standard,” the ministry says.
How Express Entry Works?
As mentioned above, there are 3 immigration programs managed through Express Entry:
The Canadian Experience Class:
- for skilled workers who have Canadian work experience
- work experience must have been gained in the 3 years before you apply
Minimum requirements
You must
- Meet the required language levels needed for your job for each language ability
- writing
- reading
- listening
- speaking
- have at least 1 year of skilled work experience in Canada, in the last 3 years before you apply—you can meet this in a few different ways:
- full-time at 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full-time (1,560 hours)
- equal amount in part-time work: for example 15 hours/week for 24 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
- You can work as many part-time jobs as you need to meet this requirement.
- full-time work at more than 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months at more than 1 job = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
- have gained your work experience by working in Canada while under temporary resident status with authorization to work
The Federal Skilled Worker Program:
- for skilled workers with foreign work experience
- must meet criteria for education and other factors
Minimum requirements
This program has minimum requirements for:
- skilled work experience
- language ability
- education
You must meet all the minimum requirements to be eligible.
If you meet all the minimum requirements, we’ll assess your application based on additional selection factors.
Skilled work experience
Skilled work experience means that you’ve worked in 1 of these
National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER categories:
- TEER 0
- TEER 1
- TEER 2
- TEER 3
You must show that while working in your primary occupation, you performed the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC. This includes all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.
Your skilled work experience must be
- in the same type of job (have the same NOC) as the job you want to use for your immigration application (called your primary occupation)
- within the last 10 years
- paid work (have been paid wages or earned commission—volunteer work or unpaid internships don’t count)
- at least 1 year of continuous work or 1,560 hours total (30 hours per week)—you can meet this in a few different ways:
- full-time at 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full-time (1,560 hours)
- equal amount in part-time work: for example 15 hours/week for 24 months = 1-year full time (1,560 hours)
- You can work as many part-time jobs as you need to meet this requirement
- full-time at more than 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months at more than 1 job = 1 year full-time (1,560 hours)
Part-time work experience
Your skilled work experience must be paid work including paid wages or earned commission. We don’t count volunteer work or unpaid internships.
For part-time work, you can work more or less than 15 hours/week as long as it adds up to 1,560 hours. You can work more than 1 part-time job to get the hours you need to apply.
We don’t count any hours you work above 30 hours/week.
Student work experience
Work experience gained while you were studying may count towards your minimum requirements if the work:
- was paid by wages or commissions
- was continuous (no gaps in employment), and
- meets all the other requirements of the Program
The Federal Skilled Trades Program:
- for skilled workers who are qualified in a skilled trade
- must have a valid job offer or a certificate of qualification
Minimum requirements
To be eligible, you must
- meet the required language levels for each language ability
- writing
- reading
- listening
- speaking
- have at least 2 years of full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work experience) in a skilled trade within the 5 years before you apply
- your work experience must be for paid work (paid wages or earned commission—volunteer work or unpaid internships don’t count)
- meet the job requirements for that skilled trade as set out in the National Occupational Classification, except for needing a certificate of qualification
- have a valid job offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least 1 year or a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial, or federal authority
How to Apply for Express Entry
Canada Visa Application 2023 is structured in a straightforward process. To apply for the 2023 Express Entry Canada Visa, follow the steps outlined below.
Step 1: Find out if you’re eligible
There are 2 ways to find out if you’re eligible for a program that is part of Express Entry:
- answer a few questions to see if you meet the minimum requirements
- answer a few questions to see if you meet the minimum requirements
- read the detailed requirements for each program
Step 2: Check your score
If you’re eligible for one or more of the Express Entry programs and submit your profile, you’ll be ranked in the Express Entry pool using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
The CRS is a points-based system we use to
- assess and score your profile and
- rank it in the Express Entry pool
To be invited, you need to have a score above the minimum points score for your round of invitations. [Use the CRS tool to estimate your score]
Step 3: Get your documents ready
If you decide to fill out a profile, you’ll need documents, such as language test results, to show you’re eligible for Express Entry.
Some documents take a long time to get, so you should get them ready early. [Get the documents you need]
Step 4: Fill out your profile
Your Express Entry profile is where you give us information about yourself.
If you’re eligible, then we’ll accept you into the pool of candidates who have applied and have been accepted, and you’ll be given a CRS score. [Submit your profile]
Step 5: Get an invitation and apply
Invitations to apply are sent to the candidates with the highest scores in the pool. If you are invited to apply, you’ll have 60 days to submit your application.
Most complete applications that have all supporting documents are processed in 6 months or less.