The Express Entry program is designed to create a pool of potential permanent immigrants to Canada who fulfill certain criteria. It is not a separate immigration program and it is used by the IRCC (Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada) department to select candidates who are eligible for immigration under various federal economic programs.Express Entry is more streamlined, efficient and fast-tracked as compared to the previous format which was based on first-come-first-served selection.
The different categories under which Express Entry candidates can apply include:
- Federal Skilled Worker
- Federal Skilled Trades
- Canadian Experience
- Provincial Nominee
You will first need to take an eligibility assessment test to check if you can apply under the Express Entry system. If you are not eligible, you will have to create a completely new profile to re-apply. Here, unless there have been changes in your circumstances like new work experience criteria or a better language skills score, you could be found ineligible again.
What Is The CRS Score?
If you are eligible to apply under one of the federal economic programs you must provide the necessary information required to create an online Express Entry profile.
This profile has information under different headings and each section is allotted points according to the nature of information you provide. All the information has to be backed by relevant documents. For instance, if you were not educated in Canada, you may need to take an Educational Credential Assessment test and even if you are a native speaker of English or French, you will need to take a third-party approved language test and submit the scores.
Every section has a maximum achievable score. The total number of points is calculated and your profile is given a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
Your profile is then entered into a pool of Express Entry candidates who have been similarly scored. Each member of the pool is given a rank according to their scores, with the highest scorer getting the top rank in the pool. This rank is a comparative one and your rank depends on what the others in the pool have scored.
Points are allotted in the following categories:
- A. Core Factors that include age, educational qualifications and work experience (skills transferability), language skills and whether you
plan to immigrate with a spouse/common-law partner. If yes, you may get a slightly lower score, but this person’s core factors are also
considered and added to yours. You can achieve a maximum score of 600 points in this section. - B. Additional Factors: If you have certain additional advantages like a valid Canadian job offer, sibling who is a permanent resident of Canada, have studied in Canada and have degrees/certificates in support, robust French language skills and/or provincial nomination, you could achieve an additional maximum score of 600 points in this section.
- Hence, your total CRS score is Core Factors + Additional Factors.
Improving Your CRS Scores
If you have submitted your Express Entry profile, but feel that you can achieve a better score to improve your chances of selection, you can explore the possibilities.
- The Canadian immigration system is purely merit based and largely automated. There are some core factors that you may not be able to improve such as age but you can work on others like language skills and work experience.
- You can re-do your IELTS or TEF to improve your language scores. This can get you a maximum of 160 points if you are a topper in the tests.
- Try your best to get a valid job offer from a Canadian employer with a job offer letter. You can do this by signing up with the Canadian Job Bank, LinkedIn, etc that are directly accessed by employers.
- Education is held in high esteem in Canada and a tertiary educational qualification can fetch you up to 120 CRS points maximum.
- Full-time valid work experience gives you extra points.
- Though adding a spouse to your profile does lower your score slightly initially, if your spouse has a high human capital core score, this can be an added advantage.
- Having a sibling who is already settled in Canada can boost your CRS score by another 15 points.
- Provincial Nomination yields the highest number of points (600) and though it is difficult to get, it is well worth a try.
The CRS score is not a locked-in one and it’s possible to improve it with the right advice and assistance from a well-established, reputed immigration consultant.