Certain provinces have been given the authority by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to select or nominate candidates for immigration destined to their respective province under the Provincial Nominee Program. Quebec has exclusive authority to select candidates who intend to reside in that province. These applicants are subject to Quebec's selection criteria, in addition to Federal medical and security clearance requirements. They must also pay an additional fee for processing by Quebec immigration authorities. Applicants who qualify under the Federal selection requirements may not necessarily satisfy Quebec's selection requirements, and vice versa.

Yes, a portion of the PNPs, known as the "enhanced" portion, will be inside Express Entry, with the remainder operating external to Express Entry. If a candidate is eligible for a particular PNP and that PNP is receiving applications for assessment at the time, he or she may make an application to that particular province under the PNP without having to create an Express Entry profile. The Canada Visa immigration assessment form assesses your eligibility for immigration across more than 60 immigration programs, including the various PNPs.

Yes. There are two ways to do this: Apply to the PNP first, get a nomination and then fill out an Express Entry profile; or Fill out the Express Entry profile first. Provinces and territories can then search the Express Entry pool and ask a candidate to apply for his or her provincial nomination. When the candidate gets a nomination certificate, he or she will update their Express Entry profile. In either case, once a person updates his or her Express Entry profile to show that he or she has an enhanced provincial or territorial nomination certificate, he or she will be given…

Quebec applications will not be triaged through Express Entry, except where the applicant will be working outside Quebec for a Quebec-based company.

Yes, you can apply for Permanent Resident status and Temporary status at the same time. Canadian Immigration policy recognizes the concept of dual intent.

Candidates know their points total (or score), but do not know their rank within the pool. They will, however, know the minimum score that was required for the most recent draw from the Express Entry pool. Therefore, they have a target that they can aim to meet and surpass in order to increase their chances of being invited to apply for permanent residence.

Yes, all candidates need to take a language test in order to determine their language abilities. There are a set number of points available for language ability for each of the economic immigration programs that come under Express Entry, and ability must be proven by candidates taking a standardized language test approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, formerly known as CIC). The most popular are IELTS for English and TEF for French. As part of their Express Entry profile, candidates must submit valid language test results obtained in the past two years. Once a candidate enters the Express…

Not necessarily, though the fact that Canadian employers play a greater role in Canadian immigration under Express Entry than they did previously means that, for many candidates, obtaining a valid job offer from a Canadian employer significantly increases their chances of being invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence. Candidates in the Express Entry pool have the opportunity to increase their chances of being invited to apply by promoting themselves directly to employers through the Canada Visa Job Search tool.

Whereas previously potential candidates who were eligible for a Canadian immigration program could apply directly to that program, that is no longer the case. Under Express Entry, candidates with higher points totals in the Express Entry pool may have a better chance of being invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence by either the federal government, a Canadian province or territory, or a Canadian employer. Highly educated candidates with skilled work experience and strong language skills in English and/or French, for example, are likely obtain a greater number of points than those who do not possess these qualities.

No. Express Entry does not change Canadian immigration program requirement. Express Entry is not a new program. Rather, it is a new management and selection system for existing immigration programs.

We recommend that you complete and submit an online assessment of your eligibility for immigration to Canada. You may do so as a skilled worker applicant, a business applicant, or a family class applicant.

All provinces and territories, except for Quebec and Nunavut, use Express Entry or have indicated that they may do so in the future. Provinces and territories are able to nominate a certain number of candidates through the Express Entry system to meet their local and provincial labour market needs. These are known as "enhanced" nominations. If an applicant gets an enhanced nomination from a province or territory, he or she is then given 600 additional points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) and will receive an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence at a subsequent draw from the pool.…

A Work Permit allows an eligible individual to reside and work in Canada for a limited period of time, and restrictions are sometimes placed on the type of employment which can be pursued. It will not, by itself, lead to Canadian Permanent Residency, but can be a stepping stone to achieving this status. By contrast, a Canada Immigration Visa entitles its holder to live and work anywhere in Canada, enjoy many of the privileges of Canadian citizenship, apply for Canadian citizenship after three years and sponsor family members for Canadian Permanent Resident status

From the moment a candidate is issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence, he or she has 60 days to submit a complete electronic application with all supporting documents. Because of this limited time period, candidates are encouraged to begin collecting these documents and ensuring they are in good order before an ITA is issued. If a candidate misses the 60-day deadline, the ITA that was issued to him or her is no longer valid and he or she will have to re-enter the Express Entry pool. If the information provided by the potential candidate turns out…

Each profile remains in the Express Entry pool for a period of 12 months or until an invitation to apply for permanent residence is issued, whichever comes first. If after 12 months a candidate wishes to remain in the pool, he or she may create a fresh profile.

Canada immigration regulations, laws and policies are constantly subject to change. To remain continuously informed on changes being made by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), please visit CIC News.

Candidates who receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence from a Canadian province or territory should have the intention to reside in that particular province or territory. The Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) are set up to address local and regional labour market needs, and so it follows that candidates invited to apply through a PNP are deemed likely to succeed in that particular province or territory. Once a candidate has landed in Canada, however, he or she will have the right to freedom of movement within Canada, as well as the right to live and work anywhere in Canada…

Yes.

No. Express Entry facilitates the processing of economic immigrants for Canadian permanent residence. There are, however, a number of other ways of moving to Canada, both permanent and temporary. Only a portion of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) will be processed through Express Entry. Other PNP candidates will be able to apply to these programs directly if they are eligible under the requirements, which are based on local and regional labour market needs. Most PNP streams require the candidate to secure a valid job offer before immigrating to Canada, but there are some exceptions. Successful candidates will land in Canada as…

Yes, and no. As a general rule, you must submit your Canada Immigration Visa Application (Application for Permanent Residence in Canada) to the Canadian Immigration Visa Office responsible for the country of your citizenship or to the visa office responsible for the country you are currently residing in if you have been legally admitted to that country for at least one year. Applicants to the federal economic immigration programs must first create an online profile in the Express Entry immigration selection system