In order to immigrate to Canada under the Express Entry system as a Federal Skilled Worker, an applicant must meet certain point thresholds at different stages:

1. To be eligible for Express Entry: 67 points
2. To be eligible for an Invitation to Apply (ITA) using the Comprehensive Ranking System: variable

A. Express Entry

An applicant must first meet a point threshold (67 points) in order to be eligible to apply for Canadian permanent residency. With the minimum threshold of 67 points, an applicant is entered into the Express Entry pool of candidates. There are six categories in which an applicant can be awarded points:

Language Testing Results

Under the Express Entry Federal Skilled Worker Program, applicants would only be eligible to enter into the pool of Express Entry applicants if:

1. He or she submits language scores from:
   1. IELTS : International English Language Testing System (http://www.ielts.org/) or
   2. CELPIP: Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (http://www.celpiptest.ca/);

and

2. The scores are:
   1. CELPIP: At least 7 in every category (i.e. speaking, reading, writing and listening) if English is the applicant’s first official language, or at least 5 in every category (i.e. speaking, reading, writing and listening) if English is the applicant’s second official language and French is the first official language. Or
   2. IELTS: At least 0 in every category (i.e. speaking, reading, writing and listening) if English is your first official language, or at least 5.0 in every category (i.e. speaking, reading, writing and listening) if English is the applicant’s second official language and French is the first official language.

NB: It is important to note that applicants must take the “CELPIP–General 2014” test or “IELTS – General Training” options of the exam, and that applicants should have the results sent directly to him or her such that a copy can be scanned and sent to our office.
Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) – Express Entry, Federal Skilled Worker Stream

In order to count points towards an applicant’s education, the applicant must have his or her foreign education assessed by an agency that is approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The approved agencies are:

1. Comparative Education Service – University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies
2. International Credential Assessment Service of Canada
3. World Education Services
4. Medical Council of Canada (for physicians)
5. Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (for pharmacists)

Work Experience

Applicants can get points for the number of years spent in full-time paid work, which is defined as being at least 30 hours per week, or an equal amount of part-time employment. Many of Canada’s immigration programs use it to decide if a job, or type of work experience, is valid for that program’s criteria. In applying as a skilled worker, applicants must first check the National Occupational Classification (NOC) to see which jobs are considered “skilled” (NOC Skill Type O or Skill Level A or B). If the description and list of main duties match what the duties in the last employment, applicants can count this experience for points. Applicants must have at least one year of work experience in an employment that falls under NOC Skill Type O, A or B in order to be eligible to apply.
Arranged Employment

Having arranged employment with a Canadian employer supported by an LMIA helps provide an applicant with a good number of points to help them qualify, because they are awarded 10 points in the “Arranged Employment Category” and an additional 5 points in the “Adaptability” category, for a total of 15 points, which is significant. Without the LMIA-supported job offer from a Canadian employer, many applicants are deemed ineligible for lack of points.
Adaptability

Applicants can receive points in this category if they:

• as stated above, have arranged employment
• finished at least two academic years of full-time study in a program at least two years long at a secondary or post-secondary school in Canada, and maintained at least 15 hours of classes per week in good academic standing as determined by the school
• worked in Canada at least 1 year in a occupation listed in Skill Type O or Skill Levels A or B of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) while authorized to work in Canada
• have relatives that live in Canada who are at least 18 years old and are Canadian permanent residents or citizens, and are related in the following way:
  • parent,
  • grandparent,
  • child,
  • grandchild,
  • child of a parent (sibling),
  • child of a grandparent (aunt or uncle), or
  • grandchild of a parent (niece or nephew)

If married, applicants can receive points in this category if the spouse:

• has a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 4 – contact our office for further details
• finished at least two academic years of full-time study in a program at least two years long at a secondary or post-secondary school in Canada, and maintained at least 15 hours of classes per week in good academic standing as determined by the school
• worked in Canada at least 1 year while authorized to work in Canada
• has a qualifying relative, as listed above

Age

Applicants will receive points based on his or her age on the day when the Centralized Intake Office gets the application. Applicants will only receive points in this category for being between the ages 18 and 46.

B. Comprehensive Ranking System
Once an applicant is in the Express Entry pool of applicants, the applicants are ranked according to a Comprehensive Ranking System. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is a separate points-based system with a maximum of 1,200 points that is used to assess and score a candidate’s profile. The CRS points rank a candidate once he or she is in the Express Entry pool as follows:

Additional points will be awarded for candidates who have a job offer supported by a positive Labour Market Impacts Assessment (LMIA) or nomination from a province. Essentially, because a goal of Express Entry overall is to ensure strong links between economic immigration and the Canadian labour market, qualified candidates who also have a job offer will get enough points to ensure they are ranked high enough to get an invitation to apply.

Periodic Ministerial Instructions are published which provide the minimum amount of CRS points that are required to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence at that  time.  Only upon receiving an ITA may an applicant apply for permanent residence.