Have you received the message “Your Express Entry application is taking us longer than usual to process” from the government of Canada? This may be a result of the Coronavirus pandemic. Visit our page on Canada Visa Processing Times to learn more about how long your Express Entry application should take. Using a qualified immigration professional to apply for Express Entry can speed up the overall processing time for your application by avoiding any mistakes or missing documents.

Receiving an ITA (Invitation to Apply)

After you have successfully filling out an Express Entry Form to be eligible in a Express Entry pool, foreigners will wait to receive an ITA. Each draw whether it is through a PNP or Express Entry will have a minimum CRS score and those with a ranking CRS score higher than the published one, will receive an invitation. Once one has received an ITA, there is a 60 day period where you must apply and submit all the required supporting documents to become a permanent resident. There are documents and following steps after receiving an invitation to apply including a chance to deny the ITA.

In 2015, Canada introduced Express Entry as a system to manage applications for permanent residence through same major economic immigration programs. Since then, many Canadian provinces and territories have developed ‘enhanced’ PNP streams that are aligned with Express Entry. This means that some PNPs require that an applicant have an Express Entry profile to meet the PNP eligibility requirements.

If an applicant is nominated through a PNP which is aligned with Express Entry, the applicant can then claim 600 additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, virtually guaranteeing they will receive an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence in the next Express Entry draw. Alternately, if an applicant receives a nomination through a PNP which is not aligned with Express Entry, then they must submit a paper-based federal application for permanent residence as a provincial nominee. Paper-based federal applications for permanent residence can take significantly longer to process than electronic Express Entry applications.

Canada Federal Skilled Worker application forms are processed through the Express Entry selection system for immigration to Canada. Candidates eligible under this program need to create an online Canada Express Entry profile.
The application selection process requires you to take a point-based test, and score 67 marks out of 100. Candidates, whose occupations fall under the ‘Skilled Occupation List’, can take the assessment test.

Skilled Worker Program applications are judged based on an applicant’s ability to become economically established upon his/her Immigration to Canada. All the information you need to apply for Canada federal skilled worker program is here.
Note: The province of Quebec does not follow Skilled Worker Program and is responsible for selecting its own skilled workers.
Once filled, Canada federal skilled worker application forms are assessed for eligibility according to the criteria set out below:

Canada Immigration authorities will only process your Canada Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) application form if you have:

• At least one year of continuous and paid (full-time or an equal amount in parttime) work experience in a single job within the last 10 years
• At skill type 0, or skill levels A or B of the 2011 edition of Canada’s National Occupational Classification, and who have this amount and type of work experience in one of the eligible occupations
• And all the necessary requirements stated below.

Work Experience

If your FSW application form is eligible to be processed, we will then study and assess the forms to see if your work experience is legitimate Your work experience has to be within the last 10 years and it should be

• For at least one year in the same job
• Continuous and paid (full-time or an equal amount in part-time) and
• Skill type 0 for managerial occupations or
• Skill level B for technical occupations and skilled trades
• Skill level A for professional occupations or
• On the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC) list National Occupational Classification. is one of the most popular systems used to classify jobs in Canada.

Language Ability

A candidate needs to meet the minimum language levels and while applying; he/she must include the results of a language test from an agency approved by Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration. This shows that you meet the minimum language requirement of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 6/7, which is mandatory for Canada Federal Skilled Worker Program.

Education

• You must have a Canadian certificate, diploma, or credential and/or
• A credential for foreign education
• And an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) by a CIC approved agency that shows that your credential is equal to a completed Canadian post-secondary or secondary educational credential.

About the Application Cap

Due to a huge number of applications that Canada Immigration authorities receive; they consider only a limited number of applications per year. Between May 1, 2014, and April 30, 2015, they considered around 25,000 complete Canada Federal Skilled Worker application forms for processing. They consider around 1000 applications per eligible occupation within the 25,000 cap. And this is generally processed within this same time frame.

Selection Factors

If you meet all the above-mentioned conditions, there are six selection factors based on which they we will process your application forms. They are:

• your education,
• your work experience,
• your adaptability (how well you are likely to settle here).
• whether you have arranged employment in Canada, and

Your skills in English and/or French, Canada’s two official languages.

Proof of Funds

You must also show that you have the financial capability to support your family and yourself after you reach Canada, in order to be eligible for the Program.

Application Processing Fee

If the applications made under the Canada Federal Skilled Worker program category are found not eligible according to the specified criteria, the candidate will be informed of the decision. As per the discretion of the immigration officer, the processing fee may or may not be refunded.

Permanent Residence Fee

Permanent residence fee should be paid if the candidate’s Federal Skilled Worker application to immigrate is approved. This fee has to be paid before Citizenship and Immigration Canada issues the permanent resident visa. If the candidate chooses not to use the visa or cancel the application, then the fee is refundable.
Other fees applicable are for a medical examination, a language test and a police clearance certificate, which is required as a part of the security and crime background check P.S. Post application submission, process time is a minimum of 6 months.

Provincial Nominee Program (Skilled Worker Category)

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), complete assistance for which is offered by us here at Ojas Immigration.  It is important that the candidates selected through Express Entry Program under provincial nomination will need to meet the selection criteria of 67 points and all related requirement such as minimum 6.0 in each in IELTS. 

The Government of Canada has worked out number of territorial and provincial skilled immigration agreements keeping in mind the specific needs of employers and capital investment requirements for each geographical area. Therefore, most provinces of Canada also have their own Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) which are designed to encourage skilled workers from all over the world to settle in these provinces and contribute to the Canadian economy.

If you are looking forward to applying under the Provincial Nominee Program for immigration to Canada, we are the right people to contact to. At Ojas Immigration., we help you understand what a PNP program is, what its eligibility requirements are, and how to apply for the same. We have a team of expert consultants onboard who have extensive knowledge of the PNPs of each province of immigration to Canada and can help you apply and gain permanent residency in Canada successfully for the one program you qualify for. At present, PNP exists in the following territories and provinces of Canada:

Application Processing Fee

If the applications made under the Canada Federal Skilled Worker program category are found not eligible according to the specified criteria, the candidate will be informed of the decision. As per the discretion of the immigration officer, the processing fee may or may not be refunded,

• Alberta provincial nominee program
• British Columbia provincial nominee program
• Manitoba provincial nominee program
• New Brunswick provincial nominee program
• Newfoundland and Labrador provincial nominee program
• Nova Scotia provincial nominee program
• Northwest Territories provincial nominee program
• Ontario provincial nominee program
• Prince Edward Island (PEI) provincial nominee program
• Quebec provincial nominee program
• Saskatchewan provincial nominee program
• Yukon provincial nominee program

Step 1: Potential candidates fill out an online Express Entry form.

Candidates who are eligible for the Express Entry Canada program can complete an online profile which will include various details about themselves, including their skills, their language ability, education and previous work experience, among others. Candidates who successfully meet the criteria of one or more of the federal economic immigration programs under Express Entry will then be sorted into a pool of eligible individuals. These individuals will be ranked according to their chances of economic success, and the highest-ranking candidates, along with those who have qualifying offers of employment or provincial/territorial nominations (who will automatically receive high rankings), will receive a formal invitation to apply for permanent residency.

This way of doing things will allow Canada to pick the best possible candidates who are likely to go on to achieve success, rather than simply picking whoever is next in line. Candidates who do not have a valid job offer or provincial/territorial nomination must sign up to the Governments of Canada’s Job Bank, so that he or she can be connected to relevant Canadian employers. Eligible employers will need to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment via Employment and Social Development Canada for permanent residence applications. There is no guarantee that candidates who fill out an Express Entry profile will be invited to apply for permanent residence, as this will mainly be determined by their ranking and the other factors mentioned above (offer of employment, provincial/territorial nomination).

Step 2: The Government will invite successful candidates and permanent residency will be processed within 6 months.

Those ranking highly in the pool (based on skills, experience, eligible job offers and relevant nominations where applicable) will then be invited to apply for permanent residency through an ITA (Invitation to Apply) and will have a total of 60 days to submit their electronic application. Electronic applications will be required to be submitted through one of the below programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) Canadian Experience Class (CEC) Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Most applications will be pushed through swiftly by CIC, with many expected to be completed within six months.

Candidates who have applied for the Express Entry Canada program but who are not invited to apply for permanent residency after a year may then resubmit their profile and re-enter the pool, provided they are still eligible for the program. This is to prevent backlogs and allow for quicker processing and turnaround times. According to CIC, the Express Entry program will allow faster and more efficient immigration services to skilled immigrants. The program will also enable the Canadian Government to respond faster to Canada’s evolving economic conditions and changing priorities and will increase flexibility.

Ojas Immigration Services assist its clients to immigrate to Canada under numerous options in each of the PNP Programs for increase your CRS Score.
Calculate your eligibility points 67/100