Permanent Residence in Canada with Express Entry (outside of Quebec)

Documents to be presented if you are selected

If you are invited to apply (well done!!), you will have 60 days to attach all the required documents (electronically). Once you have received your “invitation to apply”, you will see a feature on your account which allows you to start your application, attach all required documents, and then submit it.

Everything you have declared on your Express Entry profile (your language proficiency, level of education, professional experience …) will be verified during this process. If you were to enter incorrect information, adjust your bank account figures, or alter your language test scores, this verification check could lead the IRCC to believe that you have made false declarations. If this were to happen, you could face your application being rejected and up to 5 years of inadmissibility to Canada! So be careful with your information when filling out your Express Entry profile and make sure you have proof of everything you say! The best thing to do is to review your supporting documents at the time you wish to apply to the applicant pool.

On their website, the Canadian authorities have published a list of documents which may be required if you receive an invitation to apply. You can start to gather some of these together now. Don’t forget that you will only have 60 days to submit your completed application with all the required documents. If your application is incomplete, your file may be rejected, put on hold, and you may have to start the whole process again by creating a new Express Entry account (depending on the nature of the missing documents).

The Canadian authorities differentiate between the “mandatory for all applicants” document checklist (those which will be required) and the mandatory documents (if any) which will be requested based on your situation via a “personalised” checklist.

Important: all documents which are not in English or French must be translated. In this case, applicants must provide a copy of the original document and the version translated by a certified translator. There is a fee for translations.

Documents which you can start to gather now:

A copy of your passport’s identification pages

Make sure your passport is current and valid for the next few months. There may be a delay if your passport is due to expire in the next few weeks or months and you must take action to renew it.

Proof of your work experience

When filling out your profile on Express Entry, you had to declare your work experience (necessary for all permanent residence categories through the Express Entry system). You will therefore need to submit proof of all your declared work experience, including:

• Letter(s) of recommendation or attestation of experience from the employer: a document with an official company letterhead including your full name, company contact details, and the name, title, and signature of the supervisor or HRD. The letter must indicate the different positions held within the company, the roles, responsibilities, the period of employment, the number of hours worked, the annual salary and any benefits you received.
• For those who have worked in Canada, you can also submit your T4, notices of assessment, or various documents from the Canada Revenue Agency.
• For the self-employed (or sole traders, for example), you will need to provide proof of your status and proof of income from your activity. It would also be useful to have documentation from your clients on the services provided and proof of payment.

If the spouse/partner of the applicant has declared work experience, proof of this will also be requested.

Proof of studies

If you have declared studies, you will need to provide proof of these. If you have studied in Canada, you will need to provide proof that you have completed your programme of study there. If you have had your educational credentials assessed, you must provide the reference number given to you by the credential assessment agency. The Canadian authorities will verify the ECA with this organisation.

You may also be required to submit your university certificates and diplomas/degrees as well as school and university transcripts if available.

If the spouse/partner of the applicant has declared their studies, proof will also be requested.

Certificate of Competency

If you have declared to holding a certificate of competency from a province or territory in Canada (especially for participants in the Skilled Trades Program), you will be asked to provide a copy of this certificate. If the spouse/partner of the main applicant has declared to having this certificate, they must also provide it.

Employer’s offer of employment

If you have declared a valid job offer, you will need to submit this as well: it must include the company’s letterhead, contact details, the applicant’s name, and the name, title and signature of the supervisor or HRD. The job offer must also include the start date of the job, the applicant’s commitment to full-time permanent employment, job titles, responsibilities, the number of hours to be worked, annual salary and any benefits. You will also need to provide the LMIA number obtained by your employer.

The IMM 5476 form if you use the services of a representative

Although it is not mandatory, you may use the services of an immigration representative approved by the Canadian authorities. If so, you must declare it by completing the IMM 5476 form entitled “Use of a Representative”.

Proof of your marital status

If you have declared yourself to be in a common-law union, married, divorced, separated, or widowed, you must provide proof of your marital status.

• If you have declared a common-law union, you must complete the Official Declaration of Common-Law Union form (IMM 5409) and provide proof that you have been living together for at least 12 months. This could also include joint account bank statements, rental agreements, utility bills (water, electricity…) in your names.
• If you are married, you must provide a copy of the marriage certificate issued by the country where the marriage took place.
• If you or your spouse/partner are divorced (from a previous marriage), you must provide a copy of the divorce certificate issued by the country where the marriage took place.
• If you declared yourself widowed, you must provide a copy of your spouse/partner’s death certificate and any documents related to the execution of wills and such.

If you have children: birth certificates or adoption certificates

If you have children (whether or not they come to Canada with you), you must provide proof of parentage such as your children’s birth certificates.

If you have adopted a child (whether or not they come to Canada with you), you must provide a copy of the adoption certificate and all papers related to the legal adoption of your child.

Other necessary documents

Since you may not know when you will have to apply (or even if you will be invited to apply), we perhaps would not recommend that you gather these documents now. However, you may want to start looking into the process or timeframe for obtaining these documents (some may take a while).

Police certificates

You and your spouse/partner will need to provide copies of police certificates from all countries where you have lived for more than 6 months since the age of 18. The Canadian authorities guide you on how to obtain the different certificates in this page on the IRCC site.

The police certificate from your current country of residence must be less than six months old. We therefore recommend that you wait until you have received an invitation to apply before applying to obtain it (if the official timeframe for obtaining the document is less than 90 days).

Other police certificates from countries where you have lived in the past may be dated from longer ago (they are valid for one year from the date of issue). If you are no longer living in the country and you are almost certain to be selected through Express Entry in the next few months, you may consider applying for police certificates from these other countries. Be careful though as the process can sometimes be rather expensive and it would be unfortunate to go through all these steps only to not be selected. Some countries may have very long timeframes.

The Canadian authorities suggest that if you know it is going to take a long time to obtain a police certificate (as is the case for the United States), you should start the process of obtaining them even if you have not received an invitation to apply.

All police certificates should be submitted in one document (as a PDF).

“Confirmation” of the medical exam

You must provide proof that you have undergone a medical exam with a physician designated by the IRCC. This exam cannot just be conducted with any physician. The list of designated physicians can be found on the IRCC’s website. You will need to bring a number of documents with you to this visit (ID, medical report about health concerns). At the end of the exam, you will be given an “Immigration Medical Exam” number which you must indicate on your application. To find out more, take a look at this page on the IRCC site.

The medical exam must be dated within the last year. It is also quite expensive and is not reimbursed. This is why we strongly recommend that you wait until you have received your invitation to apply before making an appointment with a designated physician.

All family members must pass the medical exams – even dependent children who are not coming with you.

You will need to submit this medical exam BEFORE submitting your application for permanent residence on the Canadian immigration site.

Photo Identification

You must provide two digital photos which meet the requirements for permanent residents as explained in this page. Photos taken in photo booths will not be accepted. They must have been taken by a professional photographer within the last 6 months.
Since the photo must be recent, we recommend that you wait until you have received an invitation to apply before visiting a photographer. Once selected, you may take the Canadian immigration PDF document with you to the photographer to ensure that they follow the requirements.

Proof of funds

You will need to provide a letter from your bank(s) showing the status of all your bank accounts, investments if you have any, but also debts, loans etc. If you do not have any outstanding debts or loans, it might be useful to ask your bank to clearly indicate this on the document. It should include the bank’s letterhead and contact details as well as your name and account details, the dates the various accounts were opened, the current account balance and the average balance over the last 6 months.

It is best to wait until you have obtained your invitation to apply before having this document issued by your bank(s). However, you can start talking to your bank about it now, explaining that you may need it in the next few months and that you only have 90 days to obtain it and submit it to the Canadian authorities.

Note: proof of funds is not required if you are already in Canada on a temporary work permit or if you have a valid job offer on your Express Entry profile. Canadian Experience Class applicants are also not required to provide proof of funds.

If you have had other names

If you, your spouse/partner, or your children have changed your name (after a marriage, for example) or used a nickname, you will need to provide proof of your name change.

Your family ties to Canada

In your Express Entry application, if you or your spouse/partner declared having a relative who is Canadian or a permanent resident in Canada and received points for doing so, you or your spouse/partner will need to provide proof of that relationship and of your relative’s citizenship or permanent resident status in Canada. You will also need to provide proof of your family member’s residence in Canada (e.g. rent, bills…) that is less than 6 months old. Again, we recommend that you do not collect these documents yet as they may not be valid when you are invited to apply.

For a more detailed list of documents

In addition to these documents, you will also have to fill out a number of forms which will appear on your account on the Canadian immigration website. You will have to provide information about your education, job, marital status, previous addresses, any trips or expatriations made, and information about your family. You can therefore start to think about these different questions (list your addresses, trips….) to be able to fill out your forms more easily if you are invited to apply.

Once you have submitted your documents

Once you have completed your whole file (don’t forget to attach the documents!) and paid the fees relating to permanent residence, you will be invited (via a biometric data collection instruction letter) to go to a Canadian-approved biometric collection centre to have your photo taken, your identity verified, and to provide your fingerprints. Once this is done, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada should be able to process your application (as long as it is complete) within 6 months. All the instructions can be found on the IRCC website: Submitting an application – skilled immigrants.

For more information!

The Canadian Embassy in France regularly organises information sessions (in person and online) for those who wish to learn about the Express Entry system.

If Express Entry sounds good to you and if you think you are eligible for one of the permanent residence categories, we recommend that you read the following links and related articles.

• The Canadian government page dedicated to this program
• An FAQ page with dozens of answers to any questions you may have
• Criteria for the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)
• The CRS points table
• A page explaining the selection of candidates for this program

Finally, there is an online assessment tool which allows you to self-assess without having to create a profile on Express Entry.