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

Creating an Express Entry Profile

Start by thoroughly reading the instructions on this subject which can be found on the Canadian authorities site: Completing your profile (skilled immigrant).

Once you have done your language test(s) (mandatory for all categories) and had your educational credentials assessed (if applicable) by an accredited organisation, you can create your Express Entry account via the Coming to Canada questionnaire on the Canadian immigration site.

If you have an application for a temporary work or study permit in progress (such as a WHV or Young Professionals permit), it is entirely possible to create your profile on the Express Entry system. These two processes can be carried out at the same time.

Go to the Coming to Canada questionnaire and answer all the question honestly.

If you already have an account on the Canadian immigration site, you may use this. From the homepage of your account, click on “Start an application to come to Canada” then “Express Entry” on the next page.

After answering the eligibility questions on the Coming to Canada questionnaire, you will be asked to fill out some information about your marital status, contact details, education, work experience, language proficiency, funds available upon your arrival in Canada, etc. The Canadian authorities will carry out thorough checks on all the information provided if you are selected from the applicant pool, so it’s better to be honest!

Once you have filled out all this information, submit your profile on Express Entry. If you are eligible for one of the 3 categories (FSWP, FSTP, CEC), then you will be added to the applicant pool. If you have a valid permanent job offer (which has undergone a Labour Market Impact Assessment or LMIA), there is nothing more you can do except wait. Otherwise you will be prompted to create your profile on Job Bank using a “jobseeker validation code”. Registration with Job Bank is no longer required as of June 2017. However, bear in mind that a reserved job offer could earn you an additional 50-200 points.

Once you have set up your profile, you will have the chance to modify the information provided at any time, as long as you have not been selected. This can be useful if you have perhaps taken a new language test and got a better score, or if you have earned a new degree or done more work experience, etc.

Depending on the number of points you have earned (the Canadian authorities will give you the total), you will be able to see if there are ways of improving your score to increase your chances of being selected (by taking an additional test, doing retakes, etc).