If you have qualified work experience, you may apply for permanent residence (PR) under Express Entry.
What is Express Entry?
Express Entry is a computerized system. It manages the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Trade (FST), and Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
Express Entry itself is not an immigration program.
How does Express Entry work?
First of all, you shall determine if you are eligible for any of the above programs. If you don’t know how, we can help you.
Once you meet the eligibility requirements, you can go ahead and create an Express Entry profile.
You will need to enter the required information. This information includes your work experience, education, English and/or French skills, and some personal details.
After you have completed all the steps, the system will automatically determine if you are eligible.
You do not need evidence when creating an Express Entry profile. However, you must only enter truthful information because you will need to prove it when you apply for PR.
If you are eligible, the system will place your profile in a pool while you are waiting for an Invitation to Apply (ITA). If the system finds you ineligible, you may go back and see if you entered information correctly.
Your profile will also receive a score. This is called a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. The system selects people in the pool with the highest scores and sends them an ITA. You may apply for PR when you have received this ITA.
Each time when the system selects candidates, it tells you the lowest CRS score in that round of invitation. Each round of invitation may focus on one program or all.
How to increase the CRS score?
Now you can see that you may be eligible for a program, but you can’t apply for PR because your CRS score is low. Therefore, you should try to increase your score.
The following factors affect your CRS score:
Age,
Education in and outside Canada,
English and/or French skills,
Work experience in and outside Canada,
Job offer in Canada,
Provincial or territorial nomination.
There are other factors that also affect your CRS score. For example, if your spouse or common law partner comes to Canada with you.
Again, you shall not attempt to increase your score by entering untrue information. Remember you will eventually need to prove the information you entered.
Express Entry and PNP
If you have a nomination certificate from a province or territory in Canada, you will receive 600 CRS points. This means you will most likely receive an ITA.
Once you are in the pool, a province or territory may send you a letter to your Express Entry account and invite you to apply for nomination. For some provinces such as Ontario, that is the only way to apply. However, other provinces such as Nova Scotia allow people to apply for nomination even if that province has not sent the letter.
Things to know when applying for PR?
You can only apply for PR when you have received an ITA. You have 60 days from when you receive the ITA to submit your application.
Your application must include all required documents. The most important documents are the ones that prove your identity and CRS scores.
Note that some documents may take a long time to obtain. To ensure that you do not miss the deadline, you shall start collecting your documents as early as possible.
If you do not wish to apply, you may decline the ITA. If you decline your ITA or miss the deadline, you won’t be able to submit your application. You may create a new Express Entry profile if you want to apply again.
Can I immigrate to Canada as a family?
You may include your spouse or common law partner in your application. If you have children, they can also come with you to Canada. However, your children must be less than 22 years of age, and they do not have a spouse or common law partner of their own.
Can I work in Canada while waiting for my PR?
If you have submitted your application while working in Canada, you may apply for a new work permit if your current one is about to expire. The new work permit is called Bridging Open Work Permit.
Your spouse in Canada may also apply for an open work permit.
Express Entry and LGBTQ immigration
Many LGBTQ people wish to move to Canada either for work or study. They will want to become permanent residents. In fact, both work experience and education in Canada will be helpful for their PR application.
Further, some of the LGBTQ individuals may already be eligible for PR without having to work or study in Canada.
Note that Express Entry allows you to include your same sex spouse or common law partner. They can also be non-binary.
Book a consultation today, we can help you with your questions.
What do we do?
We work with LGBTQ people and help with their journey to Canada. At LegalRoots, client experience is what we care about. We also create a safe and friendly place for those who wish to discuss their matters with us freely.
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