Express Entry

Let’s face it: immigrating to a new country can be a long process. But what if there was a faster way to become a permanent resident in Canada? An “express” way. You’re in luck because there is something called “Express Entry” in Canadian immigration for skilled workers!

Express Entry (EE) has a few different programs that fall under it: Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), and Federal Skilled Trade Program (FSTP). They each have different requirements but they all:

  • Have a pool (collection) of all potential immigrants for the program.
  • A Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to score your ability in various aspects like education, work experience, language ability, and more. The higher your score, the greater your chances of being invited to apply.
  • A draw where potential candidates are chosen above a certain CRS score.

What program fits best for you? That’s something Wellspring Immigration can help you with. At a quick glance, here are the basic requirements for each program:

Federal Skilled Worker Program

According to the Government of Canada website, the requirements for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) are:

  1. Skilled work experience
    1. This means you have work experience at Managerial, Professional, or Technical/skilled trades jobs. You will need to prove you have this experience in your application, as well as it’s your intended job when you come to Canada.
    2. The job needs to have been paid work and within the last 10 years.
    3. You must prove there was at least 1 year of continuous work (1,560 hours) at that job.
  1. Language ability
    1. You must take an approved language test in English or French in Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking.
    2. You need to get a minimum score of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 in all
      abilities.
  2. Education
    1. Have a certificate, diploma or degree from a Canadian secondary institution (high school) or a post-secondary (college/university) institution, or
    2. Completed an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for immigration purposes from
      a designated organization showing your education is equal to a completed certificate,
      diploma, or degree from a Canadian institution as listed above in part a.

There’s a number of other factors that will help you score more points in the CRS as well as if you meet the requirements for the program. So, don’t get too wrapped up in the details, let us help you out from here.

Federal Skilled Trades Program

The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) has a number of similarities to FSWP, but is primarily focused on the trades. What are trades? Here’s some examples: electricians, carpenters, welders, chefs, cooks, butchers, bakers.

In Canada’s Nation Occupational Classification (NOC) for jobs, there are 6 major groups of trades and are divided even further into different sub-sections.

The minimum requirements for the FSTP are:

  1. Skilled work experience
    1. This means you have experience working at the trades job you are applying under and is your intended job when you come to Canada.
    2. The job needs to have been paid work and worked 2 years at the skilled trade within the last 5 years.
  2. Language ability
    1. You must take an approved language test in English or French in Reading, Writing, Listening, and Speaking.
    2. You need to get a minimum score of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 in Speaking and Listening, and CLB 4 in Reading and Writing.
  3. Job offer or Canadian certification
    1. You have a valid job offer of full-time employment for a total period of 1 year or more, or
    2. Certification of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial, or federal authority.

Those are the basics, but there is more than just the above, so let us know you’re interested in the FSTP and we’ll help you the rest of the way.

Canadian Experience Class

Have you worked in Canada previously and now you want to become a permanent resident? You have? That’s perfect because Canada has an immigration program just for you!

The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program was designed for people who have already worked in Canada in the last 3 years and have accumulated 1,560 hours of skilled work experience here.

Not just any job in Canada qualifies, though. You need to have skilled work experience, which means you need to have worked in a job with a Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC) of one or more of the following:

  • Managerial jobs (skill level 0)
  • Professional jobs (skill type A)
  • Technical jobs and skilled trades (skill type B)

Minimum requirements for the CEC are:

  1. Language ability
    1. Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 for NOC 0 or A jobs or
    2. CLB 5 for NOC B jobs.
  2. Skilled work experience
    1. Have at least 1 year (1,560 hours) of skilled work experience in Canada, in the last 3 years.
    2. Gained the skilled work experience in Canada while as a temporary resident with authorization to work in Canada (you worked in Canada legally with a work permit).

That’s a short list, but there are more requirements and other ways to help improve your CRS score, so contact us for more details.