Express Entry to Canada Program
The Pilkington Immigration Law Firm works with skilled workers who wish to apply for permanent residence through express entry to Canada under the three programs. Below are summaries of each of the programs; our lawyers will go into all of the details with you about each of them and advise you on which program is a fit for you:
Skilled Worker Program:
This program is for skilled workers with foreign work experience who want to immigrate to Canada permanently. To be eligible, you must meet all of the minimum requirements for paid skilled work experience, language ability, and education. If the minimum requirements are met, the application is assessed based on age, education, work experience, whether you have a valid job offer, English and/or French skills, and how well you are likely to settle here. Requirements also include showing proof that you have enough money to settle in Canada unless you are currently able to legally work there or have a valid job offer from an employer there, and you must also consider it admissible to Canada.
Skilled Trades Program:
This program is for skilled workers who want to become permanent residents based on being qualified in a skilled trade. To be eligible, candidates must meet the required language levels for writing, reading, listening, and speaking, have at least 2 years of full-time paid work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work experience) in a skilled trade within the 5 years before applying, meet the job requirements for that skilled trade as set out in the National Occupational Classification, except for needing a certificate of qualification, have a valid job offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least 1 year or a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial, or federal authority. Requirements also include showing proof that you have enough money to settle in Canada unless you are currently able to legally work there or have a valid job offer from an employer there and are admissible to Canada.
Canadian Experience Class:
This program is for skilled workers who have Canadian work experience and want to become permanent residents. Candidates must meet the required language levels for writing, reading, listening, and speaking, have at least 1 year of skilled work experience in Canada in the last 3 years before applying (there are a few different ways this may be calculated), and have gained work experience by working in Canada while under temporary resident status with authorization to work. You are not eligible for Canadian Experience Class entry if you are a refugee claimant in Canada, working without authorization, or working without work experience was gained without temporary resident status in Canada. There is no education requirement, but you must be admissible to live in Canada.
Based on your education, work experience, language scores, education in Canada, job offers, and family ties, we will create a profile submitted twice per month for the Express Entry Draw. Once you receive an invitation and apply for permanent residence, IRCC will send invitations to apply to the candidates with the highest scores in the pool. If they invite you to apply, you will have 60 days to submit your application for permanent residence. We can assist in preparing the express entry to Canada program application that applies to you, which is typically processed in six to eight months.
For additional information or to begin the process of applying for one of the express entry programs, give us a call today at (888) 712-9757, or fill out our online contact form to request an appointment.
The points are calculated as follows:
Summary of maximum points per factor for Express Entry candidates
A. Core / human capital factors
Points Per Factor | With a spouse or common-law partner | Without a spouse or common-law partner |
Age | 100 | 110 |
Level of education | 140 | 150 |
Official languages proficiency | 150 | 160 |
Canadian work experience | 70 | 80 |
B. Spouse or common-law partner factors
Factors (Maximum 40 points) | Points per factor |
Level of education | 10 |
Official language proficiency | 20 |
Canadian Work Experience | 10 |
A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors=Maximum 500 points (with OR without a spouse or common-law partner)
C. Skill Transferability factors (Maximum 100 points)
Education
Factors (Maximum 50 points) | Points per factor |
With good/strong official languages proficiency and a post-secondary degree | 50 |
With Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree | 50 |
Foreign work experience
Factors (Maximum 50 points) | Points per factor |
With good/strong official languages proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark [CLB] level 7 or higher) and foreign work experience | 50 |
With Canadian work experience and foreign work experience | 50 |
Certificate of qualification (for people in trade occupations)
Factors (Maximum 50 points) | Points per factor |
With good/strong official languages proficiency and a certificate of qualification | 50 |
A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Transferability factors=Maximum 600 points
D. Additional points
Factor (Maximum 600 points) | Maximum points per factor |
Brother or sister living in Canada (citizen or permanent resident) | 15 |
French language skills | 30 |
Post-secondary education in Canada | 30 |
Arranged employment | 200 |
PN nomination | 600 |
A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors + C. Transferability factors + D. Additional points=Grand total – Maximum 1,200 points
Points breakdown, section by section
CRS – A. Core / human capital factors
With a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 460 points total for all factors.
Without a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 500 points total for all factors.
Age | Points Per Factor |
With a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 100 points | Without a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 110 points |
17 years of age or less | 0 | 0 |
18 years of age | 90 | 99 |
19 years of age | 95 | 105 |
20 to 29 years of age | 100 | 110 |
30 years of age | 95 | 105 |
31 years of age | 90 | 99 |
32 years of age | 85 | 94 |
33 years of age | 80 | 88 |
34 years of age | 75 | 83 |
35 years of age | 70 | 77 |
36 years of age | 65 | 72 |
37 years of age | 60 | 66 |
38 years of age | 55 | 61 |
39 years of age | 50 | 55 |
40 years of age | 45 | 50 |
41 years of age | 35 | 39 |
42 years of age | 25 | 28 |
43 years of age | 15 | 17 |
44 years of age | 5 | 6 |
45 years of age or more | 0 | 0 |
Level of Education
Level of Education | Points Per Factor |
With a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 140 points | Without a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 150 points |
Less than secondary school (high school) | 0 | 0 |
A secondary diploma (high school graduation) | 28 | 30 |
One-year degree, diploma, or certificate from a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institutes | 84 | 90 |
A Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institutes | 91 | 98 |
Bachelor's degree OR a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institutes | 112 | 120 |
Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years | 119 | 128 |
Master's degree, OR professional degree needed to practice in a licensed profession (For “professional degree,” the degree program must have been in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, law, chiropractic medicine, or pharmacy.) | 126 | 135 |
Doctoral level university degree (Ph.D.) | 140 | 150 |
Official languages proficiency - the first official language
Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking, and listening):
- Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability
- With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 128 points)
- Without a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 136 points)
Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability | Points Per Factor |
With a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 32 points | Without a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 34 points |
Less than CLB 4 | 0 | 0 |
CLB 4 or 5 | 6 | 6 |
CLB 6 | 8 | 9 |
CLB 7 | 16 | 17 |
CLB 8 | 22 | 23 |
CLB 9 | 29 | 31 |
CLB 10 or more | 32 | 34 |
Official languages proficiency - the second official language
Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking, and listening):
Official languages proficiency - the second official language Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability | Points Per Factor |
6 with a spouse or common-law partner (up to a combined maximum of 22 points) | 6 without a spouse or common-law partner (up to a combined maximum of 24 points) |
CLB 4 or less | 0 | 0 |
CLB 5 or 6 | 1 | 1 |
CLB 7 or 8 | 3 | 3 |
CLB 9 or more | 6 | 6 |
Canadian work experience
Canadian work experience | Points Per Factor |
With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 70 points) | Without a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 80 points) |
None or less than a year | 0 | 0 |
1 year | 35 | 40 |
2 years | 46 | 53 |
3 years | 56 | 64 |
4 years | 63 | 72 |
5 years or more | 70 | 80 |
Subtotal: A. Core / human capital factors
With a spouse or common-law partner – Maximum 460 points
Without a spouse or common-law partner – Maximum 500 points
CRS – B. Spouse or common-law partner factors (if applicable)
Spouse’s or common-law partner’s level of education
Spouse’s or common-law partner’s level of education | Points Per Factor |
With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 10 points) | Without a spouse or common-law partner (Does not apply) |
Less than secondary school (high school) | 0 | n/a |
Secondary school (high school graduation) | 2 | n/a |
One-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or another institute | 6 | n/a |
A Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical in school, or another institute | 7 | n/a |
Bachelor's degree OR a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or another institute | 8 | n/a |
Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years | 9 | n/a |
Master's degree or professional degree needed to practice in a licensed profession (For “professional degree,” the degree program must have been in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, law, chiropractic medicine, or pharmacy.) | 10 | n/a |
Doctoral level university degree (Ph.D.) | 10 | n/a |
Note: (n/a) means that this factor does not apply in this case. |
Spouse's or common-law partner's official languages proficiency - the first official language
Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability (reading, writing, speaking, and listening)
Spouse's or common-law partner's official languages proficiency - first official language Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability | Points Per Factor |
With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 20 points) | Without a spouse or common-law partner (Does not apply) |
CLB 4 or less | 0 | n/a |
CLB 5 or 6 | 1 | n/a |
CLB 7 or 8 | 3 | n/a |
CLB 9 or more | 5 | n/a |
Note: (n/a) means that this factor does not apply in this case. |
Spouse's Canadian work experience
Spouse's Canadian work experience | Points Per Factor |
With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 10 points) | Without a spouse or common-law partner (does not apply) |
None or less than a year | 0 | n/a |
1 year | 5 | n/a |
2 years | 7 | n/a |
3 years | 8 | n/a |
4 years | 9 | n/a |
5 years or more | 10 | n/a |
Note: (n/a) means that this factor does not apply in this case. |
Subtotal: A. Core / human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors=Maximum 500 points
CRS – C. Skill transferability factors (Maximum 100 points for this section)
Education
With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 7 or higher) and post-secondary degree Points for CLB 7 or more on all first official language abilities, with one or more under CLB 9
Education and language proficiency | Points for CLB 9 or more on all four first official language abilities (Maximum 25 points) | Points for foreign work experience + 2 years or more of Canadian work experience (Maximum 50 points) |
No foreign work experience | 0 | 0 |
1 or 2 years of foreign work experience | 13 | 25 |
3 years or more of foreign work experience | 25 | 30 |
Certificate of qualification (trade occupations) – With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 5 or higher)
Certificate of qualification (trade occupations) and language proficiency | Points for the certificate of qualification + CLB 5 or more on all first official language abilities, one or more under 7 (Maximum 25 points) | Points for the certificate of qualification + CLB 7 or more on all four first official language abilities (Maximum 25 points) |
With a certificate of qualification | 25 | 50 |
Subtotal: A. Core / human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Skill transferability factors - Maximum 600 points
CRS – D. Additional points (Maximum 600 points)
Additional points Maximum 600 points
Factors for additional points | |
Brother or sister living in Canada who is a citizen or permanent resident of Canada | 15 |
Scored NCLC 7 or higher on all four French language skills and scored CLB 4 or lower in English (or didn’t take an English test) | 15 |
Scored NCLC 7 or higher on all four French language skills and scored CLB 5 or higher on all four English skills | 30 |
Post-secondary education in Canada - credential of one or two years | 15 |
Post-secondary education in Canada - credential three years or longer | 30 |
Arranged employment - NOC 00 200 | |
Arranged employment – any other NOC 0, A, or B | 50 |
Provincial or territorial nomination | 600 |
Subtotal: D. Additional points – Maximum 600 points
Grand total: A. Core / human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Skill transferability factors + D. Additional points=Maximum 1,200 points