Federal Skilled Worker

This job code is referred to as your "NOC code" in the Express Entry profile.

You will need this information again, so make sure to write it down and keep it with the other papers you need, such as your passport.

You can use IRCC online tool, Come to Canada, to see if you meet the criteria to get into the Express Entry pool. It will take you about 15 minutes.

You will need your language test results, your NOC skill type or level described above and your Education Credential Assessment (ECA).

When you get to the end, a reference number will show on the screen. Write it down. You will need it later when you go to build your profile.

If you get a positive result from Come to Canada, it will send you to your account. If you do not already have an account, you will need to create one. Then you will fill out an Express Entry profile to tell CIC about your:

• identity
• contact information
• education in more detail
• work experience in more detail
• language
• family who would come with you to Canada (dependants)

You will need:

• your passport or travel document (or other national identity document, if you do not have one of these)
• your NOC job title and code (see Before you start, above)
• your language test results (either IELTS, CELPIP or TEF)
• your Educational Credential Assessment result, if you have one (see Before you start, above)
• a copy of your written job offer from an employer in Canada, if you have one
• a copy of your provincial nomination, if you have one, and
• your personal reference code from the Come to Canada tool, if you have one. (It looks like this: JM1234567890. IRCC uses it to bring the answers you provided in the tool into your account so you do not have to answer the questions again. If you go to the profile builder directly through your account, you will not have one.)

1. Follow the instructions to create an account if you do not already have one. The system will give you a number that you will use each time you sign in.
2. If you have a personal reference code from the Come to Canada tool, enter it when it prompts you. If you do not have a code, go to Step 3.
3. Enter your personal details, work experience, education, etc.

(Note: You may exit the profile at any time. Your information will be saved. But, if you do not complete the Express Entry profile in 90 days, you will not be able to submit it and will have to start again.)

4. Submit your profile online.

If you meet the Express Entry criteria, including the requirements for at least one of the three immigration programs, you will be accepted into the Express Entry pool of candidates. If you are invited to apply for permanent residence, IRCC will tell you at that time which program to apply under.

Important: Submitting an Express Entry profile does not mean you have applied for permanent residence, or that you will be invited to. If IRCC invites you to apply, you will then need to give IRCC more information in your application for permanent residence.

Consider registering with Job Bank

Note: It is now optional to create a Job Match account with Job Bank.

If you are in the Express Entry pool, you can start your job search by creating a Job Match account with Job Bank. Once you come to Canada, you can continue using Job Bank to find a job.

A Job Match account with Job Bank is an easy, online tool to help match you with employers looking for workers with your skills. To create an account:

• go to the Job Match sign-in page
• click the “Sign up now!” button
• read the privacy notice and click “I agree”
• follow the instructions to create an account

The Express Entry pool

If you meet the requirements, IRCC will place you into the Express Entry pool of candidates. You will get a message in your account to let you know.

You will be given a score using a ranking system based on factors that have been shown to help immigrants prosper in Canada. The higher your score, the more likely you are to be invited to apply for permanent residence. IRCC plans to issue Invitations to Apply to candidates from the pool regularly.

If you are accepted into the Express Entry pool, you should start getting any supporting documents you may need for your application for permanent residence. You could get an invitation to apply at any time.

You will have a better chance of being invited to apply if you:

• are nominated by a province or territory, or
• have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada.

You will get extra points for these factors.

Note: you must update the information in your profile if your situation changes. For example, if:

• there are changes to your work experience.
• you get a different language test result,
• you complete more education,
• there is a change in your family, such as the birth of a child or a divorce, or
• one of your children is no longer a dependent (including if they turn 19 during this time).

• have been nominated by a province or territory, or
• are among the top ranked in the pool based on your skills and experience.

If you are invited, you will have 90 days to apply online for permanent residence.

You must submit a complete application with all supporting documents or IRCC will reject your application.

Once you complete your application and submit it online, IRCC will process it quickly. IRCC processes most applications through Express Entry in six months or less, but this is just an estimated time,your application may take longer depending upon your circumstances.. (This period starts on the date IRCC gets a complete application and ends on the date a final decision is made.)

You will have to include copies of all documents IRCC asks you for, like police certificates, before IRCC will process your application. To keep your application from being rejected, you may want to get some of these documents ready while you are in the Express Entry pool.

Skilled work experience

Your work experience must be:

• in the same type of job as your primary NOC
• within the last 10 years
• paid work (volunteer work, unpaid internships don’t count)
• at skill type 0, or skill levels A or B of the 2011 National Occupational Classification (NOC)
• at least 1 year (1,560 hours total / 30 hours per week), continuous:
• full-time at 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
• equal amount in part-time: 15 hours/week for 24 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
• full-time at more than 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months at more than 1 job = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)

You must show that you did the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC, including all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.

If you cannot show that your work experience meets the description in the NOC, you are not eligible under this program.

You must:

• meet the minimum language level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7, and
• take a language test approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) that shows you meet the level for speaking, listening, reading and writing.

You must show that you meet the requirements in English or French by including the test results when you complete your Express Entry profile. Your test results must not be more than two years old on the day you apply for permanent residence.

You must have:

• a Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree,

OR

• a completed foreign credential, and
• an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from an agency approved by CIC. [The report must show your foreign education is equal to a completed Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree.]

Six selection factors

If you meet all the conditions set out in the minimum requirements, IRCC will assess your application based on the selection factors in the federal skilled worker points grid.Footnote1

The selection factors are:

• your skills in English and/or French (Canada’s two official languages),
• your education,
• your work experience,
• your age,
• whether you have a valid job offer, and
• your adaptability (how well you are likely to settle here).

To see how many points you might get,

You must show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada, unless you:

• are currently able to legally work in Canada, and
• have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada.

If you are married or live with a common-law foreign national partner in Canada, and that person also meets the above conditions, you can decide which one of you will apply under Express Entry as a principal applicant.

A common-law partner is a person who has lived with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. Common-law partner refers to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

Look at each selection factor and see which one of you is most likely to meet the eligibility requirements and earn the most points. That person should apply as the principal applicant.

1. You must be admissible to Canada. Find out more about inadmissibility.
2. You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec.

Once you’re in the pool: skilled immigrants (Express Entry)

IRCC will put you in the Express Entry pool of candidates if IRCC finds your Express Entry profile eligible. You’ll be in the pool for one year from the day you get in.

IRCC will give you points based on the information you provided in your profile (skills and experience). IRCC will rank you using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

There will be regular rounds to invite the top-ranked candidates in the pool to apply for permanent residence. IRCC may invite you to apply if you’re among them.

You must have an invitation to apply before you can apply online for permanent residence.

Make sure that you give IRCC a valid email address. To invite you to apply for permanent residence, IRCC will send a message to:

• your account
• your personal email address

Note: It is now optional to create a Job Match account with Job Bank.

If you are in the Express Entry pool, you can start your job search by creating a Job Match account with Job Bank. Once you come to Canada, you can continue using Job Bank to find a job.

A Job Match account with Job Bank is an easy, online tool to help match you with employers looking for workers with your skills. To create an account:

• go to the Job Match sign-in page
• click the “Sign up now!” button
• read the privacy notice and click “I agree”
• follow the instructions to create an account

If IRCC doen’t invite you to apply for permanent residence after a year of being in the pool, your Express Entry profile will expire.

• If you still want to come to Canada as a skilled immigrant, you’ll need to complete and submit a new profile.
• If you meet minimum entry criteria, IRCC will give you a new Express Entry Profile Number.

Get your application for permanent residence ready

If IRCC invites you to apply, you will have 90 days to fill out and submit your application. Some documents (for example, police certificates) may take longer than 90 days to get. You should start applying for these documents right away, so that you have them ready and can apply within the 90-day time limit.

Try to improve your score

There are things that you can do to improve your score and increase your chances of being invited to apply. For example, you may want to:

• secure a valid job offer using:
• Job Bank, or
• by promoting yourself to employers in Canada using private sector job boards,
• contact provinces and territories to be considered in a Provincial Nominee Program,
• improve your language score,
• improve your education, or
• gain more relevant work experience.

Be sure that your profile is fully up-to-date and accurate.

If IRCC invites you to apply, you will be responsible for any information in your profile and application for permanent residence.

If IRCC finds that you misrepresented yourself (gave IRCC false information or left out important details), IRCC will refuse your application. In that case:

• your application could be refused,
• you could be found inadmissible, and
• you could be barred for five years from applying to come to Canada for any reason.