8) What is the Express Entry immigration system?
Express Entry is an electronic management application system for immigration to Canada.
It is not a new immigration program. Rather, it facilitates the selection and processing of Canada’s economic immigration programs:
- the Federal Skilled Worker Class,
- the Federal Skilled Trades Class,
- the Canadian Experience Class, and
- a portion of the Provincial Nominee Programs.
Applicants submit an “expression of interest” (EOI) in immigrating to Canada and, if they are eligible for at least one of the aforementioned programs, they then enter the Express Entry pool, where they are ranking according to the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The federal government then selects candidates from this pool, who receive an Invitation To Apply (ITA) for immigration to Canada under one of the programs. Express Entry moves Canada from a first come, first served (or supply-driven) system to an invitation to apply (or demand-driven) system. Modeled on similar systems in use in Australia and New Zealand, Express Entry aims to fast track the processing of skilled immigrants deemed most likely to succeed in Canada.
We have an entire FAQ page dedicated to Express Entry.