Express Entry: Canada's Main Route to Permanent Residence for Skilled Workers

Express Entry is not a visa. It is an application management system run by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). It handles permanent residence (PR) applications for three federal economic programs:

• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW): for skilled workers with foreign or Canadian experience.
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC): for people with at least one year of skilled work experience in Canada.
• Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST): for qualified tradespeople.

Provinces and territories also use the Express Entry pool. Many Provincial Nominee Program streams are "enhanced," which means they pick candidates from the pool. A provincial nomination adds 600 CRS points, which almost guarantees an invitation.

Express Entry is for people who plan to live outside Quebec. Quebec runs its own selection system; see the Quebec hub.

Under the 2026-2028 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada plans about 109,000 Express Entry admissions in 2026.

You must first meet the rules of at least one of the three programs. The pool will not accept your profile otherwise.

CLB means Canadian Language Benchmark, the scale IRCC uses to rate language test results. TEER is the Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities category of your job in the National Occupational Classification (NOC).

Use our CLB converter to turn test scores into CLB levels, and the FSW 67-point calculator if you are applying under FSW. The CEC vs FSW comparison explains which program fits you.

Once you are in the pool, IRCC ranks you with the Comprehensive Ranking System. The maximum score is 1,200 points.

The biggest single boost is a provincial nomination, worth 600 points. Strong French can add up to 50 points. Canadian post-secondary study adds 15 or 30 points, and a brother or sister aged 18 or older who lives in Canada and is a citizen or permanent resident adds 15.

Job offer points are gone. As of March 25, 2025, IRCC removed the arranged employment points (previously 50 or 200) from the CRS for everyone in the pool. A job offer can still matter for eligibility, for example under the Federal Skilled Trades Program or the FSW 67-point grid, but it no longer raises your CRS score.

Estimate your score with our CRS calculator and read CRS explained for ways to raise it.

IRCC holds "rounds of invitations," usually called draws. In each draw it sets a number of invitations and a minimum CRS score. Everyone at or above the cutoff who meets the draw's rules gets an Invitation to Apply (ITA). If two people have the same score, the one who submitted their profile first ranks higher.

There are three main types of draws:

• General draws that are open to all three programs.
• Program-specific draws, for example only the Canadian Experience Class or only provincial nominees.
• Category-based draws for people with strong French or recent experience in targeted occupations. See category-based draws for the 2026 list.

Cutoff scores change from draw to draw. For example, draw #444 on September 16, 2026 was a category draw for senior managers with Canadian work experience: it invited 250 candidates with a cutoff of 389, when about 226,793 candidates were in the pool. Track recent results on our Express Entry draws tracker, and check the 2026 categories status page for the latest changes.

Before you create a profile, you usually need:

• A language test that is less than 2 years old. For English, IRCC accepts IELTS General Training, CELPIP-General, and PTE Core. For French, it accepts TEF Canada and TCF Canada. See language tests and IELTS vs CELPIP.
• An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) if you studied outside Canada and want points for it (required for FSW). See ECA credential assessment.
• A valid passport or travel document.
• Your NOC code for each job you claim.

After an invitation you will also need police certificates, a medical exam, reference letters, and proof of funds if your program requires it. Our proof of funds calculator shows the current amounts.

Creating a profile is free. After an Invitation to Apply (ITA), you pay IRCC's fees.

As of September 2026 (fees rose on April 30, 2026), IRCC charges these fees for economic programs such as Express Entry and the PNP, in Canadian dollars:

Biometrics cost $85 per person, or $170 for a family applying together. Check the IRCC fee list before paying, because fees change. You also pay for language tests, the ECA, medical exams, and police certificates.

After an ITA you have 60 days to submit a complete application. IRCC aims to process most Express Entry applications in about 6 months, but real times vary. Check the IRCC processing times tool or our processing times page for current times.

• Claiming the wrong NOC code. Your duties must match the NOC description, not just your job title.
• Overstating experience or language scores. IRCC treats false information as misrepresentation, which can lead to a 5-year ban.
• Letting documents expire. Language tests expire after 2 years. Your profile expires after 12 months.
• Using unlicensed representatives. Only authorized representatives can charge you for immigration help: lawyers, Quebec notaries, and licensed consultants (RCICs) are the main ones. See how to verify a lawyer or consultant and scam protection.

If you have a past refusal, a criminal record, or a medical issue, read about inadmissibility and talk to a lawyer or licensed consultant (RCIC) before you apply.