Ottawa — 

Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander today celebrated the successful launch of Express Entry – a highly anticipated new application management system designed to get people with the skills to succeed in Canada’s economy here faster than ever.

Starting today, skilled workers who want to apply to Canada’s key economic immigration programs are able to create an online profile and express their interest in coming to Canada permanently.

Candidates who meet the minimum criteria will be accepted into the pool and will be ranked according to various factors. These include language proficiency, education and work experience. Each is a leading indicator of one’s likelihood of integrating fully and quickly into Canada’s economy and Canadian society.

The highest ranking skilled workers will be invited to apply for permanent residence and most will see their application processed in six months or less. The first invitations to apply will be issued during the last week of January.

Express Entry marks major progress for skilled foreign nationals and employers alike. Express Entry will allow Citizenship and Immigration Canada to identify those who are most likely to succeed economically in Canada, instead of simply processing applications on a first-come, first-served basis. This will result in faster processing and will allow the Government of Canada to be more flexible and respond better to Canada’s changing labour market needs.

Quick facts

• Express Entry will manage applications for three federal economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program and the Canadian Experience Class.
• Provinces and Territories will be able to use the Express Entry system to select a portion of candidates for their Provincial Nominee Programs.
• Once candidates have been invited to apply for permanent residence they will need to complete the immigration process, which includes health and security checks. Complete applications will be processed in six months or less.
• Canada has admitted more than 1.6 million new permanent residents since 2006, and will admit between 260,000 and 285,000 in 2015 alone. There are many reasons the world’s best and brightest Choose Canada.

Quotes

“Our government is focused first and foremost on job creation and economic growth. With the launch of Express Entry, Canada will be able to attract skilled newcomers who can succeed in, and help grow Canada’s economy.”

“Successful Express Entry candidates will be able to hit the ground running and start contributing to our communities, labour market and economy more quickly than ever before.”

“In my time as Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister, I have made backlog elimination a top priority. Express Entry will help eliminate long wait times and get eligible skilled foreign nationals to Canada in six months or less.”

Chris Alexander, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister