Since January 2015, the skilled foreign workers have been provided access to Canada Express Entry. It is a new form of electronic application management system that helps people to migrate to Canada.

A point to note here is that it applies to some key economic Immigration Programs of Canada that include the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and a few of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP).

Do note that the Canada Express Entry does not refer to any new immigration program. Rather, it is just a new way in which the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) manages the online economic immigration applications to provide the Canada Permanent Resident Visa. It will lead to faster processing in the case of skilled foreign workers. In fact, candidates may even be able to secure a job even before they arrive in Canada!

While it used to take 12-14 months or even longer to process an application for Canada Permanent Resident Visas earlier, now it will take just six months or even lesser.

Also, it allows the provinces to make use of the Express Entry pool to find the right candidates for their various Provincial Nominee Programs. This way the Canadian employers can have a greater say and play a more direct role in this kind of economic immigration. Candidates who are in the Express Entry pool are able to increase their chances to migrate to Canada as they are invited to apply as they can now promote themselves to the employers directly.

This kind of new and improved Job Bank of Canada helps to connect the Express Entry candidates directly with Canadian employers and makes economic integration much faster as soon as immigrants arrive in Canada.

It has a two step application process. The first step includes creating an online express entry profile and next step is the invitation to apply (ITA).

The Candidate Express Profile remains valid for a year. In case the candidate still wants to continue the application process, they need to fill in the profile yet again. In addition, educational credentials assessments along with language results have to be submitted. This will lead to points which can be added towards the Express Entry Score.

This way the program is beneficial to the candidates as well as for the Canadian government.