Performance Report of Canada’s Express Entry immigration system

The introduction of the Express Entry system back in January 2015 was one of the biggest steps taken by the Canadian immigration system in its history. It marked a significant departure from the previous approaches taken by Canada when it comes to managing immigrants applications related to its main Economic Class immigration programs. Before the launch of the Express Entry, all the applications made under the Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC), Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC), and the Experience Class (CEC) were processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

By this method, all the candidates had their applications reviewed for sure, and then the ones who satisfied all the necessary requirements became eligible to receive permanent residence. They also had to go through an admissibility check when it came to health, criminality, and security.

On the other hand, the Express Entry system, the candidates eligible for programs like the FSWC, FSTC, and CEC and a part of Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) are given ranks. They are assigned a score based on the Comprehensive Ranking System or CRS. The CRS takes certain factors like age, skilled work experience, age, and language proficiency in English or French to evaluate the candidate and give a score. The highest-ranked candidates become eligible to apply for permanent residence in Canada via regular draws.

While the first-come, first-served approach did give a sense of assurance to applicants who managed to tick all the boxes, it had its own set of disadvantages.

The applications usually outnumbered the permanent residence spots, and that slowed down the process. This created significant backlogs, which could stretch for years on end, leaving candidates in uncertainty. With the arrival of Express Entry, the backlog became a thing of the past.

Candidates can improve their CRS scores by working on their language proficiency, obtaining extra work experience, getting a job offer in Canada or securing a provincial nomination.