Canada Express Entry Stream

With the economic crisis prevailing in the country most of Sri Lankas try to migrate to another country in search of better future for their families. Although some have the required qualifications to migrate, they may not aware how to properly do it. Due to the high charges of the migration agents, they may never think of applying. Most of the countries have clearly mentioned their immigration policy and process in their official government websites. If you read them and gather more information from different sources, doing the initial part of this process is not a big deal.

Canada is very famous for their immigration process. People all over the world apply for Canada due to their simple and easy to do migration program. All the details are there in the Canadian government website. So, why not give it a try by yourself?

If you are interested in applying for Canadian PR, you need to follow the correct process and do these works. Canada has different migration programs. Out of them Express Entry System is very famous. That is the system that an outsider can apply for Canada PR. First what we need to do is check our eligibility for Canada PR. Eligibility is calculated based on a point scheme and these points depend on different factors like, age, education qualifications, English Language Proficiency, Work Experience, marital status etc. You can check your eligibility by using this link.https://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/crs-tool.asp

If your points are not competent, check how you can increase them. Increase English score, complete a master’s degree, learn French language are some of the things that you can do. More CRS points increase your chances to get and invitation to apply.

If you have sufficient CRS points the very first thing you can do is to check the Canadian equivalency of your educational qualifications. You need to do this with a Canadian accepted organization. This process takes around 01 month to 1 ½ months. So, it’s better to start the process in advance. There are number of accepted organizations, and I got my qualifications verified from WES. (World Education Services)https://www.wes.org/

In WES you can simply create your account and enter your educational qualifications in it. Then it will show you the cost that you need to pay. Once the payment is done, you will get a reference number. You need to go to your educational institute with this reference number and request them to send your certificates to WES. Keep in mind that the institute must send the certificates to WES from their end and WES doesn’t accept the certificates send by you. Once they receive all required documents, they will check the Canadian equivalency of your qualifications and send you a letter with another reference number. You can access this number in their portal too. This reference number is required to apply for the Express Entry.

Meanwhile you can take your IELTS or PTE exams to check your English language proficiency. If you choose to do IELTS always target to get at least band 8 for listening and band 7 for the rest. This score helps you to jumps up in the score list a lot. If you can get more than these scores it’s always the best and go for it. Before taking the test, you can practice number of tests available online.

Once you get the IELTS and WES reference numbers you are all set to apply for Express Entry.https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/submit-profile.htmlThrough this link you can again enter your recent details and check your eligibility. If you are eligible with your current score, you will be given a reference number. This number is required to apply for Express Entry.

Finally, with all hopes you can create an account in the Canadian Immigration site and express your interest for permanent residency.https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/account.html When applying another most important thing that you need to consider is to enter your correct job code (NOC) you are in. You can check your NOC code through this job classification list. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/eligibility/find-national-occupation-code.htmlIf you are in a high demanding job in Canada, chances are high for you to get an ITA (Invitation to apply). Your profile in the system is valid only for one year. If it is expired, you can again create a profile and apply. If you are married, both partners can create separate profiles and apply.

If your points are not competent enough the best thing is to mention that you like to live in rural areas too. Other thing is to apply for Provincial Nominee Programs. Most of the people don’t tend to apply for PNPs since they take such a long time to process like two years. Other thing is most of the PNP programs have their own immigration processes and they need job offers from the province to apply directly for the program. Otherwise, they pick people from the main Express Entry stream. The only PNP program that you can apply without a job offer is the Saskatchewan Provincial Nominee Program.

After applying you can anytime make changes to your application. If you get a high score for the English test or complete another qualification, you can update it anytime. While waiting for an ITA always try to do something to get more points and climb up in the pool.

After applying for PR, you will get special access to Canadian job market. You can apply for the advertised jobs. If you are lucky enough you might get an offer from an employer giving additional 600 CRS points for you. Sponsoring an employee from another country is not an easy task for a company. They need to follow a lengthy process and make payments to the government. There are some companies who have already completed the process. You can filter them in the job search. Apply for the jobs advertised by that kind of companies to increase the chances.

Applying for the Express Entry doesn’t mean that you have applied for the PR. It is just and Expression of Interest (EOI). If you get selected, you will get an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residency. Then only they will decide whether they give PR or not. After applying, cross your fingers and wait.

All the very best for all….