Is a two-step online process based on a ranking system. It is introduced in January 2015 to help Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) select permanent residents based on their skills and experience. To qualify under Express Entry stream, the candidate has to create an online profile and enter the pool to compete with other candidates. Then, the system performs an assessment based on candidate’s marital status, age, education, work experience, language skills and other factors. Once the profile is created, the system then generates a score based on provided information and documents. The score can be increased if the applicant has an arranged employment offer from a Canadian employer or by improving their language skills. The candidates with higher score receive
the invitation to apply for the permanent resident status by CIC. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) has a maximum of 1200 points. Once the invitation letter is issued, the candidate has 60 days to apply for their permanent resident status to CIC. The processing time is 4-6 months. Note : A candidate can stay in the pool for a maximum of 12 months. If the candidate does not receive an invitation within the 12-month period, a new profile has to be created.