May 20, 2025

How to Create an Express Entry Profile

Posted by Ana Martinez - Bellissimo Law Group PC

Express Entry is an online system that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) uses to manage immigration applications for three (3) programs:

Canadian Experience Class – for skilled workers with eligible Canadian work experience
Federal Skilled Worker Program – for skilled workers with eligible foreign or Canadian work experience
Federal Skilled Trades Program – for skilled workers who are qualified in a skilled trade

Please note the following terms mentioned in the chart below:

Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB): The CLB is the Canadian standard used to measure the English language ability of immigrants.
Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC): The NCLC is the Canadian standard used to measure the French language ability of immigrants.
National Occupation Classification (NOC): The NOC is a list of all the occupations in the Canadian labour market.
Training, education, experience and responsibilities (TEER): The NOC has 6 TEER categories. A TEER category is based on the education and training needed for an occupation.

Each of these programs has different requirements [1]:

	Language Skills	Work Experience	Amount of Work Experience	Job Offer	Education
Canadian Experience Class	CLB 7 for TEER 0 or TEER 1 occupations CLB 5 for TEER 2 or TEER 3 occupations	Canadian work experience in an occupation listed in 1 or more of these NOC TEER Categories: TEER 0 TEER 1 TEER 2 TEER 3	1 year in Canada in the last 3 years (either combination of full-time or part-time work)	Not required	Not required
Federal Skilled Worker Program	CLB 7	Work experience in an occupation listed in 1 of these NOC TEER Categories: TEER 0 TEER 1 TEER 2 TEER 3	1 year continuous within the last 10 years (combination of part-time, full-time or more than 1 job in your primary occupation)	Not required	Secondary education required
Federal Skilled Trades Program	CLB 5 for speaking and listening CLB 4 for reading and writing	Work experience in a skilled trade under key groups of TEER 2 or TEER 3: Major Group 72, technical trades and transportation officers and controllers [excluding Sub-Major Group 726, transportation officers and controllers] Major Group 73, general trades Major Group 82, supervisors in natural resources, agriculture and related production Major Group 83, natural resources and related production Major Group 92, processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors, and utilities operators and controllers Major Group 93, central control and process operators and aircraft assembly assemblers and inspectors [excluding Sub-Major Group 932, aircraft assemblers and aircraft assembly inspectors] Minor Group 6320, cooks, butchers and bakers Unit Group 62200, chefs	2 years within the last 5 years (either combination of full-time or part-time work)	Required: a valid job offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least 1 year, or a certificate of qualification in the above skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial or federal authority	Not required

Individuals can check if they meet the minimum requirements of Express Entry by using IRCC’s Come to Canada tool.

If you are eligible, depending on the category under which you will be applying, you will need to gather specific documents and have them ready before you apply. If the eligibility requirements are met to come to Canada as a skilled immigration, a profile for Express Entry must be submitted to the Express Entry pool.

If you are eligible, you will be:

placed in a pool with others who are also eligible
given a score and rank you using several factors
invited you to apply to be a permanent resident of Canada (if you’re one of the top candidates)

Create your Express Entry profile

Prepare your documents.
Create/sign in to your IRCC secure account.
If you used the Come to Canada tool, enter your personal reference code when prompted.
Enter your personal details to create a profile.
Submit your profile – you have 60 days to complete and submit your Express Entry profile. Otherwise, you will have to start again.
Based on the information you enter, IRCC will figure out which program(s) for which you are eligible and may invite you to apply.

How your profile is ranked

Individuals get points based on the information in their profile, including are, education, language skills, and work experience.

To be chosen from the pool and invited to apply, you need to have one of the highest-ranking scores when IRCC sends out the rounds of invitations. If you are invited, you can apply for permanent residence.

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is the points-based system used to assess and score your profile and rank you in the Express Entry pool.[2]

How the rounds work

IRCC will:

choose the type of round:
- General rounds of invitations: invite top-ranking candidates in the pool who are eligible for 1 of the 3 programs managed through Express Entry
- Program-specific rounds of invitations: invite top-ranking candidates who are eligible for a specific Express Entry program
- Category-based rounds of invitations: The Minister establishes a category to meet a specific economic goal. We then invite top-ranking candidates in the pool who are eligible for this category [3]
decide the number of candidates they need to invite.
identify the highest-ranking candidates from the pool who are eligible for the chosen round type.
invite these candidates to apply for permanent residence.

If you have any questions regarding Express Entry program and whether you are eligible to apply, contact our office to book a consultation.

Thank you for reading.

[Sources]

Ana Martinez

Ana graduated from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom with a Bachelor of Laws (Juris Doctor). During this time, she participated in mooting and negotiation competitions as well as mentorship and human rights initiatives. Prior to law school, Ana graduated from the University of Toronto with a double major in Criminology & Socio-Legal Studies and Italian Studies. Ana is fluent in Spanish.

Request a Consultation