When is my best moment for Express Entry?

Everyone knows about the Express Entry; the program deployed by the Government of Canada where candidates who are aspiring for a permanent residence are able to try and qualify for an express entry. In short, the Express Entry program evaluates all candidates (and spouses if applicable) where you are competing against others to qualify. The Express Entry program then run periodic draws where candidates with the highest points get an ITA.

We will analyze how it works, and what options you have to increase your score. You do not need to have a Ph.D. to immigrate, all you need is to know how to score in the system.

Express Entry Invitation Statistics

The Government of Canada documents all the round of invitations. So, let's take a view into the one done last July 19th, 2018. Please note that numbers may vary, what we want to show is how a point makes a difference between waiting and starting to work on your application.

Points	Candidates	%
0-600	87106	99.72%
601-1200	244	0.28%

So, everyone is below 600 points. Lets review that part with a 50 points range.

Points	Candidates	%
0-300	3246	3.72%
301-350	19755	22.62%
351-400	34174	39.12%
401-450	28830	33.01%
601-1200	244	0.28%
Total	87350

We can say, the third part of the candidates are in the 401-450 range.

Points	Candidates	%
401-410	7002	8.02%
411-420	6675	7.64%
421-430	5952	6.81%
431-440	8379	9.59%
441-450	822	0.94%
Total	28830	33.01%

This tells us that, in order to get an invitation, you should be in the 441-450 range. Maybe the upper part of the 431-440 range. This depends on the number of invitations issued.

Please note this numbers may change with time, but it is just a quick analysis to understand how a point makes the difference between getting or not an invitation.

Understanding the CRS

The CRS divides your points into two parts. Each one of 600 points each. The maximum points a candidate can possibly get is 1200. The first part gives you points directly for who you are; the second part gives you points for what you can do for Canada.

If you are married or in common-law and your spouse is coming with you, 40 out of 600 points are assigned he or she (about 8%). So, you can have a maximum of 560 points and your spouse 40.

The second part gives you points for things such as transfer of knowledge, ability to adapt, current job situation, or the interest of a given province or territory.

The truth is, it is unlikely a person gets the 1200 points, you should be a genius who is between 20 and 29 years old, who has at least a Ph.D., at least two years of working experience and a minimum CLB of 10 on the four language abilities in your first language, and a CLB of 7 or more in the second language. Because this sounds almost impossible for most of the people, we will talk about real live scenarios where you can get the most of the points.

Scenario 1: Bilingual Profesionist

You are a single professional in your late twenties with a bachelor diploma, medium English skills who has been working for at least two years in your country. You do not have any direct relative in Canada. You don't speak French at all.

Here it is the possible break down:

Sadly, this 320 score is not enough to get an invitation, you are missing 121 points to be in the game. What would you need to do to improve your points taking care of money or time?

• Improve your English, there is a maximum score of 128 points.
• Study some French, you may get a basic skill of CLB 5 and earn 4 easy points.
• Study a Master's, having a master's degree gives you 126 points on education. A master's degree may take up to 2 years, and you will lose about 10 points because of the age; however, it will enable you to get between 25 and 50 extra points of transferable skills, depending on your language skills. 

Scenario 2: Bilingual Trader

You are a married person who has been working on a trade occupation for five years, you are 33 years old, medium English skills who has been working for at least two years in your country and you are currently employed in Canada for 1 year. You do not have any direct relative in Canada. You don't speak French at all. Your wife has medium English as well and has been working on a trade occupation for 5 years as well in her country; currently, she does not work in Canada.

Here it is the possible break down:

Wow, this 446 score is enough to get an invitation. As you see, it is not always the education, but other factors such as having a job in Canada with a Work Permit. What would you need to do to improve your points taking care of money or time?

• Improve your English, there is a maximum score of 128 points
• Study some French, you may get a basic skill of CLB 5 and earn 4 easy points
• Your spouse should start working, to restore the points you may lose because of the age

Scenario 3: Trilingual Profesionist

You are a married professional in your mid-thirties with a master's degree, good English skills and a little of French as well. You have been working for at least two years in your country. You do not have any direct relative in Canada nor experience working there. Your spouse is professional with a bachelor degree as well with medium English.

Here it is the possible break down:

Sadly, this 411 score is not enough to get an invitation, you are missing 10 points to be in the game. What would you need to do to improve your points taking care of money or time?

• Study some French, you may get a medium skill of CLB 7 and earn 34 easy points (for the language, 30 for the French bonus).
• Get one more year of foreign experience, with three years (or more) you will get 25 extra points.

Scenario 4: International Student

You are a single person in your late twenties who came to Canada to study at the university. You have finished your studies and you have got your bachelor degree. You are currently enjoying a work permit and you have been working for at least one year in Canada. Your English is good, you do not speak French at all.

Here it is the possible break down:

And you are in!  What would you need to do to improve your points taking care of money or time?

• Study some French, you may get a medium skill of CLB 7 and earn 34 easy points (for the language, 30 for the French bonus).
• Get one more year of Canadian work experience, you will get 25 extra points, 12 because of the experience, 13 because of the transferable skills.

Final Thoughts about how to Improve your Express Entry Score

• Canada does not care about how much your spent for schooling. If the degree you have is recognized with its proper equivalence, you are in.
• You should focus on the languages. A CLB 9 in English or CLB 7 in French is your main objective. The system will always give you extra points for that.
• Your optimal work experience, foreign and Canadian is of two years each.
• Being in Canada as a worker (employee) gives some employment points (depending on the kind of employment).
• If you are lucky, and already have a job in Canada, the optimal work experience for the main applicant is two years.
• In general, from the age of 30, you will lose 5 points per each year you get older, so if you are improving something that takes more than a year, make sure it gives you more than five points.

In these examples, we assume you already did your language exams and your studies equivalency assessment. If you are having doubts, or your situation is more complex than this, we recommend you to contact one of the immigration consultants, they will help you to define a strategy.