Many people think Express Entry is just a numbers game: get a high Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, and you’ll get invited to apply for permanent residence (PR).
While certainly important, it isn’t the only thing that ultimately decides success—factors like eligibility for certain draw types, timing of profile creation, and submitting a complete, strong application on time can be just as impactful.
See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams and categories
To be considered for PR through Express Entry, you must meet all requirements (work experience, language, education) for at least one Express Entry program managed by the system, otherwise you will be unable to enter the candidate pool and pursue PR.
In this article, we will cover the top factors that can help you succeed in getting permanently settled in Canada through the Express Entry system—beyond just having a high CRS score.
The candidate stage
Being eligible for a category-based draw
Many candidates focus only on boosting their CRS score, but one of the most practical ways to boost your chances of getting an ITA and therefore PR is simply being eligible for category-based selection (CBS)—which typically sees lower score cutoffs.
Category-based rounds are designed to invite candidates who align with Canada’s current priorities (filling critical labour shortages or increasing francophone immigration outside Quebec), which means eligibility can create an opportunity even when your CRS score is on the lower end.
By simply having *six months’ worth of work experience in a category-eligible occupation (abroad or within Canada) or meeting an NCLC level 7 in French, you can increase your chances of getting PR through Express Entry.
This is particularly beneficial for those who may not have a competitive enough CRS score to be invited in a Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw, or do not have a provincial nomination—meaning they don’t benefit from an extra 600 CRS points and cannot be invited through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) draw.
Consider Sophie, who has a CRS of 482 and no nomination, and as a result, has been stuck below typical CEC cut-offs (in addition to not qualifying for a PNP draw). She decides to gain six months of experience as a massage therapist abroad, which makes her eligible for the healthcare category. In the next healthcare-focused round, she receives an ITA, then submits an application to IRCC and gets PR.
Without CBS eligibility, she’d likely be waiting much longer until she could boost her score (e.g., through additional work or study) and become a more competitive CEC candidate.
*This applies to all occupational categories except the newly introduced Physicians with Canadian work experience category, which requires one year of in-Canada experience for three eligible NOCs.
Getting a provincial nomination through Express Entry
PNPs have access to the federal Express Entry system and regularly scan the pool in search of candidates that may meet their demographic and economic needs, which they can invite to apply for provincial nomination (adding 600 CRS points to one’s score) through an enhanced provincial stream.
PNPs select candidates based on information included in their Express Entry profile, inviting candidates based on factors like fitting targeted occupations, local work or study experience, or alignment with regional economic needs.
By ensuring your profile accurately reflects all your qualifications, you increase your chances of a PNP deeming you a desirable candidate and getting a provincial nomination—which, once obtained, qualifies you for PNP draw selection for which the selection pool is narrower.
For example: Farah has been working in Nova Scotia for one year and has a CRS score of 470 (too low for recent CEC draw cutoffs). The province scans the pool and sees she has one year of work experience in their province, making her eligible for the Nova Scotia Nominee Program‘s “Experience: Express Entry” stream, and sends her an invitation to apply for provincial nomination. She succeeds, updates her Express Entry profile, and then is drawn in the next PNP draw.
Building eligibility for a CEC draw
If you don’t qualify for a category-based draw, and you don’t have a provincial nomination—which thereby makes you eligible for PNP draws—building eligibility for the CEC by gaining one year of Canadian work experience and getting invited through a CEC draw is likely your only option. This is because IRCC no longer holds:
- General draws;
- “No Program Specified” draws;
- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)-specific draws; or
- Federal Skilled Trades Program-specific draws.
IRCC hasn’t held a non-CEC program draw since February 2023 (which was for the FSWP).
Further, with cut-off scores for CEC draws continuing to decline as of late, CEC candidates no longer need to have CRS scores in the mid-500s to receive an invitation. In fact, the last CEC draw on January 21 saw a 509 cutoff, meaning candidates who previously had no chance of getting invited through a CEC draw due to high cutoffs are now more likely to be eligible for an ITA.
See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams and categories
Time of profile creation
If multiple candidates have the same CRS score at the cut-off, IRCC uses a tie-breaking rule to decide who gets invited. In those cases, invitations go to candidates who submitted their Express Entry profile before a specific date and time listed in the ministerial instructions.
Two people can have identical CRS scores, but the person who entered the pool earlier will be invited first, giving them an advantage.
To illustrate: Jack and Kathy both have a CRS score of 510 and want to be invited through a CEC draw. A CEC draw is held, and the cut-off is 510—with a tie-breaking stamp of May 10 at 2:00 pm. Jack submitted his profile at 1:40 pm on May 10, and Kathy submitted at 2:15 pm the same day. Jack gets invited to apply for PR first, simply due to him submitting his profile earlier.
Maintained profile accuracy
Ensuring your profile is kept up-to-date and reflects your real-world circumstances will help you avoid declining an ITA due to factors like an inflated CRS score, expired language tests, or changes in family composition, allowing you to proceed with your application and successfully get PR through Express Entry.
It’s important to understand that if you receive an ITA due to an incorrect CRS score, you must recalculate your points and confirm you still meet the draw’s cut-off—if your updated score falls below that threshold, you’ll need to decline your ITA.
By keeping your profile accurate (and thereby your CRS score), you increase the likelihood of getting (and retaining) an ITA and succeeding in getting PR.
Further, keeping your profile up to date can also help you get an ITA early based on your anticipated score for factors like work experience even if you’re short at the time of receipt, due to the way the system counts it (months and years)— you just need to ensure you indeed have met work experience requirements by the time you apply for PR within 60 days of getting an ITA.
Note that if there are inaccuracies within your candidate profile, these will be revealed at the application stage (e.g., through inability to provide supporting documentation) and may result in PR refusal.
The applicant stage
Ensuring you’re admissible to Canada
Admissibility (e.g., criminal, health) is a major factor in Express Entry success because PR approval still depends on passing required checks—regardless of your CRS or whether you received an ITA.
Applicants must complete an immigration medical exam, and IRCC may also require medical exams for family members, even if they are non-accompanying. The department can deny your application due to medical inadmissibility, but you may be eligible to overcome that ruling and succeed in immigrating through Express Entry.
Police certificates are another common obstacle: candidates who have lived abroad (or in several countries) often face long processing times, and IRCC expects you to secure the right certificates or show proof of best efforts. And if IRCC finds you criminally inadmissible, you may not be able to immigrate through Express Entry. If you do have a record, pursuing criminal rehabilitation (if eligible) or checking if you qualify for deemed rehabilitation can help you overcome a criminal inadmissibility finding and successfully get PR.
Further, in-Canada individuals should always maintain a legal status (visitor, student, or worker) while in the country. Status management (extensions, compliance with permit conditions, etc.) can be a decisive factor independent of CRS. IRCC notes that if you are in Canada on an expired work permit and continue to work anyway, it can “make you ineligible for Express Entry.”
Meeting the PR application deadline
A high CRS score can earn you an ITA, but success in Express Entry also depends on meeting the next hurdle: submitting a complete PR application within the mandatory 60-day window.
That deadline includes filling out the application form and uploading all required documents—often things that take time to obtain, like employer reference letters with duties and hours, police certificates from multiple countries, translations, medical exam results, and proof of funds (when required).
Take the following example of a June 1 CEC draw (deadline July 31) in which Priya and Lin both get invited. Priya started gathering documents early on, before even getting her ITA, and got them all finalized and ready by June 28. Lin underestimated the amount of time it would take to get a police certificate from China and didn’t secure it until August 1, so his ITA expired, and he couldn’t submit his PR application.
As you can see, being “invitation-ready” is a winning strategy on your journey to getting PR. Not being invitation-ready can cost you, too—if you let an ITA expire, you get removed from the pool and then have to create a new profile (which may prove disadvantageous in the future in terms of IRCC’s tie-breaking rule).
See your eligibility for all Express Entry streams and categories