Canada welcomes skilled immigrants because of its declining workforce and has already set a target of inviting 450,000 immigrants in 2024. With the use of point-based immigration, Canada offers more transparency in the process and also allows you to pre-determine your eligibility for a PR Visa.
What are the factors to check whether you are eligible for a Canada PR Visa?
The fastest possible way to apply for a Canada PR Visa is the Express Entry, where an ideal PR Visa application takes around 6 to 8 months to process. Express entry program manages the application of the immigrants who have applied for PR Visa through three major immigration programs:
- Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
- Federal Skilled Trade Program (FSTP)
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
To apply for a PR Visa through the Express entry program as a skilled worker, you have to score 67 out of 100 points in the FSW assessment grid. These scores are awarded based on the following factors.
Language Proficiency
First Official Language (Maximum 24 Points)
CLB Level | Speaking | Listening | Reading | Writing |
| CLB 9 or higher | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| CLB 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| CLB 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Below CLB 7 | Not eligible to Apply | Not eligible to Apply | Not eligible to Apply | Not eligible to Apply |
Second Official Language (Maximum 4 Points)
CLB Level | Score |
| At least CLB 5 | 4 |
| CLB 4 or lower | 0 |
Age
Age (In Years) | Score |
| Under 18 | 0 |
| 18-35 | 12 |
| 36 | 11 |
| 37 | 10 |
| 38 | 9 |
| 39 | 8 |
| 40 | 7 |
| 41 | 6 |
| 42 | 5 |
| 43 | 4 |
| 44 | 3 |
| 45 | 2 |
| 46 | 1 |
| 47 or older | 0 |
Educational Qualifications(Maximum 25 Points)
Education Level | Score |
| University degree at the Doctoral (Ph.D.) level or equal | 25 |
| University degree at the Master’s level or equal OR University level entry-to-practice professional degree | 23 |
| Two or more Canadian post-secondary degrees or diploma or equal (Duration of one must be at least 3 years) | 22 |
| Canadian post-secondary degree or diploma for duration of 3 years or more, or equal | 21 |
| Canadian post-secondary degree or diploma for duration of 2 years, or equal | 19 |
| Canadian post-secondary degree or diploma for duration of 1 year, or equal | 15 |
| Canadian high school diploma, or equal | 5 |
Work Experience (Maximum 15 points)
Experience (in years) | Score |
| 1 | 9 |
| 2-3 | 11 |
| 4-5 | 13 |
| 6 or more | 15 |
Arranged Employment (Maximum 10 points):If the candidates immigrate to Canada with a full-time permanent job offer from an eligible employer of the province. The job offered for the occupation, that occupation must be categorised under NOC skill level O, A, or B.
Adaptability (Maximum 10 points): If the candidate has a relative living in Canada as a permanent residence or citizen, additional scores are awarded for the same. Maximum 10 points are awarded under this category.
Adaptability | Score |
| Spouse’s or partners language level | 5 |
| Candidates past studies in Canada ( Min 2 years of full-time study at a secondary-post secondary school) | 5 |
| Spouse’s past studies in Canada (Min 2 years of full-time study at a secondary-post secondary school) | 5 |
| Candidate’s past work (Min 1 year of full-time work experience in Canada) | 10 |
| Spouse’s past work (Min 1 year of full-time work experience in Canada) | 5 |
| Arranged employment | 5 |
| Candidates or Spouse’s relatives in Canada | 5 |
You can check your points with our Express entry points calculator and know your PR Visa points.
If in case you are not able to get 67 out of 100, you can do the following things to increase your score:
- Get a job offer from Canada
- Increase your language skills
- Pursue another higher education degree, diploma, or certificate
How to apply for a Canada PR Visa?
After you scored 67 and met the minimum requirements as a federal skilled worker, you are eligible to create an express entry profile online. After submitting your EOI (Expression of Interest) profile, it is pooled with other candidates’ profiles in the express entry pool. The express entry program uses a ranking system known as CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) that assesses profiles based on various factors and awards points for the same.
The highest-ranked profiles in the pool are issued invitations through frequently held express entry draws. After getting an ITA (Invitation to Apply), you will have 60 days to submit your PR Visa application to the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) along with all the required documents.
How does the CRS calculator work?
As mentioned above, Express entry uses CRS to rank profiles in the pool. CRS score is awarded based on two factors in the express entry score calculator:
Core factors
Maximum 600 CRS points are awarded based on these core factors that include:
- Core/ Human Capital factors
- Skill Transferability factors
- Spouse or Common-law partner factors
Additional factors
Under the additional factors maximum of 600 CRS points are awarded based on the following factors:
- Provincial Nomination
- Canadian education like degrees, diploma or certificate
- Valid job offer
- French language proficiency
- Siblings living in Canada as a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
IRCC issues ITAs through frequently held express entry draws. In each express entry draw, IRCC sets the CRS score cut-off, inviting only those profiles who meet the minimum CRS score requirement.
You can check your CRS score with the help of our Canada immigration points calculator and know your chances of getting an ITA in the latest rounds of invitations.
How to increase your CRS score?
- Improve your language skills: If you score well on IELTS, your CRS score will improve. For example, if you get a CLB level 9, you will get up to 136 points added to your CRS score. Taking a French language test can also add up to 72 points.
- Get a provincial nomination: If you receive a nomination from a Canadian province, you will receive an additional 600 CRS points for your Express Entry profile.
- Get an LMIA job offer: If you receive a job offer recognized by the Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from a Canadian employer, you can add up to 200 points to your CRS score.
- Canadian education: Up to 30 additional points can be earned for a recognized degree or diploma in Canada.
How Candid Immigration Can Help You?
We at Candid Immigration have assisted thousands of individuals to successfully immigrate to Canada with their families through the Federal Express Entry Program. Our qualified and experienced Immigration Experts are equipped with the proficiency to accurately assess your case and advise the most suitable course of action for best serving your needs.
Candid Immigration has accumulated a treasure of goodwill and exhaustive experience over the last 16+ years in this dynamic immigration industry and has constantly facilitated a wide range of aspiring immigrants to achieve their overseas goals.
We are among the top-most brands in the Immigration sector being a highly reliable immigration firm with an outstanding track record of several thousands of triumphant PR Visa applications. The following major factors make us the Best Immigration Consultant for a Canada PR Visa:
- Our Consultation is offered by authorized and licensed Immigration Consultants
- Step-by-Step guidance through eligibility and process
- We maintain a Secure Online Process & transparency
- System of Complaint Redress for any process
- Experience of having processed more than 30,000 applications
- Every Case is assessed multiple times before submission
- Easy evaluation of the qualifications and other skills
Frequently Asked Question
This will depend on the Canadian immigration visa office to which the application was sent and the type of family member being sponsored. Spouses, common-law partners, and dependent children are priorities and can take about a month, while parents and grandparents can take more than three years.