Connect with us
Connect with us
Are you in the Express Entry pool already? Do you expect to be invited for your PR either through Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, or Federal Skilled Trades? Are your documents ready? Do you know that under the Express Entry stream there is typically no procedural fairness letter, and you can be refused even for an incorrectly scanned document which is not the original? If you’re in the pool, you need to have your documents ready as the Express Entry draws have started with two rounds a month.
Let’s get started with the basics of the documents for Express Entry:
For the checklist, when do people need it to be ready? At what point is this checklist valid? At what stage of the process?
The checklist will be generated by IRCC when the applicant receives the Invitation to Apply (ITA) and fills into the answers the additional questions on the portal which open up for you after the ITA; the applicant then has 60 days in order to complete those questions and upload all the requested documents for the PR application otherwise the invitation to apply will no longer be valid.
Do you want to find out if you´re eligible for Canadian Immigration? Get a FREE assessment with us and we will help you throughout your immigration journey. Click here and fill out the form.
What are the documents I should expect to be asked to upload for the Express Entry, after receiving the invitation to apply (ITA)?
1: Make sure All the documents must be in English or French – or officially translated.
2: You need your valid Passport copy – all pages
3: You need an Upfront Medical Examination if you are inside Canada when applying:
4: Based on the recent policy announced by the IRCC, for those applicants who are inside Canada, they need to complete their upfront medical examination before activating their CEC profile and there is no point for medical.
5: Your proof of employment such as the Employment letter(s) which should include your job Duties, position, address, company logo, email address, manager/supervisor name and signature, wage, start date, end date if applicable, full-time or part-time. Do you need any support regarding your proof of employment? Get a FREE assessment with us and we will support you throughout your Express Entry application, click here.
6: All your paystubs are required – this is not in the document checklist but highly recommended if you really want to prove your work experience. It's recommended to have paystubs which show the hours adding up to 1560 hours (paystubs for past 12 months) for each year you are claiming work experience overseas or inside Canada. If you are self-employed, this is mandatory.
7: Your valid language exam document such as IELTS/CELPIP/TEF/TCF – they should be general and not academic otherwise you will be refused – and issued in the 2 years as of the date of the ITA.
8: Proof of your education: degrees, diplomas and transcripts, AND Validation of previous studies: Credential assessment for education degrees from one of the 7 designated organizations on the IRCC website.
9: You and your dependent’s Birth Certificates and marriage certificate if you are married or proof of your common law relationship including a declaration form by IRCC IMM 5409E which we recommend being notarized.
10: Background declaration: which is just the questions on the portal which open up for your when the ITA is received.
11: Police clearance certificate from your home country or any countries where you have lived more than 6 months since the age of 18. If you left from your home country as of the age of 18 or 19 and studied in the US and then came to Canada: guess what you will need one from your home country, the US FBI clearance check. You don’t need one from Canada – this is a common question many people ask us.
12: Completing the form to explain all your travels in the last 10 years.
13: Copy of your Study permit and/or work permit in case you were or are now inside Canada.
14: Family information which should be completed by the answering online form through the portal when you receive the ITA.
15: Receipt of paid application fees it is required after receiving the ITA.
16: Your valid job offer if you are claiming 50 or 100 points or if you are in the Federal Skilled Trades category – which would mean the employment contract of your Canadian employer, and a copy of the approved LMIA – even if it was from one year ago, as long as you have an updated current dated employment letter verifying the previous offer, it is acceptable.
17: The other important documents are for those who claimed work experience from their back home and the IRCC checklist only asks for the work reference letter, but we ask our clients to provide, work contract if applicable, social insurance history and paid income taxes + payslips or proof of receipt of salary.
18: If for some reason the supporting documents mentioned above are hard to obtain, it is important to provide proof that you tried to get those documents and an explanation for not being able to provide them. A best effort should be proven, and the onus is on you as the applicant – the IRCC officer won’t just accept any plain excuse without proper proof.
19: And here’s a bonus tip for anyone who is reading this article: if you have below 490 points in the Express Entry pool right now and you have no Canadian work experience, you don’t have a lot of chances of applying for your PR –why are you still just sitting there? Either come to Canada and gain work experience to boost your chances or come and study. If you’re a mature applicant who can’t or doesn’t want to study, then we have a solution for you. Reach out to us and we’d be happy to give you a solution! Get a FREE assessment with us, fill out this form, click here.
If you’re thinking about immigrating to Canada through Express Entry, Studies, Work, Sponsorship, or Business, you’re at the right place! We are licensed in Canada, and we help applicants like yourself and your families. Get a FREE assessment now, click here.
