The Secret to Boosting your Canada Express Entry Application

The Canada Express Entry system has grown to be one of Canada’s most popular options for both young professionals, and also families looking to immigrate to Canada. Through this system, Canada successfully issued 107,350 invitations in 2020, and has increased their target to 108,500.

But how can you ensure, or increase the chances of being chosen to be sent an Invitation to Apply (ITA)? Well, join us as we take a look at some of the secrets to boosting your Canada Express Entry application.

Top Tips for Improving Your Application

When applying for Express Entry, you want to be sure that your application has the highest chance of being accepted. This can be done by ensuring that you receive the highest possible Comprehensive Ranking Score(CRS). But what is the CRS?

The Comprehensive Ranking System(CRS) is a point system that ranks Express Entry candidates who wish to move to Canada through one of three federal programs: The Federal Skilled Worker Program, The Federal Trade Program, and The Canada Experience Class.

The maximum points you can receive is 1,200, and it’s based on two main categories: Core points which takes into account your age, education, work experience, and language, as well as your additional points which is made up of your job offers and adaptability.

And because immigration through the Express Entry system has become so popular, the higher your CRS score is, the higher your chances become to be selected to receive an ITA.

So how can you ensure that you will receive the maximum amount of points? Let’s take a look at some of the ways you can improve your CRS score.

How to Boost your CRS score

1. Improve your language skills

Improving on your language skills is one of the easiest ways to up your CRS score and there are two ways you can go about doing so:

• Learning a second language; or
• Simply retaking the original language test.

The Canadian Language Benchmark goes up to level CLB 9 meaning that if you scored a level CLB 8 or lower, there’s still room to gain some extra points. And If you’re already fluent in English, why not try learning a second language? Canada awards an additional 22 CRS points to applicants who speak a second language and plan to move to Canada with their spouse or partner, and 24 CRS points if they plan on moving alone.

Top Tip: Do you want to boost your CRS score but don’t know how? Take our comprehensive IELTS Preparation course today and give yourself the upper hand when applying to move to Canada.

2. Increase work experience

When applying for your Canadian visa, it’s suggested that you have at least three years of work experience. If not, working for another year or two before applying can work in your favor as you can gain more skills leading to higher transferability points.

Are you already working in Canada on a temporary work permit? Great! Working within the country also counts as work experience. In fact, having work experience within Canada can make it possible for you to claim even more CRS points.

Top Tip: be sure to indicate that you are currently still employed within Canada when creating your Canada Express Entry profile, as your points can increase as you work.

Although the amount of points you can earn are limited, we still encourage you to list all your work experience and expertise, as it’s possible that one of your skills could be highly sought after within one of 11 provinces in Canada, and can lead to a Provincial Nomination!

3. Receiving a Provincial Nomination(PN)

The total number of points that can be earned with the Comprehensive Ranking System is 1,200, meaning that if you receive a Provincial Nomination(PN), you’re already halfway there as the Provincial Nomination awards you with 600 points.

In 2020, the CRS cut off scores ranged between 431- 808, meaning that if you did receive a PN, you would already have more points than the average amount, and you’d already have one foot in the door.

But what if my PN isn’t enough, you might ask. Well, that’s okay because you can easily earn an extra 100 points by being between the ages of 20-29. You can also earn additional points by having over three years of work experience, meaning that you can add another 115 points to your CRS score, and you’ll be good to go!

4. Hire a Recruiter

Are you struggling to find a job online before making your big move to Canada? Why not try using a recruitment agency.

Using a recruitment agency is a good way to help you broaden your list of options as these agents have access to large databases that allow them to keep track of job opportunities throughout the country. Recruitment agencies help you find the best possible jobs that suit your unique skill set, work experience and qualifications.

TopTip: Having a job offer when doing your Canada Express Entry application can give you an extra 200 points!

5. Complete Another Qualification

Completing another qualification can sometimes feel like a lengthy process, but overall it is worth doing when looking at the advantages of having another qualification under your belt. Not only will you be able to score human capital points, you’ll also receive more skills transferability points, making you a more desirable candidate.

Top Tip: Showing interest in your province of choice when doing your Express Entry Application can work in your favor. More and more spots for PNP are being allocated to Express Entry-linked Applicants, so be sure to do the most you can in order to land your spot!

Ready to Move to Canada?

Before doing your Express Entry application, making sure you meet the basic requirements for your application is vital. You will then follow this up by creating your Express Entry online profile that must be submitted with the following documents:

• National Occupation Classification (NOC)
• Passport
• Education credential assessment report
• Recent language tests, including the International English Testing System (IELTS) or Canadian English Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP), and/or Test d’Evaluation de Français (TEF)
• Canadian Job Offer (if you have one)
• Provincial Nomination (if you have one)