Before you even begin the process, checking your eligibility should be the first step on your list of things to do towards becoming a permanent resident of Canada. This is an easy step and the best is that it’s free. There are two parts to this step. First is meeting certain minimum conditions in order to be eligible. And the second is that you will be scored on 6 selection factors and you will have to score at least 67 points out of 100. These selection factor points are different from the CRS scores that will come later.
To put things in context, most of you should be able to clear the eligibility. The real work starts after that. But it’s good to know what makes you eligible or ineligible to apply. Let’s look at these two parts of eligibility and their sub-sections in detail.
Part I: Minimum Requirements
A. Skilled work experience
This means that you should have worked in one of these 3 NOC categories:
- Managerial jobs (skill type 0) – for example, human resource managers, marketing directors
- Professional jobs (skill level A) – for example, architects, doctors
- Technical jobs and skilled trades (skill level B) – for example, chefs, plumbers, electricians
Each job further has its own NOC codes under these categories. For example Human resources manager is under skill type 0 and has an NOC code of 0112. Check the NOC website to see the appropriate code for your job. Your job duties must broadly match with the NOC code that you choose from that list.
Some important considerations:
- If you have worked in different roles with different NOC codes, then you must select one of them as your primary occupation while applying. I had worked in 3 different roles, all with 3 different NOC codes and I chose the latest one as my primary occupation.
- This work experience must be within the last 10 years (which shouldn’t be a problem if you haven’t been off work for many years).
- It should have been a paid work, that is, you received salary or commissions for that work. Volunteering won’t make the cut here.
- You should have at least one year of continuous work or 1,560 hours in total (30 hours per week). This can be achieved in a few different ways:
- You worked full time in a job for 12 or more months (1,560 hours or more)
- You worked in one or more part time jobs that are equivalent to 1 year of full time work (1,560 hours). For example, working 15 hours a week for 2 years will be equal to 1 year full time work
- You worked full time in more than 1 jobs and you were able to manage 1560 hours (30 hours per week)
- Note: Any hours above 30 hours per week don’t count. For example, if you worked for 40 hours per week for 9 months, it will still be counted as 1,170 hours
B. Language ability
English and French are the two official languages of Canada and you must have a decent command of one of these. You will need to appear for one of the approved language tests such as IELTS for English.
In any language test you choose, you will be tested on four language abilities – listening, reading, writing and speaking. To be eligible, you must score a minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 in all four abilities. Your test results should not be more than 2 years old on the day you apply for PR.
Although, you may not have appeared for the language test yet and you may be wondering how much you will score. Don’t worry, because CLB 7 level is a very basic level for an English or French speaker as the highest level goes up to CLB 12. You may need to score a lot better than CLB 7 to eventually get your PR but at least you will not have to worry about eligibility if you can manage CLB 7.
Note: Do not mix up CLB levels with IELTS scores (or any other test scores for that matter). They operate differently. For example, the highest score in IELTS is Band 9, while CLB goes up to level 12. That’s why a CLB 7 is not the same as Band 7 in IELTS. Go through this page to understand how CLB and IELTS are related.
C. Education
To be eligible, you must at least have a high school or a post secondary education. If you studied in Canada, it won’t be a challenge but if you studied outside of Canada, you will have to get your education assessed to match with Canadian equivalency.
You will need to send your education transcripts to an evaluation agency, such as WES, which will assess your education and let you know, for example, whether your Bachelor’s degree from your home country will be considered equivalent to a Bachelor’s degree from Canada or not.
I am assuming if you are reading this, you probably have at least a high school level education. If yes, then don’t worry because education won’t be a concern for you to qualify.
D. Proof of Funds
You will need to show that you have a certain minimum amount of money with you to sustain your life in Canada without a job for a few months. The government asks for this requirement because many people who land as permanent residents don’t have a job lined up for them. It can take them a few months to get a job. During this period, you should have enough money to get by and not become dependent on government assistance.
For most of the people, who have worked for a few years, the minimum requirement should not be hard to meet. As of 2021, for a single person, you should have about $13,000 and for a couple you should have about $16,000. It goes up by 3 to 4 thousand dollars for every child. You can read more about the proof of funds requirements here.
However, if you already have a work permit or you have a valid job offer, then you won’t need to show your funds.
You will have to show the proof of your funds at a later stage, so don’t worry about the process just yet. Just ensure that you will have enough money to meet the requirements when the time comes.
E. Admissibility
It goes without saying that you must be admissible in Canada to even think about applying for PR. What it means is that the government should not have any reason to stop you from entering Canada. For example, if you committed a serious crime or were caught driving under the influence of alcohol in any country, you will become inadmissible and you may not even get a visitor visa.
Check out this page that lists the reasons that can make you inadmissible to Canada. Hopefully, you have been a good citizen and you would not have to worry about this criteria.
F. Where you plan to live
It may sound a little weird but if you plan to live in the province of Quebec, then you cannot apply through the regular Express Entry program for immigration. That’s because Quebec, which is majorly French speaking, runs its own immigration program suited for its needs. But if you want to settle in any other province, you can follow the Express Entry process.
Part II: Selection Factors
Once you clear the minimum requirements stated above, the next step for eligibility is to score enough points on the 6 selection factors. You need to score at least 67 points out of 100 to be eligible to apply for permanent residence.
Let me mention this once again to avoid any confusion. Once you become fully eligible to apply after scoring 67 or more points, you can create your Express Entry profile and then you will be ranked once again through a different scoring system called Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Once you clear the eligibility step, you won’t hear about those 67 points anymore. Just forget about them then. All that would matter is your CRS scores that will talk about in detail later.
Let’s see what these 6 selection factors are and how you get scored on them (you will notice that many of these factors were already considered in the minimum requirements above).
1. Language skills | Maximum points – 28
Since English and French are the two official languages of Canada, you can score points if you know one or both of them. Whichever language or test you apply for, you will be assessed on four sections – listening, reading, writing and speaking.
Earlier on this page, we introduced Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) system that gives you a score based on your language skills in each of the four sections. Like we mentioned earlier, you need at least CLB 7 in all four sections to qualify but if you score better in your language test, you will get even more points that will help you cross the target of 67 points!
You can score a maximum of 24 points in your first official language (let’s say that is English for you).
| First official language | Points for Speaking | Points for Listening | Points for Reading | Points for Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLB level 9 or higher | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 |
| CLB level 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| CLB level 7 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Below CLB level 7 | Not eligible to apply | Not eligible to apply | Not eligible to apply | Not eligible to apply |
As you can see, the better you score, the more points you get. However, if you score better than CLB 9, you won’t get any additional points.
You can also get 4 additional bonus points if you have average second official language skills (which will be French if you first official language is English)
| Second official language | Points |
|---|---|
| At least CLB 5 each in Speaking, Listening, Reading, Writing | 4 |
| CLB 4 or less in any of the four abilities | 0 |
2. Education | Maximum points – 25
Like we mentioned earlier, if you studied in Canada, this step becomes a bit easier for you but if you didn’t, that’s also fine. You just need to get your degree(s) assessed through an agency that will let you know where your degree stands in terms of Canadian equivalency.
Each type of degree gets you different points. Some of the most common are:
| Level of Education | Points |
|---|---|
| High school (Grade 12) | 5 |
| One year diploma | 15 |
| Two years diploma | 19 |
| Bachelor’s degree (3 or 4 years) | 21 |
| Master’s degree | 23 |
| Doctorate (Ph.D.) | 25 |
Some of the specialized degrees give you more points. For example, Bachelor or Law or Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy gives you 23 points instead of 21. Find more about your specific degree on this page.
If you have one or more of these degrees, only your highest degree will be considered for calculating points. For example, if you have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s, you will only get 23 points.
Your degree’s assessment may end up being a little different. For example, your Master’s degree may get assessed as a Bachelor’s in terms of Canadian equivalency. You can use this free tool from World Education Services (WES), one of the agencies recommended for educational assessment. However, this free tool may not be completely accurate but at least you will get some idea on your possible score.
3. Work experience | Maximum points – 15
You will also score points based on the number of years of work experience under your belt. Like we mentioned earlier, that work experience must be in Skill type 0, A or B. Part time work experience is also considered. For example, 2 years of 15 hours per week job will be considered as 1 year of full time job with 30 hours per week for the purpose of points calculation.
Your work experience can be in Canada or abroad. It can be full time or part time or when you were a student. Self employment is also considered.
| Work Experience | Points |
|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 0 |
| 1 year | 9 |
| 2 to 3 years | 11 |
| 4 to 5 years | 13 |
| 6 or more years | 15 |
4. Age | Maximum points – 12
This one is the easiest to figure out. You will get the maximum points if you are between 18 and 35. You won’t get any points if you are under 18. From 35, you will lose 1 point for every extra year of age. At the age of 47, you won’t get any points for age.
Remember, your age is considered based on the date your application is received. So, if you are planning to apply after your upcoming birthday, you may lose a point if you are already 35 or more.
| Age | Points |
|---|---|
| Under 18 | 0 |
| 18 to 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 and older | 0 |
5. Arranged Employment in Canada | Maximum points – 10
You can score 10 more points if you have a valid job offer in Canada. These are not any regular job offers. These jobs are hard to come by and require several conditions and approvals.
If you don’t have a job offer like that, don’t worry. Most of the applications don’t have either but they still qualify.
6. Adaptability | Maximum points – 10
These points are about how easy or hard it will be for you to adapt in Canada. For example, if you studied in Canada, it will be easier for you to find a job sooner because you already know how the job market works compared to someone who just arrived in Canada for the first time. Government gives more weightage to such applicants because they are more likely to settle sooner and start contributing to the economy faster.
You (and your spouse, if you have one) can score a maximum of 10 points even if you meet all of these conditions:
| Adaptability | Points |
|---|---|
| Your spouse or partner’s language level Your spouse has CLB 4 level or higher in English or French in all 4 language abilities (speaking, listening, reading and writing). | 5 |
| Your past studies in Canada You completed at least 2 years of full-time study in a program at least 2 years long at a secondary or post-secondary school in Canada. | 5 |
| Your spouse or partner’s past studies in Canada Your spouse completed at least 2 years of full-time study in a program at least 2 years long at a secondary or post-secondary school in Canada. | 5 |
| Your past work experience in Canada You did at least 1 year of full-time work in Canada in a job listed in Skill Type 0, A or B on a valid work permit. | 10 |
| Your spouse or partner’s past work in Canada Your spouse did at least 1 year of full-time work in Canada on a valid work permit | 5 |
| Relatives in Canada You get points if you, or your spouse have a relative who is living in Canada, is 18 years or older, and is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. This relative must be a parent, or grandparent, or child, or grandchild, or your or your spouse’s sibling, or your or your spouse’s aunt or uncle, or your or your spouse’s niece or nephew. | 5 |
What happens after you clear the eligibility
Once you clear the eligibility, forget about these 67 points. Throw them in a trash can and wipe them off your memory because all you’ll need to worry about after that is your CRS Scores because that will determine if you get PR or not.
We have tried to make this points system sound simpler for you but we would encourage you to check it on the official website as well.