Skilled worker immigration
The profile you can build yourself. The strategy is what you are paying for. If you do not need a lawyer, we will tell you on the first call.
Overview
Express Entry is the federal system for managing skilled worker applications for permanent residence. It has been in place since 2015 and it manages three programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class.
You create a profile, the system scores it under the Comprehensive Ranking System, and you sit in a pool. IRCC then runs draws and invites candidates above a cut-off to apply. The cut-off is not a pass mark. It is wherever the line happened to fall in that draw, and it moves.
Two things follow from that. Your score matters, and so does which draws you are eligible for, because category-based draws have their own cut-offs and they are often lower.
The score
Your score comes from a maximum of 1,200 points, split across four groups. IRCC publishes the full Comprehensive Ranking System criteria.
Age, education, official language ability, and Canadian work experience. Language is the factor most candidates underestimate and the one most within your control, because you can retake the test.
Their education, language, and Canadian work experience count too, and it is worth calculating the score both ways with each of you as principal applicant.
Combinations of education, language, and experience that score more together than separately. This is where small improvements sometimes produce large jumps.
A provincial nomination is worth 600 points, which effectively guarantees an invitation. French-language ability, Canadian education, and a sibling in Canada also carry points.
What no longer carries points: a Canadian job offer. IRCC removed the arranged-employment points in 2025. If your plan assumed those points exist, it is out of date. Read our article on the proposed high-wage occupation factor for what is being considered in its place.
Cut-offs change with every round. IRCC publishes the cut-off and the number of invitations for each draw, and that is the figure to check before you compare your score to anything.
Category-based draws
IRCC does not only invite the highest scorers. It also runs draws targeting specific categories, which means a candidate with a mid-range score can be invited ahead of a higher-scoring candidate who does not fit a category.
The categories are set by IRCC and change from year to year. IRCC publishes the current list, and it is the list to check before you decide which draws you are in the running for.
Working out which categories you qualify for is often worth more than chasing another ten core points.
Our guide, Express Entry strategy: how to maximise your CRS score, goes through where profiles actually have room to improve.
The outcome
Permanent resident status does not expire. The PR card that proves it is valid for five years and gets renewed, but your status continues as long as you meet the residency obligation: 730 days physically present in Canada within every five year period.
Timing
IRCC’s service standard is six months from a complete application after an invitation, which it aims to meet for 80% of applications. IRCC publishes its current processing times, and that is the figure to rely on.
That clock starts when you submit after being invited, not when you create your profile. Time in the pool waiting for a draw is separate and depends entirely on your score and your categories. For some candidates that is weeks. For others it is years, or never.
Anyone quoting you a total timeline without asking your score is guessing.
How we work
Tell Josh what you are dealing with. You get legal advice on your actual situation, written next steps, and a flat fee for the work, before you commit to anything. We quote after we diagnose, never before.
You work in our secure client portal to assemble your documents. Our software handles the assembly and cross-checks the file against itself, which is why a lawyer reading every page personally still fits inside a flat fee.
A licensed Canadian lawyer reviews every page before it is filed.
Flat fees. Once you are a client, a reply within one business day. No surprises.
Why us
A strong profile with clean documents often does not need a lawyer. We would rather tell you that in your consultation than take a file we cannot improve.
Choosing the wrong NOC code, or claiming duties your employment letters do not support, is the most common serious error we see. It survives every rule change and it is the error that turns an invitation into a refusal.
If you are applying with a partner, we calculate the score both ways and file with whichever of you ranks higher. It is a simple check and it is skipped constantly.
Your fee does not move. HST and government fees are listed separately, so you can see what is ours and what is Ottawa's.
FAQ
Do not see your question? Ask us directly. A member of our team will reach out almost instantly.
Ask a questionClient results
“He easily spotted the mistake in my first Express Entry application and guided me through a second application which was recently approved.”
Irem Ayan
A caught mistake in a first application, and an approval on the second. This is what the NOC and documentation review above is actually for.
Every matter is different. Results vary, and past outcomes do not predict future ones.
Meet our founder
Founder
Josh is a Toronto-based lawyer who has been practising immigration law for more than nine years. He has helped thousands of individuals and companies navigate Canadian immigration, from work permits to permanent residence, study permits, citizenship, LMIAs and more, and he built the software this firm runs on. Josh always puts his clients first, and believes quick and thoughtful communication is most important to making the process as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Ready to get started
Share your education, work history, and language scores. A member of our team will reach out almost instantly to book your consultation, where a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer will tell you your realistic score, which categories you may qualify for, and whether you need a lawyer at all.