This page provides general legal information. Your eligibility and best next step depend on your facts and the rules in force when action is taken.
What Express Entry is
Express Entry is the federal online system used to manage applications for several economic immigration programs. For the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), current IRCC guidance requires qualifying Canadian skilled work experience, language results and admissibility, among other requirements.
Canadian Experience Class: work experience
IRCC currently requires at least one year (1,560 hours total) of qualifying paid skilled work experience in Canada in the three years before applying. The work must have been performed while authorized to work under temporary resident status. Self-employment and work gained while a full-time student generally do not count toward the CEC minimum, subject to specific exceptions.
Language and education
An approved language test is required and the minimum level depends on the occupation category. CEC itself has no education requirement, although Canadian education or a qualifying foreign credential with an educational credential assessment may improve Express Entry ranking.
Profile versus invitation
Creating an Express Entry profile does not guarantee an invitation to apply. A useful strategy separates basic program eligibility from competitiveness in the pool.
What to bring
Language results; work permits; detailed Canadian employment records; education documents and any ECA; passports; prior immigration applications; and your current Express Entry profile or score if one exists.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (Canada.ca)