How to Apply for Express Entry: Step-by-Step Guide

You've decided Express Entry is your route to Canada. Now you're staring at a long list of tests, letters and forms, wondering where to start. The order you do things in matters, because some documents take months and others expire.

This guide shows you how to apply for Express Entry step by step, from your first test booking to the day you submit your permanent residence application. Details are as of September 2026, so confirm them on IRCC's pages.

How does Express Entry work, in brief?

Express Entry is the online system Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) uses to manage three permanent residence programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.

You create a profile, and the system checks which program you fit. You then get a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which is a points total based on things like age, education, language and work experience. IRCC regularly sends an Invitation to Apply (ITA) to the highest-ranking people in the pool.

Entering the pool doesn't guarantee an invitation. Our guide to Canada jobs in demand can help you see whether your occupation is in a group IRCC targets.

What documents do you need to apply for Express Entry?

Your profile uses results from official tests and assessments. You can't make them up or estimate them, so get these done first.

Prepare in this order

1. Book an approved language test. IRCC accepts CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training or PTE Core for English, and TEF Canada or TCF Canada for French.
2. Order your ECA if you studied outside Canada. It's required for the Federal Skilled Worker Program. IRCC lists five designated organizations, including World Education Services and the International Credential Assessment Service of Canada.
3. Find your NOC code. The National Occupational Classification (NOC) gives every job a code and a TEER level (Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities). Match it to your duties.
4. Ask past employers for reference letters. They should list your duties, hours, pay and dates.
5. Build your proof of funds if you need it. Funds must be your own and can't be borrowed.
6. Request police certificates early from countries that are slow to issue them.

As of September 2026, IRCC's proof-of-funds table (updated July 7, 2025) asks for $15,263 CAD for one person, $19,001 for two, $23,360 for three and $28,362 for four. You don't need proof of funds if you're applying under the Canadian Experience Class, or if you're authorized to work in Canada and have a valid job offer.

How to fill in your Express Entry profile

1. Check your eligibility. IRCC's Come to Canada tool gives you a personal reference code you can use to carry answers over.
2. Sign in to your IRCC secure account, or create one.
3. Enter your personal reference code if you have one.
4. Fill in each section using your actual documents: test scores, ECA results, work history and family details. You can save and come back.
5. Submit within 60 days. IRCC says if you don't, you'll have to start again.

After you submit, the system shows which programs you're eligible for and your CRS score. You then wait in the pool.

You must update your profile if your situation changes, for example a new test score, a new job, a marriage or a new child. Updating doesn't change your submission time, which helps in tie-breaks.

What happens after you're invited to apply?

An invitation is valid for 60 days only. In that time, you must submit a complete permanent residence application. Everything you claimed in your profile has to be backed by documents.

Medical exam. If you've never had an immigration medical exam, IRCC says to get one after you're invited. You must see a doctor on IRCC's panel physician list, not your own doctor. You upload the information sheet or form they give you.

Police certificates. You need one from every country where you, or a family member, lived for 6 months or more in a row in the last 10 years since age 18. If one is delayed, upload a letter of explanation and proof of your efforts.

Fees. You pay online when you apply. As of September 2026, IRCC's fee list shows $1,590 CAD for a principal applicant, which includes the $600 right of permanent residence fee. Check the fee list for your spouse and children.

What are the final steps after you apply?

IRCC confirms it received your application. If you're between 14 and 79, you'll get a biometrics instruction letter, and you have 30 days to give your fingerprints and photo. As of September 2026, biometrics cost $85 per person, or $170 for a family.

IRCC then checks your eligibility, your medical results, police certificates and background. It may ask for more documents or an interview. If you're approved, you get confirmation of permanent residence and instructions for landing.

Moving costs add up fast at this stage. Our guide to relocation costs when moving abroad helps you budget for flights, deposits and your first months.

A realistic example

Say Tunde is an accountant in Lagos. He books IELTS General Training in January and orders his ECA the same week. His results arrive by March, so he gathers reference letters and his bank letter, then submits his profile in April.

He's invited in August. He books a panel physician the next week and already has his Nigerian police certificate in progress. He submits on day 41, with time to spare. An invitation still wasn't guaranteed, but his order of steps meant nothing expired.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Starting the profile before tests are done. You need real results to enter.
• Picking a NOC code by job title. Duties must match your reference letters.
• Leaving police certificates to the last week. Some countries take months.
• Using borrowed money as proof of funds. IRCC doesn't accept it.
• Paying someone who promises an invitation. No one can. If you want help, use a lawyer or a licensed consultant, and read our guide to immigration lawyer costs.

What to do next

Book your language test this week, since it's the step most people wait on. Order your ECA at the same time if you studied abroad.

While you wait, find your NOC code, request reference letters and check which police certificates you'll need. Once your results arrive, create your profile and keep it updated.