Home / Countries / Canada / Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker
← Canada Immigration: Requirements and Costs
Understand this pathway
Canada skilled migration: how long the Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker takes, what it costs, and whether it leads to permanent residence
Permanent Residence
Permanent residence through Express Entry
Permanent residence for skilled workers with foreign work experience, managed through Express Entry. Selection-factor points decide pool entry; CRS ranking decides invitations.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
Does Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker lead to permanent residence?
- Residency
Permanent residence on grant
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
Do you need a job offer for Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker?
- Job offer
Not required
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
What education does Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker require?
- Education
High school
Express Entry comparison page: 'Secondary education required.' FSW page: Canadian secondary or post-secondary credential, or a completed foreign credential plus an Educational Credential Assessment. Previous stored value 'bachelor' contradicted those pages and has been replaced with the published secondary minimum.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
How much money do you have to show for Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker?
- Funds
From CAD 15,263
Minimum for 1 family member, table updated July 7, 2025. Rises with family size (2: CAD 19,001; 3: CAD 23,360; each person after 7: CAD 4,112). Not required if you are authorized to work in Canada and have a valid job offer, or if invited under the Canadian Experience Class.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
How many points do you need for Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker?
- Points
At least 67
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
How much does Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker cost to apply for?
- Application fee
CAD 1,590
Principal applicant under Economic immigration (including Express Entry / Federal skilled workers): CAD 990 processing + CAD 600 right of permanent residence, published as CAD 1,590 together. Spouse or partner is a further CAD 1,590 (or CAD 990 without the residence fee). Dependent child CAD 270 each. Biometrics CAD 85 per person (family maximum CAD 170) are charged separately and are not included in 1,590.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
How long does Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker take to process?
- Processing time
No commitment to a processing time
Open the authority's page for this fact
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
We tell you when we re-read a route you follow, in the note from that check, with the official link.
What does Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada actually require?
Quoted from the pages named beside each rule, not paraphrased.
- Age
Selection-factor points are awarded by age on the day IRCC gets the application: 12 points at ages 18–35, then decreasing to 1 point at 46, and 0 points under 18 or at 47 and older. Age is not published as a hard eligibility cut-off.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
- Language
CLB 7 in all 4 abilities (speaking, listening, reading, writing). Below CLB 7 in any ability: not eligible to apply. Approved English or French tests required.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
- Points test
If you score 67 points or higher on Federal Skilled Worker selection factors (out of 100), you may qualify and can submit a profile to the Express Entry pool. If you score lower than 67, you will not qualify. These points are different from Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points used to rank the pool; CRS cut-offs vary each invitation round.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
- Work experience
1 year
At least 1 year of continuous paid work (1,560 hours) in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 within the last 10 years, in Canada or abroad.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
Not published on the pages we read
We checked for each of these and the page carried no figure. The absence is recorded with the reason, so this page states nothing the authority does not.
Processing time
IRCC publishes no fixed month range. The check-processing-times tool says results 'are not a maximum or a guarantee' and 'Your application may take longer than the times shown here.'
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
The process
How it works
- 1Score 67 or higher on Federal Skilled Worker selection factors to submit an Express Entry profile.
- 2CRS ranking in the pool decides who receives an Invitation to Apply.
What changed when we last checked this record
Program is open. Permanent residence on grant via Express Entry. Quebec selects its own skilled workers; you must plan to live outside Quebec. Previous stored age caps, bachelor minimum, USD fee, month range, and 8-month PR pathway were unsourced or contradicted and have been removed. Read 2026-09-24: the former eligibility URL and the former express-entry eligibility URL each return 301 to these who-can-apply URLs. Stored values still match the destination pages.
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada · verified 2026-09-24
Estimate against the official table: What score do I need for Canada's Federal Skilled Worker program?, What would my Canada CRS ranking score be?
Other verified Canada routes
- Express Entry — Canadian Experience Class
- Express Entry — Federal Skilled Trades
- Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
- Study Permit → PGWP
- LMIA-based Work Permit (TFWP)
- Quebec — Skilled Worker Selection (PSTQ)
- Quebec — Quebec Experience Program (PEQ)
- Quebec — Investor Program
- Quebec — Entrepreneur Program
- Quebec — Self-employed Worker Program
Where to go next
- Compare this pathway with another — the link stores only pathway ids.
- Compare one published rule across destinations
- Start a free assessment — No account needed. If you are not signed in, your answers stay in this browser and the estimate runs on your device. We do not receive them unless you create an account. Privacy.
This route on comparison pages
Official sources
Disclaimer: Viovena is an informational planning tool for immigration pathways and eligibility estimates. It is NOT a registered immigration agency, legal advisor, or licensed consultant. Visa decisions belong solely to government authorities — we do not guarantee approvals. All profile-fit scores and timelines are estimates for planning purposes only. Always verify requirements, fees, and processing times on official government websites before applying.