While many individuals might obtain an ITA for Canadian PR, many more might find their Express Entry profile expiring before this happens. But what if one is not invited to apply in an Express Entry draw? Read on to learn what happens in such cases & what applicants can do if their profile expires soon.
As of April 2024, there are more than 200,000 profiles in the federal Express Entry applicant pool.
Will The Information Be Saved When The Express Entry Profile Expires?
The short answer to this question is no. Once an Express Entry profile expires, the system will not save the information therein.
Express Entry applicant’s profiles are valid for a period of one year – this date is shown on an individual’s profile page. IRCC notes it had initially planned to save the information of applicants but found that this is not an option at this time. Though this might vary in the future, for the time being, once a profile expires within the Express Entry program, a candidate’s data will be lost.
Thus, if newcomers find that their profile is expiring, IRCC advises them to make a new profile if they wish to stay in the pool. Applicants are further advised to save their profile information for ease of re-entry.
How Can One Create A New Profile Within The Express Entry Applicant Pool?
Creating a new profile within the Express Entry system is a straightforward process, & identical to creating an initial profile within the pool – however, certain rules must be adhered to.
Notably, an applicant cannot have multiple profiles within the Express Entry pool. Thus, if an applicant is in a position where their old profile is expiring, & they would like to remain in the pool, they must first withdraw their old profile before making a new one.
In order to withdraw a profile from the Express Entry pool, IRCC advises to undertake the following steps:
- Sign in to the account
- Then, go to ‘view the applications submitted’ on the main page
- Click the ‘withdraw profile’ link
- Finally, click the ‘continue’ button below the ‘warning!’ text under ‘What would you like to do today?’.
Once a new profile is submitted, individuals will receive a new Express Entry profile number and a new job seeker validation code for the Job Bank. A job seeker validation code is issued to the Express Entry profile so that applicants within the pool might apply for jobs on Canada’s central Job Bank while confirming their inclusion within the Express Entry system.
How Can One Increase Their Eligibility While They Are In The Express Entry Pool?
What if one is not invited to apply in an Express Entry draw? Well, increasing the chances of obtaining an ITA from IRCC is a major consideration for those in the Express Entry application pool.
All applicants within the Express Entry pool are assessed according to the CRS. The CRS assigns scores to applicants based on human capital factors like age, education, work experience, etc. Since every draw within the system is connected to a cut-off CRS score, increasing an individual’s score under the system is a powerful way to increase their eligibility to obtain an ITA.
To this end, applicants within the pool who want to increase their CRS score can:
- Increase official language ability in English/ French
- Secure an employment offer
- Increase eligibility to claim spousal points
- Obtain provincial nomination
- Increase education level by taking an additional credential or assessing an extra foreign credential
- Increase eligible work experience
In addition to increasing their CRS scores, applicants might also be eligible for category-based selections under the Express Entry system. These are draws that invite applicants primarily for their official language ability or professional experience in in-demand positions.