An invitation to apply is a document issued by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to candidates in the Express Entry pool. With an Invitation to Apply, also known as an ITA, a candidate may apply for Canadian permanent residence, with processing times of six months or less.
Invited candidates may immigrate to Canada with their accompanying family members, if applicable. This may include a spouse or common-law partner, as well as any dependent children.
Over the course of 2022, the number of invitations to apply issued by IRCC to candidates in the pool increased significantly as the government has made Express Entry the main driver of economic immigration to Canada. The number of invitations to apply issued through 2018 has increased again, compared to 2021
There are, however, a number of preliminary steps that must be completed before a candidate may receive an invitation to apply. Moreover, being invited to apply is by no means a guarantee that your application will be accepted — it is therefore crucial to know what to do to make sure that you can make your Canadian immigration goals a reality.
Under the 2019-2021 Canada Immigration Levels Plan, the number of new permanent residents admitted through Express Entry over the coming years is set to increase. Increasing intake targets for these Express Entry programs over the coming years may place downward pressure on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off threshold in Express Entry draws, as more people will be invited to apply.
Click any of the headings below to learn more
INITIAL STEPS
UNDERSTANDING THE COMPREHENSIVE RANKING SYSTEM
BEING INVITED TO APPLY
DOCUMENTATION
MISREPRESENTATION
ACCEPTING / DECLINING / EXPIRATION
SUBMITTING THE APPLICATION
GETTING HELP
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ITA Canada: Initial steps
Express Entry streamlines Canada’s economic immigration system, the upshot being that two filters are in place so that IRCC can welcome newcomers quickly and efficiently on a priority basis.
The first filter is with respect to eligibility for one of the federal economic immigration programs:
- Federal Skilled Worker Class
- Federal Skilled Trades Class
- Canadian Experience Class
If you are eligible for at least one of these programs, you may create an Express Entry profile and enter the pool of candidates. At this point, you will be given a score under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) based on the information provided when you created your Express Entry profile.
The Comprehensive Ranking System is the second filter used by IRCC to welcome new economic immigrants to Canada.
Understanding the Comprehensive Ranking System
Candidates in the Express Entry pool are given a score out of 1,200 under the Comprehensive Ranking System. This score determines their ranking in the pool. The system is complex and dynamic, and candidates may find ways to increase their scores, and thereby their ranking. In doing so, they increase their chances of receiving an invitation to apply.
Under the Comprehensive Ranking System, points are assigned for:
- Core human capital factors (including age, level of education, proficiency in English and/or French, Canadian work experience);
- Skill transferability factors; and
- Additional points factors (including provincial nomination, having a qualifying job offer, a previous study in Canada, having a sibling in Canada, and/or French proficiency).
When IRCC conducts one of its periodic draws from the Express Entry pool (also known as rounds of invitations), the highest-ranked candidates are issued an invitation to apply.
So the highest-ranked candidates are always the ones selected based on a cut-off threshold, right? Well, not quite. While that is the case in the majority of draws, IRCC has also conducted a handful of program-specific draws, in which candidates under one of the above-mentioned programs, or candidates with a provincial nomination, may be prioritized for selection.
Receiving an invitation to apply
When IRCC conducts a draw from the pool, candidates who meet the cut-off threshold are invited to apply for permanent residence. The receipt of a precious invitation to apply means they are now in a position to settle in Canada with permanent resident status within a matter of months.
The invitation to apply is valid for 60 calendar days. Extensions are not granted, no matter what. Consequently, it is a good idea for candidates who have not yet been invited to gather, prepare, and review all of their supporting documentation before they receive an invitation to apply. By the time they are invited and taking into account the 60-day validity, it may already be too late to get everything in order.
If a candidate misses the 60-day deadline, the invitation to apply is no longer valid and he or she will have to re-enter the Express Entry pool.
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Documentation
When a candidate creates an Express Entry profile, he or she needs to upload proof of language ability and, in most cases, proof of education level. Everything else is self-declared. When an application is made, however, much more documentation will need to be submitted.
There is no ‘one size fits all’ documentation checklist for invited candidates. The checklist may depend on the program under which you are invited, your civil status, your nationality, your work or education history, or other factors.
That being said, all applicants-to-be have to submit copies of the following:
- Valid passport
- Birth certificate
- Language test results
- Documentation attesting to work experience
- Police clearance certificate(s)
- Upfront medical receipt
- Photographs of the principal applicant and family members
Even in the short list above, former employers may be difficult to track down, and even when you have found them it may prove doubly difficult to get them to write a reference letter, as required. Additionally, applicants need to submit a police clearance certificate (also known as a background check) from each country they have lived in for six months or longer since the age of 18. Depending on the country, this could result in having to navigate a complex bureaucracy.
Depending on the situation, any of the following documents may also need to be submitted:
- Copies of work contracts and/or pay stubs
- Documents relating to income taxation
- Canadian Education Credential OR Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)
- Official transcripts of post-secondary education study program courses taken
- Secondary education documents
- Original letter from a Canadian employer indicating an offer of arranged employment
- Proof of family relationship(s) in Canada
- Proof of settlement funds
- Legal documents showing changes in name or date of birth
- Marriage certificate(s)
- Signed Statutory Declaration of Common-law Union and documents attesting to cohabitation for a period of at least 12 months
- Divorce or annulment certificate(s)
- Death certificate(s) for former spouse(s) or common-law partner(s)
- Children’s birth certificates
- Adoption papers
- Proof of full custody for children
- Travel documents (non-passport)
- Certified copy of a certificate of qualification in a skilled trade occupation issued by a Canadian province or territory
- Letter(s) of explanation
- Affidavit
Candidates in the pool are encouraged to gather as many of these documents as possible as early as possible in the process.
Misrepresentation
Any candidate or applicant who has been found to have provided false or misleading information at any stage of the process can be banned from immigrating to, or even visiting, Canada for a five-year period. This is known as misrepresentation.
Even errors made in good faith, without malicious intent, may be considered misrepresentation. An example of this could be that a candidate asks a friend or family member to obtain information or documentation, and this documentation, when submitted, turns out to be false or misleading.
A more direct example of misrepresentation could be if a candidate provides false dates for an employment period or misstates the job duties of a position in an attempt to gain more points under the Comprehensive Ranking System.
Of course, the full scope of misrepresentation is not limited to these cases. In cases of possible misrepresentation, the applicant may be given the opportunity to respond to concerns raised about his or her application.
Accepting / declining / expiration
| Scenario | How this happens | What happens next |
|---|---|---|
| Accepting an ITA | The submission of a complete profile within 60 days is considered acceptance | IRCC assesses the application. Most files are successfully processed to completion within six months. |
| Declining an ITA | This is easily done by clicking a button provided on the ITA notice itself. | The candidate’s profile is placed back in the pool and is eligible for selection in subsequent draws. |
| Letting an ITA expire | The invited candidate fails to submit an application within 60 days. | If the individual still wishes to immigrate to Canada through Express Entry, he or she will have to create a new profile. |
Submitting the application after an invitation to apply
The application process is entirely online. Consequently, this is sometimes known as an e-application or e-apr (as in, electronic application for permanent residence).
Though many applicants find this process straightforward, others may find the application system glitchy or cumbersome. Still, others may find the process overwhelming, especially if many documents need to be uploaded in different places.
When you apply, you must pay a processing fee of CAD $550. You can also choose to pay the right of permanent residence fee of $490 at the same time. In the event that you are not approved, this second fee will be returned. Applicants with accompanying family members must pay additional fees.