Express Entry profile document checklist
Quick answer
To create an Express Entry profile you generally need a valid passport, approved language test results, an educational credential assessment for education completed outside Canada, and evidence of your skilled work experience. Proof of settlement funds is required for some programs and not for others. Documents are uploaded after an invitation, but the points you claim in the profile must be supported by documents you already hold.
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Tick whatever is true of you and the situation-dependent items narrow to your circumstances. Nothing is sent anywhere and no contact details are needed.
Generally required
- Valid passportBiographical pages, and every page containing a stamp or visa.
- Digital photo meeting IRCC specifications
- Proof of current immigration statusWhere you are living outside your country of citizenship.
Program-specific
- Language test results from an approved testIELTS General Training, CELPIP-General, PTE Core, TEF Canada or TCF Canada, valid on the date of profile submission.
- Educational credential assessment (ECA)Required for education completed outside Canada.
- Canadian diploma, degree or certificate
- Employment reference lettersOn company letterhead, showing job title, duties, hours per week, dates and salary.
- Proof of settlement fundsRequired for Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades; not required where the Canadian Experience Class applies or where you hold authorisation to work in Canada with a valid job offer.
- Provincial nomination certificateWhere you hold one.
Situation-dependent
- Spouse or partner's language test results
- Spouse or partner's educational credential assessment
- Marriage certificate or proof of common-law relationship
- Birth certificates for dependent children
- Canadian work permit and pay recordsWhere you are claiming Canadian work experience.
- Business registration and tax recordsWhere the experience claimed is self-employment, which is treated differently under most programs.
May be requested
- Proof of a sibling in Canada who is a citizen or permanent resident
- Job offer supporting documents, where an offer exists
- Explanation of any gap in your work history
Where applications most often go wrong
- • Reference letters that omit hours per week or the list of main duties
- • Claiming experience under an NOC code that does not match the duties described
- • Using a language result that expires before submission
- • Counting self-employment as skilled work experience without checking how the program treats it
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Copy a plain-text summary with the estimate disclaimer and the official source attached.
This checklist is a preparation aid. The document requirements that govern your application are those on the official IRCC document checklist generated for that application at the time you submit it.
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