A candidate who wishes to be considered for permanent residence through Canada's Express Entry system must first create an Express Entry profile through the IRCC online portal. The profile captures the candidate's personal circumstances — work experience, education, language ability, job offer, provincial nomination, and other factors — and uses them to calculate the candidate's Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. The profile is valid for 12 months; if no Invitation to Apply (ITA) is received within that period, the profile expires and the candidate must create a new one. Candidates must keep their profile up to date — IRCC assesses the profile as it stands at the time the ITA is issued. This page explains the profile creation process, update obligations, expiry and renewal, and the tie-breaking rule.

For the current Express Entry profile tool and step-by-step guide, refer to the IRCC create your profile page.

• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), ss 10.1–10.3 — the Express Entry framework: Minister's authority to invite candidates, maintain a pool, issue invitations, and conduct category-based selection
• IRPA, s 10.1(3) — an expression of interest (profile) is valid for the period specified by the Minister in Ministerial Instructions
• Ministerial Instructions respecting the Express Entry system — set the eligibility criteria, invitation procedures, and pool management rules
• IRCC: Express Entry — create your profile — canada.ca/express-entry-profile
• IRCC: CRS criteria — canada.ca/crs-criteria

Before creating a profile — eligibility requirements

A candidate cannot create an Express Entry profile unless they meet the minimum entry requirements for at least one of the three federal programs managed through Express Entry:

• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW): at least 1 year of continuous full-time (or equivalent part-time) skilled work experience (NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3) in the last 10 years; minimum CLB 7 in all four language abilities; minimum education; and a minimum passing score on the FSW points grid (67/100)
• Federal Skilled Trades Program (FST): at least 2 years of full-time work experience in a skilled trade in the last 5 years; minimum language ability (CLB 5 for speaking/listening, CLB 4 for reading/writing); a valid job offer in Canada or a certificate of qualification from a Canadian provincial/territorial authority
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC): at least 1 year of skilled work experience in Canada (NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3) in the last 3 years; minimum language ability (CLB 7 for TEER 0/1, CLB 5 for TEER 2/3)

A candidate who does not meet the minimum requirements for any of these three programs cannot enter the Express Entry pool, regardless of their CRS score.

Creating the profile

The Express Entry profile is created through the IRCC online portal. The profile captures all information that IRCC uses to calculate the CRS score, including:

• Language test results (IELTS or CELPIP for English; TEF or TCF for French)
• Education — Canadian credentials or Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for foreign credentials
• Work experience — employer, job title, NOC code, dates, and hours per week
• Age
• Adaptability factors (previous Canadian work or study experience, siblings in Canada, etc.)
• Spouse/partner information (if applicable) — spousal work experience, language, and education affect the CRS score
• Job offer from a Canadian employer (if applicable) — adds up to 200 CRS points
• Provincial nomination (if applicable) — adds 600 CRS points automatically

The CRS score is calculated automatically by the system based on the information entered. For an explanation of how the CRS score is calculated, see the CRS page.

12-month validity — profile expiry

An Express Entry profile is valid for 12 months from the date it is submitted to the pool. If the candidate does not receive an ITA within the 12-month period:

• The profile expires automatically at the end of the 12-month period
• The candidate is removed from the pool and is no longer eligible to be selected in a round of invitations
• To re-enter the pool, the candidate must create a new Express Entry profile — this resets the profile submission date and resets the tie-breaking timestamp
• There is no limit on how many times a candidate can create a new profile — candidates who expire without receiving an ITA may simply create a new profile if they still meet the program requirements

Keeping the profile up to date

Candidates must update their profile whenever their circumstances change in a way that affects their CRS score or program eligibility. Examples of changes that require a profile update:

• A new language test result (a new or retaken IELTS or CELPIP score that changes CLB level)
• A new Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for additional qualifications
• Completing additional work experience that changes the total years of experience or the occupation
• Receiving a provincial nomination (which adds 600 CRS points)
• Receiving a valid job offer from a Canadian employer
• A change in marital status or the addition of a spouse/partner's credentials to the profile
• Turning a year older (age affects the CRS score, with maximum points at age 20–29 declining from age 30 onwards)

IRCC assesses the profile as it stands at the time the ITA is issued — not at the time the application is submitted after the ITA. If a candidate's circumstances change after an ITA is issued (for example, a job offer falls through, or a language test result expires), the candidate must report the change, which may result in the ITA being withdrawn.

The tie-breaking rule — profile submission timestamp

In each round of invitations, IRCC selects candidates at or above the cut-off CRS score. When multiple candidates share the exact same CRS score at the cut-off, IRCC uses the date and time of profile submission as the tie-breaker — the profile submitted earlier is ranked higher. This means:

• Submitting a profile as early as possible (once eligibility is confirmed and information is accurate) is advantageous — an earlier submission timestamp is better than a later one, all else being equal
• A candidate who creates a new profile after an expiry has a newer timestamp than a candidate who submitted an identical profile months earlier — this can be a disadvantage near the cut-off if the scores are close

Only one active profile at a time

IRCC only permits one active Express Entry profile per candidate at any given time. If a candidate creates a new profile while they have an existing active one, the earlier profile may be cancelled. Candidates should not attempt to "reset" their profile by creating a duplicate — the correct approach is to update the existing profile with new information, or wait until the existing profile expires before creating a new one with updated information.

2026 Express Entry reforms consultation

In 2026, IRCC opened public consultations on potential reforms to the Express Entry CRS scoring factors — including proposed new points for Canadian work experience and high-wage job offers. Any changes to the CRS that result from these consultations could affect profile scores. For current information on the status of these reforms, refer to the IRCC 2026 Express Entry consultation page.

One of the most common issues in Express Entry pool management is outdated profile information — a candidate who submits a profile and then achieves a higher language test score, receives a provincial nomination, or gains additional work experience must update the profile to benefit from the higher CRS score. The 12-month expiry also catches candidates who enter the pool during a period of high cut-off scores and then let the profile expire — the profile renewal resets the timestamp, potentially disadvantaging the candidate in future tie-breaking situations. Candidates who are close to the cut-off should also be aware that the tie-breaking timestamp means submitting at the earliest possible date (once the profile is accurate and complete) is preferable. For the current Express Entry profile tool, scoring calculator, and draw history, refer to the IRCC Express Entry page.