In Canada, only a licensed immigration consultant or a lawyer can charge a fee to prepare your immigration documents or represent you before Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Viktoriia Bezruk is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), licence number R710694. She is authorized to represent applicants on all immigration matters before the Government of Canada, including IRCC. You can verify any consultant’s licence on the CICC website.

The first step is to find out whether you meet the requirements of an immigration program. Fill out our free assessment — we’ll get back to you with a clear picture of your chances and the options that could work for you.

You create an online profile and need to qualify for one of the three federal programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program or the Federal Skilled Trades Program. To submit a profile, you’ll need language test results (English and/or French) and an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). Without an ECA you won’t get points for education completed outside Canada, so in practice almost everyone needs one.

The maximum is 1,200 points. Core factors — age, education, language and work experience — are worth up to 500 points; skill transferability (combinations such as strong English plus a degree) up to 100; and additional factors up to 600. The biggest of these is a provincial nomination through an Express Entry–aligned stream, which adds 600 points on its own — for many people, that is the most realistic route to an invitation.

No. Since March 25, 2025, IRCC no longer awards CRS points for a job offer, including to candidates who were already in the pool, and you don’t need one to create a profile. A job offer is still useful, though: it earns points on the Federal Skilled Worker selection grid, exempts you from showing settlement funds if you’re already working in Canada on a work permit, and is required by many provincial programs.

If you have a year of skilled work experience in Canada, the Canadian Experience Class is usually the best fit. You need 1 year (1,560 hours) of legal work in Canada in TEER 0–3 occupations within the last 3 years, and a language score of at least CLB 7 for TEER 0–1 or CLB 5 for TEER 2–3 — and you don’t have to show settlement funds. The Federal Skilled Worker Program is for people whose experience is mostly outside Canada: you need 1 year of continuous experience in the last 10 years, CLB 7, an ECA, at least 67 points on the selection grid, and proof of funds.

For English: IELTS General Training, CELPIP-General and PTE Core. For French: TEF Canada and TCF Canada. Your results must be less than 2 years old both when you create your profile and when you submit your PR application. The IELTS One Skill Retake is not accepted for Express Entry. See IRCC’s language testing page for details.

The minimum depends on the program and applies to each of the four skills separately — your overall score doesn’t count. The Federal Skilled Worker Program requires CLB 7 in every skill, which means at least 6.0 in each IELTS band, so a 5.0 in one band won’t meet it. For the Canadian Experience Class, the minimum depends on your occupation: CLB 7 for TEER 0–1 and CLB 5 for TEER 2–3. And remember: the higher your scores, the more CRS points you get.

Alongside general draws, IRCC holds category-based draws for candidates in certain occupations or with strong French. In 2026 there are ten categories: French-language proficiency, health care and social services, STEM, trades, education, transport, physicians, senior managers and researchers with Canadian experience, and military recruits. Most categories require at least 12 months of full-time work in an eligible occupation within the last 3 years.

Your profile is valid for 12 months from the day you submit it. After that, you can create a new one as long as your documents are still valid: language test results for 2 years and your ECA for 5 years.

Yes — and you must. Update your profile whenever something changes: your work experience, education, language scores, family members and so on.

IRCC holds draws regularly, but not on a fixed schedule. They can be general draws, program-specific draws (for example, for the Canadian Experience Class) or category-based draws. The dates and cut-off scores for every draw are published on the IRCC website.

You have 60 days to submit a complete application with all your documents and pay the fees — since April 30, 2026, that’s CAD 1,590 per adult. Next come the medical exam, biometrics and police certificates. IRCC posts current processing times on its processing times page.

Language is usually the quickest win: retaking your test for a higher score or adding French can make a big difference. The second route is a provincial nomination through an Express Entry–aligned stream, which adds 600 points. A third option is another year of work experience or getting an additional credential assessed. We’ll work out which route is realistic for you in a consultation.