Express Entry is an electronic system that is used to manage all the applications of skilled workers from various countries who wish to become permanent residents of Canada. The federal government determines whether a candidate is eligible for a programme, once he/she who is an interested candidate, submits their online profile via express entry. All the applications are evaluated and then eligible candidates are accepted into the Express Entry pool where every application is ranked according to the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS is a points-based system used by the Canadian government to analyze, assess and rank candidates in the Express Entry pool and this CRS score is mainly calculated on the basis of candidate’s age, education, work experience, language skills and other factors.

Almost in a regular interval of two weeks time, the Canadian government selects the highest-scoring or the highest ranked candidates from the Express Entry pool and sends them an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for the Canadian permanent residence visa. There are also specific categories enabling the candidates to receive the ITAs through targeted draws. Targeted draws are  category-based Express Entry draws, following which the IRCC sends out invitations to candidates who are eligible for a specific category approved by Canada's immigration policies in order to meet an identified or targeted economic goal. Targeted draws will also complement all other forms of Express Entry draws. IRCC also considers every candidate's CRS scores again when it holds targeted draws, to check whether they meet IRCC's minimum CRS score to have a chance to receive an ITA for any particular draws.

To sum up, the three major Express Entry  draw types are:

1. General rounds of invitation: IRCC invites those with the top ranking CRS scores to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

2. Program-specific rounds of invitation: IRCC invites the applicants with the highest ranking CRS scores who are eligible for a specific Express Entry programme.

3. Category-based rounds of invitation: IRCC invites candidates with the highest ranking CRS scores who are eligible for specific categories targeted by IRCC, which are aimed to promote certain economic goals of Canada.

In order to be eligible to apply for PR under the Express Entry is to meet all the prescribed requirements mainly of the three major economic class Immigration programmes. They are :

●    Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
The FSWP is Canada’s primary economic immigration pathway. The minimum requirements needed to be eligible for this programme include at least one year's work experience of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work in the past 10 years in any skilled occupation under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3; A fluency and knowledge at the intermediate or advanced level in the languages of either English or French; and for the candidates educated outside of Canada, an educational credential (certificates of diploma, or degree) and an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report are required. In addition to meeting the FSWP's the above mentioned minimum work, language ability, and education requirements, candidates must also be able obtain at least 67 points under its points grid to be considered eligible under the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

●    Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
The CEC is another economic class Immigration programme that provides  an opportunity to obtain the Permanent Residence, to the international students and foreign workers who have Canadian experience. Candidates are required to have obtained at least one year's work experience of any skilled, professional, or technical work in Canada within 3 years of the application date and also they are required to meet all the language proficiency criteria.

●    Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
The FSTP, being one among the economic class Immigration programme, is majorly available to candidates who wish to become the permanent residents of Canada, on the basis of qualifying for a skilled trade as required by the Canadian government. Its eligibility criteria includes having a minimum of 2 years of full-time work experience in a required skilled trade within the 5-year time period of submitting an application. The aspirants are also required to meet the job requirements of the skilled trade and either have a full-time job offer in Canada for a period of at least 1 year or have earned a certificate of qualification in the skilled trade that has been provided by an official Canadian authority. Similar to the other two programmes, aspirants are required to meet all the language proficiency criteria under the FSTP too.