इस लेख का पूरा पाठ अंग्रेज़ी में उपलब्ध है। शीर्षक और सारांश का अनुवाद किया गया है।
Your Express Entry invitation to apply is valid for 60 days, and the application itself has four steps: complete the online form, upload the documents on your personalized checklist, pay the fees, and submit. For an Express Entry permanent residence application the main fee is $1,590 per person including the right of permanent residence fee, or $990 without it, plus $270 for each dependent child and $85 per person for biometrics. Proof of funds is required unless you are applying under the Canadian Experience Class or you hold work authorization and a valid job offer.
The 60 days are the hard deadline. Miss them without declining, and the invitation expires and your Express Entry profile is removed from the pool — you would have to submit a new profile and wait again. This guide walks through the whole process in the order IRCC describes it, and flags the parts where a small administrative mistake costs an applicant their place in the pool.
Step 1: Fill out the application form
When IRCC invites you, a message appears in your account telling you which program you have been invited to apply under and what to do next. To reach the form:
- Sign in to your IRCC secure account.
- Go to “Continue my profile / application, not yet submitted”.
- In the row where the application type is “permanent residency”, select the blue “Continue application” button.
Two questions in the form catch people out. The first asks whether you have applied to IRCC before. It means a full application — a visa, a work permit, another immigration program. Creating an Express Entry profile does not count. The second asks whether you have applied to Express Entry before, which means you filled out a permanent residence application and submitted it electronically. A profile on its own, even if you were invited, does not count as having applied.
Work through the form as soon as the invitation arrives rather than later. The form is what generates your personalized document checklist, and every day spent assembling documents is a day that is still inside the 60-day window.
Step 2: Upload your documents
Your checklist is generated by the system once the form is complete, and it reflects the answers you gave. Most applicants will also need to upload the following:
| Document | When it applies |
|---|---|
| Police certificates | Most applicants |
| Proof of funds | Most applicants, unless an exemption applies |
| Birth certificate | If you are declaring dependent children |
| Use of a Representative form (IMM 5476) | If you have hired a representative |
| Common-law union form (IMM 5409) | If your marital status is declared as common-law |
| Marriage certificate | If your marital status is declared as married |
| Divorce certificate and legal separation agreement | If your marital status is declared as divorced |
| Death certificate | If your marital status is declared as widowed |
| Adoption certificate | When a dependent child is listed as adopted |
| Proof of relationship to a relative in Canada | If your personalized checklist requires it |
| Digital photos to confirm your identity | If requested |
| Other name to confirm aliases | If you have used other names |
| Authority to release personal information to a designated individual (IMM 5475) | If applicable |
Documents in a language other than English or French need a certified translation, or a translation accompanied by an affidavit, together with a scan of the original document or a certified photocopy. If you need a medical examination, the panel physician gives you an information printout sheet or the IMM 1017B Upfront Medical Report form, and that document becomes part of the file.
Our Express Entry profile checklist covers the evidence to gather before you submit a profile. This stage is a different exercise: the same evidence, now certified, translated and uploaded.
Step 3: Pay the fees
Three fees appear on your account: the processing fee for you and your family members, the right of permanent residence fee, and the biometrics fee. The current amounts for economic immigration, which includes Express Entry:
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Your application, including the right of permanent residence fee | $1,590 |
| Your application, without the right of permanent residence fee | $990 |
| Include your spouse or partner, including the right of permanent residence fee | $1,590 |
| Include your spouse or partner, without the right of permanent residence fee | $990 |
| Each dependent child | $270 |
| Biometrics, per person | $85 |
Payment is made through the IRCC secure account with a debit or credit card. At a minimum the processing fee must be paid when the application is submitted, but paying everything at once — including the right of permanent residence fee — avoids a second step and the delays that come with it.
If the application is incomplete, IRCC refunds the processing fee and the right of permanent residence fee where it has been paid. Once processing begins, the processing fee is not refunded. That is another reason to check the file before submitting rather than after.
Proof of funds: what is required and who is exempt
Proof of funds shows that you can support yourself and your family in Canada. It is required for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. You do not need to show it if you are applying under the Canadian Experience Class, or if you are authorized to work in Canada and hold a valid job offer — even if you are applying under one of the federal economic programs.
The system currently asks every applicant for a proof of funds document. If you qualify for an exemption, you upload a letter explaining that you were invited to apply under the Canadian Experience Class, or that you hold a valid job offer and authorization to work in Canada.
The minimum amounts are set by family size and are published by IRCC:
| Number of family members | Funds required (CAD) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $15,263 |
| 2 | $19,001 |
| 3 | $23,360 |
| 4 | $28,362 |
| 5 | $32,168 |
| 6 | $36,280 |
| 7 | $40,392 |
| Each additional family member | $4,112 |
Family size for this calculation includes you, your spouse or common-law partner, your dependent children and your spouse’s dependent children — including children who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents and children who are not coming with you.
The evidence is a bank letter on the institution’s letterhead showing the institution’s contact details, your name, your outstanding debts, and for each current banking and investment account the account number, the date it was opened, the current balance and the average balance over the past six months. The money has to be genuinely available to you: you cannot count the equity in a property, and you cannot borrow the money from another person. The funds must be available both when you apply and when IRCC issues your permanent resident visa.
Step 4: Submit
Before you submit, confirm that every mandatory field on the form is complete, that the processing fee and biometrics fee are paid, and that each document on your checklist has a clear, readable scan. Then submit, and keep the confirmation.
If your score has dropped since the invitation
This is the most expensive mistake available at this stage, and it is entirely avoidable. If your personal situation has changed, or your spouse’s has, IRCC’s guidance is to re-calculate your score before applying. If the recalculated score is below the lowest score in your round, you should decline the invitation. If you apply anyway, IRCC may refuse the application and will not refund the processing fee.
The common causes are unremarkable and easy to miss:
- Your work permit has expired. If the points for a job offer were based on that permit, the points go with it.
- Your provincial nomination is no longer in place.
- Your language test results have expired, or a retest produced lower scores. Test results used for a profile have a limited validity period, and the clock does not stop because you were invited.
Declining is not a disaster. If you decline, you are returned to the pool and will be considered in future rounds if you are still eligible, and declining does not count against you in later rounds. An application refused because the score had dropped is a worse outcome than a declined invitation.
Two related deadlines are worth keeping in view. An Express Entry profile expires if you are not invited within 12 months of submitting it. And if you neither decline nor apply within 60 days, the invitation expires and the profile is removed; to be considered again you must submit a new profile, meet the eligibility requirements and be accepted back into the pool.
A workable 60-day plan
| Window | What to do |
|---|---|
| Days 1–7 | Complete the online form and obtain your personalized checklist. Re-check your CRS score before anything else |
| Days 5–20 | Request police certificates, order certified translations, request birth, marriage, divorce, death or adoption certificates |
| Days 10–25 | Assemble the bank letters for proof of funds and schedule the medical examination with a panel physician |
| Days 20–40 | Upload documents as they arrive. Pay the full fee set, including the right of permanent residence fee |
| Days 35–50 | Complete biometrics when instructed. Re-read the file for missing or unreadable documents |
| Days 45–60 | Submit with at least ten days of margin. Save the confirmation |
The ten-day margin at the end is not padding. Document problems — an illegible scan, a translation without the affidavit, a police certificate for the wrong jurisdiction — are the most common reason an application is returned as incomplete, and returning an application does not pause the 60-day clock.
Common mistakes
- Waiting for the whole document set before starting the form. The checklist only appears once the form is done.
- Missing the translation affidavit. A translation without the certification or affidavit is treated as no translation.
- Stale proof of funds. Letters must show current balances and the six-month average; a letter from months earlier invites a request for an update.
- Applying after the score has fallen. Declining is safer than being refused.
- Paying only the processing fee. The outstanding right of permanent residence fee adds a second step to the process.
What happens after you submit
IRCC checks the application against the eligibility of the program you were invited under, the accuracy of your profile, your category eligibility if you were invited in a category-based round, and your admissibility to Canada. Processing times vary by stream and by the volume of files; you can check current published timelines for your stream on IRCC’s processing times tool. If your application is approved, the next steps — including the medical police clearance checks that apply to certain countries, and the decision on your visa or passport — follow separately.
One point of timing is often forgotten: a bridging open work permit can keep you working while you wait for a permanent residence decision, and the rules about who qualifies depend on when you were granted permanent residence. Our guide to bridging open work permits sets out how the timing works, and our article on PR cards and residency obligations covers the commitments that start once you land.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to apply after an Express Entry invitation?
60 days from the invitation. The invitation date is the one IRCC shows in your account, and the deadline is printed there too.
What happens if I miss the 60-day deadline?
The invitation expires, your profile is removed from the pool, and you would need to submit a new profile, meet the eligibility requirements and be accepted into the pool again to be considered in future rounds.
Do I need proof of funds for an Express Entry application?
Usually yes. The exemptions are applications under the Canadian Experience Class, and applicants who are authorized to work in Canada and hold a valid job offer. If you qualify for an exemption, you still upload a letter explaining which exemption applies.
What is the right of permanent residence fee?
It is the government fee for permanent residence itself, separate from the processing fee. For economic immigration, the combined amount for one person is $1,590; the processing fee on its own is $990. Paying both at the same time avoids delays.
Can I work while my permanent residence application is being processed?
Your existing work authorization governs, and a bridging open work permit may be available in defined circumstances. Because the eligibility depends on the dates involved, check the rules before you rely on working during the wait.
Does declining an invitation hurt my chances later?
No. If you decline, you are returned to the pool and remain eligible for future rounds. What is not recoverable is letting the invitation lapse without responding.
Official government references
- Apply for permanent residence — IRCC, the four-step process
- Proof of funds — IRCC, including the minimum amounts
- Express Entry documents — IRCC
- IRCC fees — processing, right of permanent residence and biometrics fees
- Check processing times — IRCC
Conclusion
An invitation to apply is an opportunity with a short fuse attached, but the work it demands is finite and knowable in advance: a form, a checklist, a fee and a set of documents you have already collected for your profile. The applicants who lose their place are usually the ones who treat the 60 days as a deadline rather than as a schedule — and the ones who apply after their score has already fallen. Start the form on day one, keep the margin, and treat a decline as a decision rather than a defeat.
CRSPoint.com is an independent Canadian immigration information platform. It is not affiliated with IRCC or the Government of Canada. This article provides general information and is not immigration or legal advice.
