The Invitation to Apply (ITA) is an auto-generated correspondence issued to Express Entry candidates through their online account. The ITA is issued to candidates who rank the highest in a round of invitations, based on their score in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
Candidates with a Provincial Nomination
Candidates with a provincial or territorial nomination certificate are awarded an additional 600 points in the CRS score. Therefor, they normally receive an Invitation to Apply at the next round of invitations to which they are eligible.
General Round of Invitation to Apply
When there is a general round of invitations, and a candidate appears eligible for multiple classes (e.g., the federal skilled worker class and the Canadian experience class), the system automatically invites the candidate to apply under one of the classes in the following order:
Provincial Nominee class (PNP);
Canadian experience class (CEC);
Federal Skilled Worker class (FSWC);
Federal Skilled Trades class (FSTC).
Upon issuance of Invitation to Apply
Upon receipt of an Invitation to Apply (ITA), a candidate has 60 calendar days to do one of the following:
- Submit a complete application for permanent residence (APR) in their online account. This includes providing all supporting documentation up front.
- Decline the ITA in their online account, if the candidate is not ready to apply within 60 calendar days of receiving the ITA or if they believe that a change in their circumstance has made them ineligible to be invited. In this case, the candidate’s profile will become “active” in the pool for the remaining days of the profile’s validity and the candidate will be considered for future rounds of invitations, as long as they continue to meet the MEC.
How to respond to an ITA
Firstly, If the candidate does not respond to the Invitation to Apply (ITA) (i.e., the candidate does not submit a complete APR within 60 calendar days of receiving the ITA and does not formally decline the ITA within this delay), the ITA will expire and the candidate will no longer be in the Express Entry pool. Secondly, to re-enter the pool, the candidate must submit a new profile in their online account and be assessed for the MEC at that time.
How to improve your ITA Score
You need to improve your chances of getting an ITA by improving your Express Entry profile score because you have to compete with the candidates in the Express Entry Pool.
You can improve your score by following ways:
- Contact provinces and territories to be considered for the Provincial Nominee Program.
- Secure a valid job offer in Canada.
- Improve your language skills.
- Improve your education.
- Get more relevant work experience.
After the issuance of ITA to you:
- Have 90 days to apply for permanent residence;
- Need to submit all the required documents and fees to complete your application for permanent residence.
You should prepare your documents ahead of time because there are only 90 days to file an application for Permanent Residence of Canada. Also, there are some documents like obtaining a police clearance certificate that might need some time. Therefore, our advice is to be ready for filing an application with time.
How long it takes to process my application
You apply for Permanent residence of Canada after the issuance of an ITA. The system itself is call as Express Entry because your application will take only 6 months (or less) to process if it is complete and accurate. If your application for permanent residence is successful, you will get a Confirmation of Permanent Residence and/or a Permanent Residence Visa.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need more information. Alternatively, you can fill out our Free Online Assessment form to find out your eligibility.