Express Entry explained to someone starting from zero (Cameroon, 2026)

Express Entry is not a visa. It is the system through which Canada selects, among tens of thousands of candidates, those it invites to apply for permanent residence. Understanding how it selects is already half the work. Here is the full journey, in order, exactly as we explain it to every candidate who walks through the door of our office in Douala.

The eleven steps at a glance

You first check your eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, then gather the required documents before creating your Express Entry profile. The profile receives a CRS score, and you wait for a round of invitations. Then comes the invitation to apply, the ITA: this is when you prepare the complete permanent residence application, pay the fees and submit it.

Next come the biometrics, IRCC's review of the file, and finally the decision. Eleven steps in all, which the rest of this article goes through one by one.

The three programs behind Express Entry

Express Entry manages three federal programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, for those who have education, language skills and work experience abroad; the Federal Skilled Trades Program; and the Canadian Experience Class, for those who have already worked in Canada. From Cameroon, it is almost always the first one that applies.

Step 1: eligibility, the 67 points

Before entering the system, you must gather at least 67 points out of 100 across six criteria: language, education, work experience, age, a possible job offer, and adaptability. It is a pass/fail test, not a ranking. Our calculator does it in five minutes: /admissibilite.html

Step 2: the prerequisite documents

Three documents open the door: a recognised language test (TCF Canada or TEF Canada for French; IELTS General Training, CELPIP-General or PTE Core for English), an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) (WES or another designated organisation) for studies completed outside Canada, and a valid passport. The assessment process, organisation by organisation, is set out here: /en/check-list.html#equivalence Without those three, no profile can be created.

Step 3: the profile in the pool

The profile is created online, free of charge, on the IRCC website. It remains valid for twelve months. It receives a CRS score out of 1,200 points: age, education, language, experience, spouse, and additional factors such as French or a provincial nomination.

Step 4: the draws

Every two or three weeks, IRCC launches a round of invitations: it sets a points cut-off and invites all profiles above it. There are rounds for Canadian experience, rounds for provincial nominations, and category-based rounds. The 2026 categories are French-language proficiency, healthcare and social services, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), trades, education and transport, plus four categories reserved for specific profiles: physicians, senior managers and researchers with Canadian work experience, and skilled military recruits. In 2026, as of September 16, IRCC has held no general round open to all profiles. For a Cameroonian candidate who can prove their French, the French-language round is the most accessible: its cut-offs range from 382 to 420 points in 2026. Every round goes up on our tracking page the same day: /en/tirages.html

Step 5: the invitation, and 60 days to submit everything

The invitation to apply (ITA) opens a sixty-day window to submit the complete application: forms, passports, language results, ECA, detailed employment letters, police certificate, medical exam, proof of funds, photos. This is the stage where an application is won or lost. Everything declared in the profile must be proven, exactly. In Cameroon, the police certificate is issued by the Judicial Police in Yaoundé, after Bulletin No. 3: /en/article/certificat-police-cameroun-ircc-entree-express

The documents to gather during those sixty days

Start with the passport: the identity page, every page with a visa or an entry or exit stamp, and the old passport if it was renewed. Yours and each family member's should stay valid as long as possible, because the visa cannot run past its expiry date.

For education and language, you need your diplomas and transcripts, the Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report and your language test results: TCF Canada, TEF Canada, IELTS or CELPIP.

A police certificate is required for every country where you lived six months in a row or more since the age of 18. If it is in neither English nor French, attach a certified translation. A translation that does not meet the rules can be enough to get the application rejected.

For the medical exam, follow the instructions in your IRCC account: it will tell you when to see a panel physician, and the proof that you went is added to the file.

Proof of funds shows that you and your family can settle in: a bank letter, a balance certificate and the last six months of statements. A large, recent deposit must be explained by its source, whether a deed of sale, a notarised gift or any other document showing where the money came from. Keep these funds available until processing ends. This proof is not required if you apply through the Canadian Experience Class, or if you have a valid job offer.

Work experience is proven with the employer's reference letter, the contract, pay slips and a work certificate. The letter carries the most weight: it must state the position, the dates, the duties, the hours, the salary, and the employer's contact details and signature. What IRCC looks for is explained here: /en/article/lettre-emploi-entree-express-modele-ircc . A self-employed worker replaces it with the business registration, client invoices, proof of payment and letters of recommendation from clients.

Depending on your situation, add an ID photo that meets IRCC's specifications, your birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce judgment or provincial nomination certificate.

Everything is uploaded online, one file per slot, in PDF or JPEG, and 4 MB at most per file. When a slot calls for several documents, combine them into one PDF; to keep it under 4 MB, our compression tool is explained here: /en/article/tutoriel-compresser-un-pdf-pour-ircc . The exact list for your situation comes out of our free checklist: /en/check-list.html

Step 6: processing

IRCC aims for six months of processing for Express Entry. During that time, it may ask for clarifications, a new medical exam, or send a procedural fairness letter if it has doubts. You respond, within the deadlines, with evidence.

Step 7: the confirmation, the visa, the departure

Then comes the confirmation of permanent residence and the visa in the passport. What remains is preparing the arrival: validating your status, the social insurance number, housing. From Cameroon, expect six to twelve months between the decision to leave and the arrival, depending on how quickly you obtain your prerequisite documents.

The three mistakes that ruin an application

A misrepresentation, even a small one: five years of inadmissibility. Documents that contradict each other: employment dates, job titles, names. Our consistency tool rereads those dates and names before you submit: /en/check-list.html#coherence A language test or a passport that expires during the process.

What the journey really takes

People see the success, rarely what came before it. There is money to set aside, because every step has a cost you need to plan for. There is effort to train and prepare, and exams you sometimes sit twice to get a better result. There are documents to gather, check and prepare with care.

There are also waits, when you have to stay the course, and moments of doubt. Sometimes you have to change your plan and move forward another way. What makes the difference is not giving up. Immigration is not a race: it is a project you prepare for.

Get your profile assessed free of charge, with a reply on WhatsApp: /evaluation.html

For the French test: the Prépa TCF topics come up again at the exam — working through all of them, in full, maximises your chances of facing, on test day, a topic you have already practised: /prepa-tcf.html