Express Entry Canada: What Exactly Happens After You Apply

The moment people hit “submit” on their Express Entry application, they usually exhale — and then panic a little, because nothing seems to happen for a while. I get asked about this exact stretch of silence more than almost any other part of the immigration journey.

Ten years in Canada’s settlement sector, the last eight leading a team in Regina, means I’ve fielded this question in almost every form it can take. Here’s what’s genuinely happening behind the scenes once your application is in.

Let’s get into it.

Table of Contents

1. Right After You Submit Your Express Entry Canada Application
2. Biometrics and the Medical Exam
3. Officer Review and Background Checks
4. The Decision
5. Your Confirmation of Permanent Residence
6. If You’re Not Invited, or Your Profile Expires
7. How to Handle the Waiting

Right After You Submit Your Express Entry Canada Application

The first thing that happens to an Express Entry Canada application is an intake check—confirming all required forms, fees, and documents are present. If something is missing, it can be returned at this stage before it ever reaches full review, which is one of the most common (and most avoidable) causes of delay.

Full details on this stage are on IRCC’s Express Entry after-you-apply page.

Biometrics and the Medical Exam

Most applicants need to give biometrics (fingerprints and a photo) at an approved collection point. As of a 2025 policy change, Express Entry applicants generally complete an upfront medical exam through an IRCC-approved panel physician at the time of application, rather than waiting for a separate request mid-process.

Confirm exactly what applies to your application on IRCC’s medical exam requirements page, since requirements can differ by circumstance.

Officer Review and Background Checks

An immigration officer reviews your full file: eligibility, the accuracy of the information in your original profile, admissibility (criminal and security checks), and your medical results. This is the stage where processing time varies the most, because every file is different in complexity.

Two applications submitted the same week can take very different amounts of time to clear this stage — that difference doesn’t necessarily mean anything is wrong with the slower one.

The Decision

Once review is complete, IRCC makes a decision. If approved, you’ll be notified through your IRCC secure account. If more information is needed first, you may be contacted with a request — respond promptly, since a slow response on your end adds directly to your own timeline.

If you’re not approved, IRCC provides reasons, and in some cases there are options to address the issue or reapply.

Your Confirmation of Permanent Residence

Approval comes with your Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) or an equivalent document. This is what you present when you land in Canada — it’s the document that actually completes your transition to permanent resident status, not the approval notice itself.

Keep it, your passport, and copies of every supporting document together and accessible for the trip. For exactly what to do once you land with it in hand, read your first 72 hours in Canada, the exact order to do things.

If You’re Not Invited, or Your Profile Expires

Not everyone in the Express Entry pool receives an invitation right away, and that’s not necessarily a reflection of your qualifications — it often just reflects your current CRS score relative to that particular round.

If your profile reaches its 12-month expiry without an invitation, you can submit a new profile, ideally after taking steps to raise your score: a stronger language test result, additional qualifying work experience, or a provincial nomination, which adds a significant number of points on its own.

If you decline an invitation once it’s issued, IRCC places you back in the pool to be considered in future rounds, provided you’re still eligible.

How to Handle the Waiting

The waiting period is genuinely hard, and I don’t say that to brush past it. A few things help: create an IRCC secure account and link your application so you have real status information instead of guesses; check it on a reasonable schedule rather than daily; and use the waiting period productively—researching housing, reviewing the requirements you’ll still need to meet after landing, and building your document folder.

Contacting IRCC repeatedly before your application is outside normal processing times, as listed on
IRCC’s own site generally doesn’t speed things up and can add noise to your file. If you’re earlier in the process and haven’t applied yet, back up to how to apply for Canadian immigration, step by step, for the full walkthrough leading up to this point.

You did something hard to get here. Canada is worth the effort — you just need the map.