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Express Entry — document checklist
Prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. · government fee $1,590 incl. right of PR fee
Express Entry — document checklist
Every document an officer will look for, grouped in the order they are read. The ones marked refusal risk are where these applications actually fail — a complete file is not the same as a persuasive one.
11 documents 5 where refusals happen Government fee $1,590 incl. right of PR fee
Identity
Who is this person, and is the story consistent?Where files fail here: Names, dates or passport details that disagree across documents.
Valid passport (all pages)
Every other document is checked against this. One mismatched spelling starts a credibility problem, and IRCC advises renewing if it expires within six months.
Digital photo to specification
Trivial to get wrong, and a returned file loses weeks.
Marriage certificate or proof of common-law
Required if you claim spousal points or include a partner.
Eligibility
Do they meet this program's bar, on paper?Where files fail here: A requirement evidenced by assertion instead of a document.
Language test results (IELTS / CELPIP / PTE Core / TEF / TCF)
Must be under two years old when you complete your profile and again when you submit the PR application — not the invitation date. PTE Core is accepted; IELTS One Skill Retake is not.
Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)
Foreign education earns nothing without it, it must be under five years old, and it is the slowest document in the file. Physicians, pharmacists and architects use their professional body instead.
Reference letter for each job claimed
The most audited document in Express Entry. It must show you performed the lead statement and most main duties of the NOC you claimed, on company letterhead.
Certificate of qualification, for trades
Required where you claim a skilled trade that a province certifies. Obtained from the provincial or territorial body, usually in person.
Provincial nomination certificate
Worth 600 points. Upload it exactly as issued, unaltered. Note that arranged-employment points were removed from the CRS on 25 March 2025.
Funds
Is the money real, available, and theirs?Where files fail here: A large deposit landing days before filing, with no explanation.
Proof of funds — bank letters, not statements
IRCC wants official letters on each institution’s letterhead showing account numbers, dates opened, current balances and the six-month average. Statements alone do not satisfy it. CEC applicants, and anyone with a valid job offer and work authorisation, are exempt.
Admissibility
Is there anything that disqualifies them?Where files fail here: An old charge left undisclosed because it “didn’t count”.
Police certificate — per country, six months or more
Only for countries where you stayed six consecutive months or more in the last ten years, since turning 18. Applies to you and family members 18 or older. Not required for time in Canada.
Immigration medical exam
Only a panel physician counts — your own doctor cannot do it. Results go directly to IRCC and are valid 12 months.
General information, not legal advice. This checklist is prepared by CHK Immigration Services Inc. and was checked against the Government of Canada’s published requirements on the date shown. Requirements change and vary by case, and IRCC generates a personalised document list for many applications — where that list or canada.ca differs from this document, they govern.
Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees. Police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC makes all final decisions.
CHK Immigration Services Inc. is an immigration consultancy with offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Our consultants are regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). Nothing in this document creates a client–consultant relationship.
Current version: https://chkimmigration.ca/checklists/express-entry
Checked against the official IRCC page for this application in September 2026. Where that page disagrees with anything here, it wins. General information, not legal advice. Lead times are planning estimates, not guarantees — police certificates and credential assessments in particular vary widely by country and provider. IRCC also generates a personalised checklist for many applications, and that list governs. IRCC makes all final decisions.
Having the documents is not the same as having a persuasive file.
Every item above can be present and correct and the application can still be refused — on intent, on a date that does not reconcile, or on a lead time that ran out. A licensed consultant reads it the way an officer will.
Book a file revieweligibility review
Find out where you actually stand.
Send a few details. A licensed RCIC reads your profile personally, then replies with the routes that genuinely fit, the ones that do not, and the consultation fee and next available times.
- Read personally by a CICC-licensed consultant — never a bot, never a salesperson
- A written shortlist of the programs you realistically qualify for
- Consultations are fee-based; you get the fee and available times by reply
CHK Immigration Services — Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (CICC). Offices in Brampton and London, Ontario. Submitting this form does not create a client–consultant relationship; IRCC makes all final decisions.