Nigeria is one of the leading countries of citizenship among people invited through Express Entry, according to the Express Entry Year-End Report 2024 of IRCC, Canada's immigration department. Express Entry is the online system that ranks skilled workers by points and invites those with the most to apply for permanent residence. Without Canadian work experience, the programme within it that usually fits is the Federal Skilled Worker Program, built for skilled work gained abroad. It needs no Canadian job offer, though an applicant in Nigeria must show settlement funds, the money to live on after arriving.

Two reports come first, because a Federal Skilled Worker profile needs both. One is an educational credential assessment, which states what your highest Nigerian qualification equals in Canada. WES, one of the assessment organisations IRCC designates, accepts a Nigerian transcript only as the institution issues it, electronically or, where the university has no digital arrangement with WES, in an envelope sealed and signed or stamped across the flap. The transcript must show your name, date of birth and matriculation number, and direct-entry graduates must also send the earlier record, such as IJMB or A-level results. WES says it is not affiliated with any company, person or agency in Nigeria. The other is an approved language test result. Once your profile is in the pool of candidates, IRCC suggests requesting police certificates, which can take a long time. Proof of settlement funds means official letters from every bank where you hold an account, and money borrowed from another person does not count.

The mistake to avoid is assuming that English, the common language Nigerians share, needs no proof. Express Entry accepts language ability only through an approved test, and only in the right version: IELTS General Training rather than IELTS Academic, PTE Core rather than PTE Academic, and CELPIP-General. A strong score in the wrong version does not count, so confirm the version before booking.