Applying for Employment Insurance benefits online

Employment Insurance (EI) provides temporary financial assistance to unemployed Canadians who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and to Canadians, including unemployed self-employed citizens or permanent residents who are unable to work for a variety of reasons. There are several types of Employment Insurance benefits available to Canadians, depending on their situation.

If you would like more information about our EI Application online before applying, consult our frequently asked questions.

Eligibility

To be entitled to receive EI benefits, you have to meet certain criteria. More information on eligibility:

• Regular benefits 
• Maternity and Parental benefits 
• Sickness benefits 
• Fishing benefits 
• Compassionate care benefits 
• Self-employment benefits 

When to apply

Be sure to apply for EI benefits as soon as you stop working. You do not need your Records of Employment to complete your EI application. If you delay filing your claim for benefits for more than four weeks after your last day of work, you may lose benefits.

Can I reactivate an old claim?

If you started a new EI claim within the last 52 weeks and there are still weeks payable on that claim, we will automatically reactivate (renew) your existing claim.

Do not start this application if you prefer to start a new claim. Instead, please contact us by calling 1 800-206-7218. Your decision to start a new claim is final and cannot be reversed.

It is important to consider: 

• If your claim is reactivated and you work after the start of that claim, you may be able to establish a new claim when your existing claim runs out.
• In order to establish a new claim you must have enough insurable hours and meet the qualifying conditions for a new claim. 
• If a new claim is established instead of reactivating your existing claim, the remaining weeks payable on the existing claim will be lost.
• Additionally, a two-week unpaid waiting period must be served on a new claim before you are entitled to receive payment.
  

Records of Employment

If your employer issues Records of Employment (ROEs) in paper format, you must request copies of all ROEs issued during the last 52 weeks. After you submit your EI application online, you will need to provide us with these paper ROEs - we cannot finalize your application until we receive them. For this reason, you must either mail us your paper ROEs or drop them off in person at a Service Canada Centre as soon as possible after you submit your EI application. The address of the Service Canada Centre closest to where you live will be provided once you have completed your online application.

If your employer submits ROEs electronically to Service Canada, you do not need to request a copy of your Record of Employment from your employer as you are not required to provide us with paper copies. If you would like to see copies of any ROEs submitted electronically, you can view and print them online using My Service Canada Account once your employer submits them to us.

If you are having difficulty obtaining your ROEs from your employers, we can help. Go to your Service Canada Centre or contact us at 1 800-206 7218. One of our agents will advise you how to obtain your ROEs or what information we need to process your claim.

How to apply

You have to apply for EI benefits from this Web page. Regardless of whether you complete your application at home, in a public location that offers Internet access, or at a Service Canada Centre, the process is the same. It could take up to one hour to complete the application online.

Note: If you have any questions as you complete the application online, please consult the help instructions located at the bottom of each page of the application.

Before you start

1. You will need to gather the following personal information:
   • your Social Insurance Number (SIN) (if your SIN begins with a 9, you need to provide proof of your immigration status and work permit);
   • your mother's maiden name;
   • your mailing and residential address, including your postal code (find your postal code) - please note that if you do not have a usual place of residence, you must apply in person at your local office; and
   • your complete banking information - branch number, financial institution name and number, and account number - as shown on your cheque or bank statement, if you want your payments deposited directly into your bank account.
2. You will also need to gather the following employment information if you are or were an employee:
   • the names, addresses, dates of employment, and reasons for separation for all your employers in the last 52 weeks;
   • your detailed version of facts if you quit or were dismissed from any job in the last 52 weeks;
   • the dates of any weeks (Sunday to Saturday) in the last 52 weeks when you did not work or receive any earnings and the reasons why; and
   • the dates and salary before deductions for weeks (Sunday to Saturday) of employment in the last 52 weeks, if one of the following situations applies to you:
   • you have weeks where your earnings before deductions were less than $225 but more than $0 per week; or
   • you reside in one of the economic regions designated under the Best 14 Weeks pilot project and you are not applying for fishing benefits.

   If you are a self-employed person who has entered into an agreement with the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, you will also need the following employment information:

   • your self-employment earnings for the previous tax year (the exact amount, or the estimated amount if you have not filed your income tax and benefit return; and
   • if you are applying for sickness benefits, you will need to provide a medical certificate.

   You may also have to provide the following details if you are reactivating an existing claim:

   • the salary amount before deductions you received for the last week you worked (from Sunday to your last day of work), including tips and commissions;
   • any other amounts you received or will receive (e.g. vacation pay, severance pay, pension, pay in lieu of notice and other money).
3. You may also need to gather the following related information, depending on your situation:
   • If you are applying for parental benefits, you will be asked to provide the SIN of the other parent.
   • If you are applying for sickness benefits, you will be required to obtain a medical certificate and you may be instructed to submit it, depending on the situation.
   • If you are applying for compassionate care benefits, you will need to provide a medical certificate and information about the gravely ill family member, such as first and last name, date of birth, and residential address.

After you submit the application

As soon as you submit your application, you will receive a confirmation number on the Confirmation and Information page.

Be sure to read the Confirmation and Information page carefully - it will indicate whether you need to provide further information or documents to complete the application process. If you do not provide the additional information we request, we cannot finalize your application.

For future reference, be sure to write down details about the additional information requested and the confirmation number.

If you have any additional information to add or changes to make to your application after you submit it, or if you do not receive your confirmation number, please call 1 800-206 7218 (TTY: 1 800-529 3742) from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. local time, Monday to Friday. Do not complete another application online.

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