The Canadian Immigration and Citizenship Commission (IRCC) announced on October 16 that it would change the Composite Ranking Points (CRS) method for Express Entry. The new method will take effect on November 3, 2026, and its core feature is to award additional points to candidates with Canadian work experience or job offers in high-paying occupations.
- Effective Date: November 3, 2026 — Scores are based on either Canadian experience or a high-paying job offer, and even if both are met, the higher of the two is applied instead of being combined.
- Canadian Experience: If you have more than one year of experience in a high-wage occupation, you can receive an additional 20, 40, or 70 points depending on the wage level, and combined with the experience period score (maximum 80 points), you can receive up to 150 points.
- Job Offer: Regular job offers in high-wage occupations receive 50, 70, or 100 points depending on the wage level. In principle, a job offer must be for a position where you work full-time continuously for at least one year after obtaining permanent residency.
- Abolition of LMIA: Starting November 3, a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) will no longer be required for job offers to receive the new points, and a temporary policy with the same intent will apply to job offer requirements for the Federal Skilled Migration and Skilled Works programs. However, the IRCC will continue to review whether job offers are genuine.
- maximum: The maximum score for this 'Labor Market Integration' item is 150 points if there is no accompanying spouse, and 140 points if there is.
The IRCC advised candidates expecting job offer points to ensure that their job offer information in their Express Entry profile is accurately entered before November 3. Additional points do not guarantee an Invitation to Apply (ITA), and eligibility depends on the requirements of each round and the CRS cutoff. Occupations such as engineers and electricians were cited as examples.
Source: Immigration and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Canada.ca
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/2026/10/changes-to-express-entry-for-high-wage-occupations.html |
