Canada Changes Immigration Scoring as High-Wage Workers Get Extra Points

Canada will introduce changes to its Express Entry immigration system on 3 November 2026, giving additional points to candidates with eligible Canadian work experience in high-wage occupations and those with qualifying job offers.

Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced the changes to the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which ranks candidates seeking permanent residence through Express Entry. The revised system will prioritise applicants whose skills and employment experience align with Canada's economic needs.

Under the new rules, candidates with eligible Canadian work experience in high-wage occupations will receive additional CRS points. Applicants with qualifying job offers in the same category of occupations will also benefit. The new points will be added to those already awarded for Canadian work experience.

The changes reflect Canada's growing emphasis on retaining temporary workers and international graduates who have already gained experience in the country's labour market. The government aims to make it easier for people with established employment records to transition to permanent residence.

Eligibility for the high-wage category will be determined by occupational wage data rather than an individual's actual earnings. Jobs will qualify if their median wage is at least 1.3 times the median wage across Canada's workforce. The threshold is expected to cover occupations in healthcare, engineering, technology, skilled trades and education, among other sectors.

Another major change is the removal of the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) requirement for qualifying job offers used to claim the new CRS points. From 3 November 2026, applicants will no longer need an LMIA to receive points for an eligible job offer.

The amendment will also affect job-offer requirements under the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. The government intends to reduce administrative work for employers and applicants while maintaining checks to ensure job offers are genuine and meet immigration programme requirements.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will automatically recalculate the CRS scores of candidates already in the Express Entry pool. The process is expected to take up to two weeks. Invitation rounds will be temporarily suspended during the recalculation and will resume once the updated rankings are complete.

Candidates with qualifying job offers are encouraged to ensure their Express Entry profiles contain accurate and up-to-date employment information before the changes take effect. This will help ensure they receive any additional points for which they qualify.

However, the removal of the LMIA requirement for the new CRS points will not eliminate existing job-offer conditions under immigration programmes. Valid job offers will continue to form part of the eligibility requirements for certain streams under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program and some provincial nominee programmes.

The changes follow other adjustments to Canada's immigration system, including measures targeting medical doctors with Canadian work experience and category-based selection for occupations in healthcare, skilled trades, transportation, research and education.