Express Entry CRS changes on November 3, 2026: what changes and what doesn't
Published October 19, 2026
On November 3, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is changing how the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) awards points for Canadian work experience and job offers, and removing the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) requirement for qualifying job offers. This guide summarizes what IRCC has published. It is general information, not immigration advice.
The new Labour Market Integration factor
IRCC is adding a new CRS factor called the Labour Market Integration factor. It gives you points for either:
- your Canadian work experience (based on how long you worked), with extra points if the experience was in an eligible high-wage occupation, or
- a qualifying job offer in an eligible high-wage occupation.
You get whichever option gives you more points. The two are not combined. The maximum is 150 points without an accompanying spouse or partner, and 140 points with one.
| Option | With a spouse or partner | Without a spouse or partner |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian work experience | 140 (70 work-length + 70 high-wage) | 150 (80 work-length + 70 high-wage) |
| Qualifying job offer | 100 | 100 |
What counts as a “high-wage occupation”
IRCC says an occupation is high-wage when the median wage of everyone in Canada working in that NOC is at least 1.3 times the average median wage of the overall Canadian workforce. It is based on the NOC code, not on your own salary. IRCC groups eligible occupations into three levels (at least 1.3×, 1.5× and 2× the average median wage) and publishes the list of eligible jobs.
Points for Canadian work experience
Work-length points stay the same as today (for qualifying TEER 0–3 experience):
| Canadian work experience | With a spouse or partner | Without a spouse or partner |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 year | 0 | 0 |
| 1 year | 35 | 40 |
| 2 years | 46 | 53 |
| 3 years | 56 | 64 |
| 4 years | 63 | 72 |
| 5 years or more | 70 | 80 |
On top of that, if you have at least 12 months (1,560 hours) of qualifying Canadian experience in eligible high-wage occupations, IRCC adds:
| Qualifying Canadian experience in high-wage occupations | Extra points |
|---|---|
| At least 12 months at 2× the average median wage or more | 70 |
| Otherwise, at least 12 months combined at 1.5× or more | 40 |
| Otherwise, at least 12 months combined at 1.3× or more | 20 |
The experience can be continuous or not, full-time or an equal amount of part-time, and combined across more than one eligible job. If you held two jobs at once, hours only count up to full-time (30 hours a week).
Skill transferability is not changing. It still uses the length of your Canadian work experience, not the high-wage points.
Points for a job offer
Job-offer points return to the CRS (they were removed in March 2025), but only for jobs in eligible high-wage occupations:
| Job offer | Points |
|---|---|
| High-wage occupation at 2× the average median wage or more | 100 |
| At least 1.5× but less than 2× | 70 |
| At least 1.3× but less than 1.5× | 50 |
| Not in a high-wage occupation | 0 |
From November 3, 2026, according to IRCC:
- you don’t need an LMIA for a job offer to qualify for program eligibility or CRS points
- having an LMIA won’t give you more points or priority
- the offer can be for an existing or a new position, with an existing or a new employer
- an officer will assess whether the job offer is genuine when you apply for permanent residence
IRCC also notes that its online system won’t immediately reflect the change. Its changes page explains exactly how to fill in the LMIA fields in your profile if your job offer doesn’t have an LMIA. Follow IRCC’s instructions on that page.
What isn’t changing
- If a valid job offer is part of a program’s eligibility rules (Federal Skilled Trades, Federal Skilled Worker, some provincial nominee streams), that stays the same. For eligibility, the offer can still be in any eligible TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 job, not only high-wage jobs.
- Age, education, language, spouse, skill transferability and additional points (provincial nomination, French, Canadian study, sibling) are not changed by this update.
Draws will pause
IRCC says the system will recalculate existing profiles when the changes take effect, which could take up to two weeks. Invitation rounds will pause during that time and restart once it’s done.
Check your score both ways
Our free CRS calculator lets you switch between the current rules and the rules from November 3, 2026, so you can see how the Labour Market Integration factor affects your profile.
Last checked against canada.ca on October 19, 2026. IRCC can change its rules at any time. Always confirm on the official pages linked below.