On November 3, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) changed how it awards CRS points for Canadian work experience and job offers. The maximum score rose from 1,200 to 1,270, and every profile in the pool is being recalculated.
The changes at a glance
- A new Labour Market Integration factor, worth up to 150 points, now sits in the core section of the CRS.
- Canadian work experience in a listed high-wage occupation earns up to 70 extra points.
- Job offer points have returned: 50, 70 or 100 points, but only for offers in listed high-wage occupations.
- You get points for Canadian experience or a job offer, whichever is higher. Never both.
- A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is no longer required for an Express Entry job offer, and having one earns nothing extra.
- Invitation rounds are paused while IRCC recalculates existing profiles, which it said could take up to two weeks.
The new Labour Market Integration factor
Before the change, Canadian work experience was scored on length alone: up to 80 points for five years or more. That line has been replaced by the Labour Market Integration factor, which IRCC calculates in two ways and then keeps the higher result.
| Score option | With a spouse or partner | Without a spouse or partner |
|---|---|---|
| Canadian work experience: work-length points | up to 70 | up to 80 |
| Canadian work experience: high-wage occupation points | up to 70 | up to 70 |
| Qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation | up to 100 | up to 100 |
| Maximum for the factor (higher option only) | 140 | 150 |
Option 1: Canadian work experience
This option has two parts added together. The first is the same work-length table as before. The eligibility rules for Canadian work experience have not changed.
| Canadian work experience | With a spouse or partner | Without a spouse or partner |
|---|---|---|
| None or less than a 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 |
| Maximum | 70 | 80 |
The second part is new. If at least 12 months (1,560 hours) of your qualifying Canadian experience was in one or more listed high-wage occupations, you earn extra points.
| Qualifying Canadian work experience | Points |
|---|---|
| At least 12 months in occupations with median wages at least twice the average median wage | 70 |
| At least 12 months in occupations with median wages at least 1.5 times the average median wage | 40 |
| At least 12 months in occupations with median wages at least 1.3 times the average median wage | 20 |
| No qualifying high-wage experience (less than 12 months) | 0 |
| Maximum | 70 |
Option 2: a qualifying job offer
Job offer points were removed from the CRS in March 2025. They are back, in a narrower form. The offer must be valid under Express Entry and be for a position in a listed high-wage occupation.
| Job offer category | Points |
|---|---|
| High-wage occupation with at least twice the average median wage | 100 |
| High-wage occupation with at least 1.5 times, but less than twice, the average median wage | 70 |
| High-wage occupation with at least 1.3 times, but less than 1.5 times, the average median wage | 50 |
| No valid job offer in a high-wage occupation | 0 |
| Maximum | 100 |
Our Labour Market Integration factor guide works through the calculation in more detail.
What counts as a high-wage occupation
An occupation is high-wage if the median wage of everyone working in it across Canada is at least 1.3 times the average median wage of the whole workforce. The test is applied to the NOC code, not to your own pay. IRCC publishes the list in three levels (1.3 times, 1.5 times and twice the median) and bases it on three years of data from the Job Bank, the Labour Force Survey and the Census.
The list in force from November 3, 2026 includes 186 occupations. Software developers, registered nurses, civil engineers and secondary school teachers are at the 1.5 level. Financial managers, physicians and lawyers are at the top level. Accountants, web developers and social workers are at the 1.3 level.
Search for your own code with the high-wage occupation checker.
What changed for job offers
IRCC also changed how it assesses job offers. As of November 3, 2026:
- you do not need an LMIA for a job offer to qualify for program eligibility or CRS points,
- an LMIA gives no extra CRS points and no priority,
- the offer can be for an existing or a new position, with an existing or a new employer, and
- an officer assesses whether the offer is genuine when you apply for permanent residence.
To decide whether an offer is genuine, the officer looks at whether the employer is active in the business, can fulfil the terms of the offer, made an offer that meets its needs and follows employment and recruitment laws. The officer also looks at whether you are qualified for the work and likely to take the job.
Updating your profile if you have a job offer without an LMIA
IRCC says its online system does not yet reflect the change, so the profile form still asks for LMIA details. Its instructions are to answer "Yes" to the question about a positive LMIA and enter the placeholder values it has published: LMIA number 00000, issuance date 2026-01-01 and expiry date 2029-01-01. Check the IRCC page linked below before you update your profile, in case these instructions change.
Program eligibility is assessed separately
The rules for CRS job offer points are narrower than the rules that make you eligible for a program. A valid job offer in any eligible TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation can still help you qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker Program or the Federal Skilled Trades Program, even though it earns no CRS points unless the occupation is on the high-wage list.
Who gains and who loses
These three examples were scored with our CRS calculator. Each person is single.
| Profile | Labour Market Integration | CRS score |
|---|---|---|
| Age 27, bachelor's degree, CLB 9, two years of foreign experience, one year in Canada in an occupation that is not listed | 40 | 470 |
| The same person, but the year in Canada was as a software developer (1.5 level) | 80 | 510 |
| Age 29, master's degree, CLB 9, three years of foreign experience, no Canadian experience, job offer at the 1.5 level | 70 | 539 |
The pattern is clear. Candidates with Canadian experience in listed occupations, and candidates abroad with a job offer in one, gain the most. Candidates whose Canadian experience is in unlisted occupations keep the points they had, but they may now rank lower against people who gained.
What to do now
- Recalculate your score. Use the CRS calculator, which already applies the new factor.
- Check your NOC codes. Look up each Canadian job you have held, and any job offer, on the high-wage occupations list.
- Update your profile if you have a job offer that is not yet recorded.
- Do not rely on old cut-offs. Scores across the pool have shifted. Watch the first few rounds after the pause on our draws page.
- Keep improving what you control. Language results are still the fastest way to add points. See how to improve your CRS score.