The new points

IRCC announced today a change to how Express Entry scores candidates. It creates a factor called Labour Market Integration, which awards points through one of two routes, never both: Canadian work experience or a job offer. The system calculates both and gives you whichever is higher.

The points for years worked are the same as today. They are still awarded for any TEER 0 to 3 occupation, whether or not it is on the list. What is added is the extra for high-wage experience, which is new, and job offer points, which return to the CRS. Both depend on the level of the occupation:

Months at a higher level count toward the lower ones: 6 months at the 2 times level and 6 at the 1.5 level add up to 12 months at 1.5 or above, worth 40. The 12 months can be continuous or not, or an equal amount of part time work, and can be combined across more than one job on the list; if the jobs overlap, hours count only up to the full time equivalent of 30 hours a week. The count of codes and the example are ours, based on the official list and rules.

What is a high-wage occupation

It does not depend on what you are paid. IRCC takes the median wage of everyone working in Canada under the same NOC code and compares it with the average median wage of the whole Canadian workforce, using data from the last three years. The first list uses data from 2023 to 2025 and has 186 codes.

That is why a high salary in an occupation that is not on the list earns neither the extra nor job offer points, although the experience still counts for years worked. And a modest salary in an occupation on the list earns the full points for its level.

Some examples: general practitioners and family physicians (NOC 31102) are at the 2 times level; registered nurses (31301), civil engineers (21300) and software developers (21232) at 1.5; industrial electricians (72201) at 1.3. Carpenters (72310), cooks (63200) and transport truck drivers (73300) are not on the list.

If the list changes after IRCC invites you, it keeps using the level your occupation had on the day of the invitation.

Job offers without an LMIA: what it means and what it does not

An LMIA is a document some employers in Canada need before hiring a foreign worker. A positive LMIA shows that a foreign worker is needed for the job and that no Canadian worker or permanent resident is available.

Until November 2. For a job offer to count in Express Entry, the employer generally needs an LMIA. There are two exceptions: you already work for that employer on a work permit based on an LMIA, or you work for them on a work permit exempt from the LMIA and have been there for at least a year. Also, a job offer currently earns no CRS points: IRCC says it is reintroducing them.

From November 3. Within Express Entry, a job offer no longer needs an LMIA for two things:

• Earning CRS points: 50, 70 or 100, if the occupation is on the high-wage list. Having an LMIA gives no extra points or priority.
• Meeting the job offer requirement of the Federal Skilled Worker Program or the Federal Skilled Trades Program: here the offer can be in any TEER 0 to 3 occupation that meets program requirements. If it is not on the list, it helps with eligibility but earns no points. This works through a temporary public policy that exempts candidates invited on or after November 3 who meet its conditions from LMIA requirements, including those tied to LMIA exemptions.

What IRCC checks instead of the LMIA. A single assessment remains: that of an IRCC officer, when you apply for permanent residence. The officer confirms the offer is genuine: that the employer is actively in business, that the offer reflects a reasonable need, that the employer can meet its terms and complies with employment and recruitment laws, and that you are qualified and likely to accept and carry out the job. If the officer is not satisfied, the offer counts neither for eligibility nor for points. A revoked offer does not count either.

What it does not mean:

• It does not change work permits. The LMIA change applies only to Express Entry, which leads to permanent residence. If you are looking for a permit to come and work in Canada, this announcement does not change what is required of you.
• Not every offer qualifies. It must be recent and in writing, and generally full time, continuous and for at least one year after you become a permanent resident. Some occupations, such as skilled trades and physicians providing publicly funded medical services, have specific requirements. A work permit, even an open one, is not a job offer.
• It does not apply before November 3. Until then, the current rules apply.

Fraud alert. IRCC says it will keep verifying job offers and take measures to identify and address potential fraud or misrepresentation. If someone charges you for a job offer for Express Entry, do not go ahead.

Who gains and how much

• If you have Canadian work experience: your points for years worked do not change. An extra 20, 40 or 70 is added if you have at least 12 months in occupations on the list. Generally, the experience must be from the last 10 years and in TEER 0 to 3 occupations. Skill transferability factors are still calculated as they are today.
• If you have no Canadian work experience: the route is a job offer: 50, 70 or 100 points depending on the level of the occupation offered.
• If you have both: the higher one counts. Without a spouse, one year in Canada in an occupation at the 2 times level gives 40 plus 70, or 110, more than any job offer. One year at the 1.3 level gives 40 plus 20, or 60; a job offer at the 1.5 level is worth 70 and beats it.

These examples are our own calculations from the official tables. As IRCC points out, more points do not guarantee an invitation: each round has its own requirements and cutoff score.

What to do before November 3

• If you have a job offer that is not in your profile: add it before November 3. That is what IRCC asks candidates to do before that date.
• If your job offer has no LMIA: IRCC warns that when the rules change, the online system will still ask for LMIA details. Its job offer page explains how to fill in those fields. Follow those instructions as published, including the date from which they apply.
• If you have Canadian experience: IRCC recalculates your points automatically. Check that the NOC code of each job matches the duties you actually performed, because the level comes from that code.
• Rounds: from November 3, IRCC pauses them for up to two weeks while it recalculates profiles, and resumes them once that is complete.