How Express Entry works

Category-based rounds supplement general and program-specific rounds. Candidates must be in the pool, eligible for FSW, CEC or FST, and meet the round instructions. Current categories on the page: French-language proficiency; healthcare and social services occupations; STEM occupations; trade occupations; education occupations; transport occupations; physicians with Canadian work experience; senior managers with Canadian work experience; researchers with Canadian work experience; skilled military recruits. Occupation categories require, within the past 3 years, at least 12 months of full-time work experience (or equivalent part-time), not necessarily continuous, in a single listed occupation (NOC 2021 code); for most categories it can be in Canada or abroad, but for physicians, senior managers and researchers it must be in Canada. Skilled military recruits must be Foreign Skilled Military Applicants (including at least 10 years of continuous service in a recognized foreign military), with an arranged employment offer from the Canadian Armed Forces and at least a 2-year post-secondary credential.

To be eligible for French-language proficiency category rounds, candidates must have French test results with a minimum NCLC 7 in all four abilities (no work-experience requirement beyond program eligibility).

Points with spouse/partner / without: 17 or younger 0/0; 18 = 90/99; 19 = 95/105; 20–29 = 100/110; 30 = 95/105; 31 = 90/99; 32 = 85/94; 33 = 80/88; 34 = 75/83; 35 = 70/77; 36 = 65/72; 37 = 60/66; 38 = 55/61; 39 = 50/55; 40 = 45/50; 41 = 35/39; 42 = 25/28; 43 = 15/17; 44 = 5/6; 45 or older = 0/0. Use the 'without spouse' column if there is no spouse/partner, the spouse is not coming to Canada, or the spouse is a Canadian citizen or PR.

With spouse / without: less than secondary 0/0; secondary diploma 28/30; one-year post-secondary credential 84/90; two-year program 91/98; bachelor's or three-or-more-year program 112/120; two or more credentials, one of three or more years 119/128; master's or professional degree needed to practise a licensed profession 126/135; doctoral (PhD) 140/150. Foreign credentials need a valid ECA to earn points.

First official language, per ability (with spouse / without): below CLB 4 = 0/0; CLB 4 or 5 = 6/6; CLB 6 = 8/9; CLB 7 = 16/17; CLB 8 = 22/23; CLB 9 = 29/31; CLB 10 or more = 32/34 (max 128 with spouse / 136 without). Second official language, per ability: CLB 4 or less = 0; CLB 5 or 6 = 1; CLB 7 or 8 = 3; CLB 9 or more = 6 (max 22 with spouse / 24 without).

With spouse / without: none or 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. Qualifying Canadian work experience: full-time (at least 30 hours/week) or equivalent, acquired in Canada within the 10 years preceding the day points are assigned, while holding temporary resident status, either (a) in NOC unit group 31100, 31101 or 31102 (physicians) while providing publicly funded medical services, where self-employed time can count, or (b) in TEER 0–3 occupations with one or more employers, paid by wages or commission. Self-employment (except under (a)), unauthorized work and work during full-time study are excluded. IRCC: Canadian work experience means working for a Canadian employer in Canada; remote work counts only if the person was physically in Canada. From November 3, 2026 these work-length points are part of the Labour Market Integration factor: candidates also get extra points for at least 12 months of Canadian work in a high-wage occupation (PR-CRS-013), or job offer points instead (PR-CRS-012) when those are higher. The work-length points and the requirements for qualifying Canadian work experience do not change.

Applies only if the spouse/partner is coming to Canada and is not a Canadian citizen or PR; otherwise the candidate is scored as single. Spouse education (max 10): less than secondary 0; secondary 2; one-year 6; two-year 7; bachelor's/three-year 8; two or more credentials 9; master's/professional 10; doctoral 10. Spouse first official language (max 20; per ability): CLB 4 or less 0; CLB 5–6 1; CLB 7–8 3; CLB 9 or more 5. Spouse Canadian work experience (max 10): none/under 1 year 0; 1 year 5; 2 years 7; 3 years 8; 4 years 9; 5 or more 10.

Education + language: CLB 7+ in all first-language abilities with one or more under 9: post-secondary of 1 year or longer 13; two or more credentials (one 3+ years) 25; master's/professional 25; doctoral 25. CLB 9+ in all four: 25, 50, 50, 50 respectively. Education + Canadian work: 1 year Canadian work: 13 / 25 / 25 / 25; 2+ years: 25 / 50 / 50 / 50. Foreign work + language: CLB 7+ (one or more under 9): 1–2 years foreign 13, 3+ years 25; CLB 9+ in all four: 25 and 50. Foreign work + Canadian work: with 1 year Canadian: 1–2 years foreign 13, 3+ years 25; with 2+ years Canadian: 25 and 50. Certificate of qualification (trades) + language: CLB 5+ in all four with one or more under 7 = 25; CLB 7+ in all four = 50. Each pair is capped at 50 for education and at 50 for foreign work; total capped at 100. Foreign work experience must be outside Canada, TEER 0–3, full-time or equivalent, paid, within the last 10 years.

600 points if the candidate is named in a nomination certificate from a participating province/territory, the province has confirmed the nomination with IRCC and the candidate has accepted it in their account. Points are lost if the province revokes the certificate or the candidate declines it. 600 is the maximum for additional points, so nomination points are not added on top of other additional points; points are awarded only once.

As of March 25, 2025, IRCC removed CRS points for job offers for current and future candidates (Ministerial Instructions Amending the Ministerial Instructions Respecting the Express Entry System, 2025-1, repealed subsection 29(1)); the former job offer points continue to apply only to invitations issued before that day on the basis of those points. Where a valid job offer is part of program eligibility it still matters: FSW arranged-employment grid points and proof-of-funds exemption, FST eligibility, and some PNP streams.

15 points if the candidate or accompanying spouse/partner has a brother or sister living in Canada who is 18 or older and a Canadian citizen or PR. A sibling is a biological or adoptive child of the candidate's (or accompanying spouse's) father or mother, or of that parent's spouse or common-law partner (Ministerial Instructions s. 31).

25 points for NCLC 7 or higher in all four French abilities with CLB 4 or lower in English (or no English test); 50 points for NCLC 7 or higher in all four French abilities and CLB 5 or higher in all four English abilities. Results must be from an approved test and less than 2 years old.

15 points for a Canadian post-secondary credential of one or two years; 30 points for a credential of three years or longer (including master's, professional or doctoral). The credential must be from a Canadian institution, with at least eight months of full-time study completed while physically present in Canada. Credentials do not qualify if English/French as a second language made up more than half the program, if distance learning made up more than half, or if obtained under a scholarship/fellowship requiring return to the home country (presence/distance rules were relaxed for programs delivered between March 1, 2020 and August 31, 2022).

As of November 3, 2026, the CRS Labour Market Integration factor gives points for either Canadian work experience (with extra points for work in eligible high-wage occupations) or a qualifying job offer in an eligible high-wage occupation, whichever gives more; they are not combined. The factor is worth at most 150 points (140 with an accompanying spouse or common-law partner). Job offer points: 100 for a job in a high-wage occupation with a median wage at least twice the average median wage; 70 for at least 1.5 times but less than twice; 50 for at least 1.3 times but less than 1.5 times; 0 for a job not in a high-wage occupation. The offer must be valid under Express Entry (generally full-time, continuous work in Canada for at least one year after the candidate becomes a permanent resident) and be for a position in an occupation on IRCC’s three-level high-wage NOC list. No LMIA is needed and an LMIA gives no extra points; offers may be for an existing or new position, with an existing or new employer. An officer must be satisfied the offer is genuine: the employer is active in the business, can fulfil the offer, has a real need and follows employment and recruitment laws, and the candidate is qualified, able to do the work and likely to accept it. A revoked offer no longer qualifies. Specific requirements apply to skilled trades and to physicians providing publicly funded medical services.

As of November 3, 2026, candidates with at least 1 year (12 months or 1,560 hours) of qualifying Canadian work experience gained in one or more eligible high-wage occupations get high-wage occupation points on top of the work-length points (PR-CRS-004): 70 for at least 12 months in occupations whose median wage is at least twice the average median wage; if not eligible for 70, 40 for at least 12 months combined in occupations at least 1.5 times the average median wage; if not eligible for 40, 20 for at least 12 months combined in occupations at least 1.3 times; 0 for less than 12 months. The experience must meet the existing requirements for qualifying Canadian work experience; it may be continuous or not, full-time or an equal amount of part-time, and combined across more than one eligible high-wage job (work in jobs held at the same time counts only up to 30 hours a week). Whether an occupation is high-wage depends on the median wage of everyone in Canada in that NOC, not on the person’s own job or pay. With the work-length points the most a candidate can get is 150 (140 with an accompanying spouse or common-law partner). Skills transferability points keep using the existing Canadian work experience rules.

Foreign education needs an ECA for immigration purposes to be eligible as an FSW principal applicant and to earn CRS points for foreign education (including an accompanying spouse's). No ECA is needed for Canadian credentials. The ECA must be less than 5 years old when the profile is completed and when the application is submitted (and remain valid while in the pool); an application with an expired ECA is refused. Designated organizations: Comparative Education Service (University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies), International Credential Assessment Service of Canada, World Education Services, International Qualifications Assessment Service (IQAS), International Credential Evaluation Service (BCIT). Professional bodies: Medical Council of Canada (specialists and family physicians, NOC 31100/31101/31102, required), Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada (pharmacists NOC 31120, if licence needed), Canadian Architectural Certification Board (architects NOC 21200, if licence needed). To claim two or more credentials, each needs an ECA.

Only these tests are accepted: English: CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training, PTE Core; French: TEF Canada, TCF Canada. IELTS One Skill Retake is not accepted. Results must be less than 2 years old both when the profile is completed and when the PR application is submitted; an application with expired results is refused. Results from a designated tester are conclusive evidence of language ability (IRPR 74(7)). A candidate with a disability who cannot complete one or more sections uses averaged scores for those abilities, from the test organization or IRCC's language averaging tool; IRCC verifies both the averaged scores and the test results.

Occupations are classified under NOC 2021 Version 1.0 into TEER 0 (management), 1 (usually a university degree), 2 (usually a college diploma, apprenticeship of 2+ years, or supervisory), 3 (usually a college diploma, apprenticeship under 2 years, or more than 6 months on-the-job training), 4 (usually high school or several weeks of training) and 5 (short-term demonstration, no formal education). FSW, CEC and FST experience must be in TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 (FST further limited to listed trade groups). The NOC is identified by matching actual duties to the lead statement and main duties, not by job title; where IRCC's page conflicts with the NOC website, the NOC website governs.

Candidates create an online Express Entry profile (to be completed within 60 days) and enter the pool only if they meet the minimum requirements of at least one of FSW, CEC or FST. Entering the pool does not guarantee an invitation. Candidates are ranked by CRS and invited in rounds; if eligible for more than one program, IRCC invites them under the first program they qualify for in the order CEC, then FSW, then FST, and the candidate cannot choose. A profile expires 12 months after it was submitted if no invitation is issued (Ministerial Instructions s. 4(1)(b)). Ties at the cut-off score are broken by the date and time the profile was submitted; updating a profile does not change that date. Working in Canada without status can make a candidate ineligible.

An invitation to apply (ITA) is valid for 60 days only; if the candidate neither applies nor declines within 60 days, the invitation expires and the profile is removed from the pool. A profile with no invitation expires 12 months after submission. Applications submitted with expired language results or an expired ECA are refused. Most applicants must upload police certificates, and an immigration medical exam (IME) from a panel physician is required for the applicant and all family members, even those not coming to Canada; IME results must be valid when the application is submitted and when PR is granted. An applicant living in Canada who completed an IME for a previous application in the past 5 years may not need a new one and can provide the information printout, IMM 1017B or IME number instead.

FSW, CEC and FST applicants must plan to live in a province other than Quebec (Quebec selects its own skilled workers); work experience gained while living in Quebec can count for FSW, CEC and FST if the applicant proves they do not plan to settle there (proof must be included and officers may check it). Provincial nominees must intend to live in the province or territory that nominated them.

IRCC’s job offer page: a candidate with a job offer that isn’t included in their profile should update it before November 3, 2026. The system will recalculate existing profiles when the changes take effect, which may take up to two weeks, and invitation rounds will pause until it is complete. Candidates who may qualify for job offer points should review their profile before November 3 to check that all required job offer information is included and accurate.

FSW and FST applicants must show transferable, available, unencumbered funds equal to one half of Statistics Canada's low-income cut-off for the family unit (IRPR 76(1)(b)(i), 87.2(5)). IRCC table 'Funds you need (CAD) Updated July 7, 2025': 1 family member $15,263; 2 $19,001; 3 $23,360; 4 $28,362; 5 $32,168; 6 $36,280; 7 $40,392; each additional family member $4,112. Family size counts the applicant, spouse/common-law partner, dependent children and the spouse/partner's dependent children, even if they are Canadian citizens/PRs or are not coming to Canada. Exempt: Canadian Experience Class applicants, and FSW/FST applicants who are currently authorized to work in Canada and have a valid job offer (exempt applicants still upload an explanation letter). IRCC updates the amounts every year (50% of LICO).

Funds must be legally accessible to the applicant on arrival, available when the application is made and when the PR visa is issued, and unencumbered by debts; money cannot be borrowed from another person and equity in real property does not count. Funds in a joint account with an accompanying spouse can count; funds in the spouse's name may count with proof of access. Proof: official letters from every bank or financial institution on letterhead with contact details, the applicant's name, outstanding debts (credit cards, loans), and for each account the account number, opening date, current balance and average balance over the past 6 months.

FSW and FST applicants must show transferable, available, unencumbered funds equal to one half of Statistics Canada's low-income cut-off for the family unit (IRPR 76(1)(b)(i), 87.2(5)). IRCC table 'Funds you need (CAD) Updated July 7, 2025': 1 family member $15,263; 2 $19,001; 3 $23,360; 4 $28,362; 5 $32,168; 6 $36,280; 7 $40,392; each additional family member $4,112. Family size counts the applicant, spouse/common-law partner, dependent children and the spouse/partner's dependent children, even if they are Canadian citizens/PRs or are not coming to Canada. Exempt: Canadian Experience Class applicants, and FSW/FST applicants who are currently authorized to work in Canada and have a valid job offer (exempt applicants still upload an explanation letter). IRCC updates the amounts every year (50% of LICO). From November 3, 2026, a valid job offer no longer needs an LMIA, so an applicant authorized to work in Canada with a valid job offer is exempt whatever the offer is based on.

Funds must be legally accessible to the applicant on arrival, available when the application is made and when the PR visa is issued, and unencumbered by debts; money cannot be borrowed from another person and equity in real property does not count. Funds in a joint account with an accompanying spouse can count; funds in the spouse's name may count with proof of access. Proof: official letters from every bank or financial institution on letterhead with contact details, the applicant's name, outstanding debts (credit cards, loans), and for each account the account number, opening date, current balance and average balance over the past 6 months. From November 3, 2026, a valid job offer no longer needs an LMIA, so an applicant authorized to work in Canada with a valid job offer is exempt whatever the offer is based on.