Highlights: Canada Reintroduces Job Offer Points for Express Entry Candidates
- IRCC has announced plans to restore additional CRS points for Express Entry candidates with a job offer.
- The Canadian immigration authorities have officially updated their CRS points for job offers on March 13, 2026.
- Foreign nationals with job offers and Canadian work experience in high-wage occupations will receive extra CRS points in Express Entry draws.
- Skilled workers across several in-demand fields of Express Entry’s occupational categories must obtain official certification from a specific regulatory body.
- The recent measures are part of a broader Talent Attraction Strategy in Canada to attract top global talent to address a workforce shortage.
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Canada Updates CRS Points for Express Entry Candidates with Job Offer
Canada recently plans to allot extra CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) points to Express Entry applicants with a secure job offer. (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) had decided initially in March 2025 to remove bonus points for Express Entry candidates with valid job offers, including those backed by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
Under the previous system, foreign nationals working in Canada would receive an additional 50 or 200 CRS points. IRCC later removed point allocation for job offers in Express Entry draws on March 25, 2025, to restore the integrity of the system.
Canada published its plans to reintroduce CRS points for job offers for Express Entry draws later on March 13, 2026, as part of a broader suite of reforms. Although a clear timeline is yet to be released, Canada expresses its firm intention to award points to candidates with “job offers and Canadian work experience in high wage occupations.
The planned measures are here to support Canada’s Talent Attraction Strategy to hire qualified foreign professionals to meet workforce demand.
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Which Canadian Jobs qualify as High-Wages Occupations for Express Entry?
The Express Entry program assesses skilled work based on experience in Training Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) classification and Canada's National Occupation Classification (NOC) system.
Here is how Canada classifies high-wage roles for Express Entry:
- Higher TEER (0, 1, 2) occupations are broadly considered under the revised Express Entry rules.
- For the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), a job qualifies as a high-wage role if the occupation's hourly wage meets or exceeds the province's median hourly wage.
- The high-wage role is subject to the region where a candidate's work experience was gathered in Canada.
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