Express Entry changed on 3 November 2026. The Comprehensive Ranking System now awards up to 150 points under a new Labour Market Integration factor, job offer points are back, and a Labour Market Impact Assessment is no longer required for a job offer to count. IRCC paused invitation rounds while every profile was recalculated.
The changes were announced in October and came into force on 3 November. IRCC says recalculating points in existing profiles could take up to two weeks, and that rounds of invitations are paused during that period and resume when it is complete. A candidate whose score moves should therefore expect a gap in the draw calendar, not a change in the schedule.
What the new factor replaces
CRS points for a job offer were removed in March 2025, which left Canadian work experience as the only labour-market signal in the grid. The new Labour Market Integration factor restores the job-offer route but caps the whole factor at 150 points for a candidate without an accompanying spouse or common-law partner, and 140 with one.
The mechanism matters: a candidate is scored on either Canadian work experience or a qualifying job offer, and receives whichever produces more points. They are not added together.
Canadian work experience under the new rules
Work-length points are unchanged from the existing grid, and so are the eligibility requirements for qualifying Canadian work experience. What is new is a second layer on top: extra points where that experience was in an eligible high-wage occupation.
| Length of Canadian work experience | With spouse (max 70) | Without spouse (max 80) |
|---|---|---|
| 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, high-wage occupation points:
| Qualifying Canadian experience in high-wage occupations | Extra points |
|---|---|
| At least 12 months where the median wage is at least twice the average median wage | 70 |
| If not eligible for 70 — at least 12 months combined at 1.5 times the median or above | 40 |
| If not eligible for 40 — at least 12 months combined at 1.3 times the median or above | 20 |
| Less than 12 months in high-wage occupations | 0 |
To qualify for the extra points a candidate needs at least 12 months — 1,560 hours — of qualifying Canadian work experience that meets the existing Express Entry requirements and was gained in one or more eligible high-wage occupations. The experience can be continuous or not, full-time or an equal amount of part-time, and combined across more than one eligible high-wage job. Where a candidate held several jobs at once, hours count only up to 30 per week.
Job offer points, restated
| Job offer | Points |
|---|---|
| High-wage occupation at least twice the average median wage | 100 |
| At least 1.5 times, less than twice | 70 |
| At least 1.3 times, less than 1.5 times | 50 |
| Not a high-wage occupation | 0 |
What “high-wage occupation” actually means
This is the definition most candidates get wrong. A job is a high-wage occupation if the median wage of everyone in Canada performing that occupation is at least 1.3 times the average median wage of the entire Canadian workforce. It is decided by National Occupational Classification code, not by what a particular employer pays a particular person. A high salary in a low-median occupation earns nothing extra; a modest salary in an occupation whose Canadian median is high earns the points.
IRCC groups eligible occupations into three levels and publishes the list. Checking your NOC against that list before anything else will tell you whether the rest of this matters to your score.
The LMIA change, and the trap in the profile form
From 3 November 2026:
- a Labour Market Impact Assessment is no longer required for a job offer to qualify for program eligibility or CRS points;
- having an LMIA gives no additional points and no priority;
- offers may be for an existing or a new position, and from an existing or a new employer;
- an officer still assesses whether the offer is genuine.
There is an awkward transitional detail. IRCC’s online system does not yet reflect the change, so a candidate with an LMIA-exempt offer must still answer as though one existed. IRCC’s own instruction is to select “Yes” to a positive LMIA and enter placeholder values:
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Was a positive LMIA issued for the job offer in Canada? | Yes |
| LMIA Number | 00000 |
| LMIA Issuance Date | 2026-01-01 |
| LMIA Expiry Date | 2029-01-01 |
Answering truthfully that no LMIA exists, at least until the portal is updated, is the route to a profile that does not award the points.
Program eligibility is a separate test
For the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program, a valid job offer can still help a candidate meet program eligibility even when the occupation is not on the high-wage list. Those offers may be in any eligible TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 job that meets program requirements. The two tests — eligibility and CRS points — are assessed separately, and an offer can pass one while failing the other.
A temporary public policy also exempts candidates invited on or after 3 November 2026 from LMIA and LMIA-exemption requirements for qualifying job offers used to establish eligibility under those two programs, provided the policy’s conditions are met.
Genuineness: what an officer now checks
Because the LMIA gate is gone, the officer’s assessment carries more weight. IRCC lists the questions: whether the employer is actively engaged in the business, whether the offer reflects reasonable employment needs, whether the employer can meet the offer’s terms, whether the candidate is qualified and likely to accept and carry out the work, and whether the employer has complied with federal and provincial employment and recruitment laws. A revoked offer no longer qualifies.
What to do now
- Check your NOC against IRCC’s high-wage list before assuming your score rose or fell.
- Recompute your score with the CRS calculator, since the factor is capped and the two routes are not additive.
- Update your profile with accurate job offer details, using IRCC’s placeholder values where the form still demands an LMIA.
- Watch the draw calendar. Rounds are paused during recalculation; the draw tracker shows the real sequence rather than the expected one.
- Do not assume a higher score means an invitation. IRCC states plainly that extra points do not guarantee one; the cut-off for each round decides.
Frequently asked questions
Do I still need an LMIA for Express Entry?
No. From 3 November 2026 an LMIA is not required for a job offer to count for program eligibility or CRS points, and having one gives no extra points or priority.
Can I get points for both a job offer and Canadian work experience?
No. The Labour Market Integration factor scores the higher of the two, up to 150 points without an accompanying spouse or 140 with one.
How much is a job offer worth now?
Between 50 and 100 points, depending on the occupation’s wage level: 100 at twice the average median wage, 70 at 1.5 times, 50 at 1.3 times, and nothing below that threshold.
Why are draws paused?
IRCC is recalculating CRS points in existing profiles, which it says could take up to two weeks. Rounds resume when recalculation is complete.
Official sources
- 2026 changes to points for Canadian work experience and job offers — IRCC’s full rules, tables and placeholder instructions.
- Backgrounder: Changes to Express Entry for high-wage occupations — the policy announcement.
- Which jobs are eligible for high-wage occupation points — the occupation list.
CRSPoint is independent of IRCC and the Government of Canada. This article reports published rules and is general information, not advice on an individual profile.
