Express Entry: new points for high-wage jobs

What changed

• More CRS points for at least one year of eligible Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation.
• More CRS points for a qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation.
• No LMIA needed for a qualifying job offer to count for these points.

Express Entry is the system the Government of Canada uses to manage applications for several permanent resident programs. Candidates get a CRS score, and invitations to apply depend on each round's requirements and cut-off score. This post explains the rules as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) publishes them.

What the median wage has to do with it

IRCC calls an occupation high-wage when the median wage of all people in Canada doing that job is at least 1.3 times the average median wage of the whole Canadian workforce. It uses data from Job Bank, the Labour Force Survey and the Census of Population over the last three years, and gives each occupation (NOC code) the highest level its median reached in that period.

The level depends on the occupation, not on one person's job title or pay. The occupations are listed by level on IRCC's high-wage occupations page. The IRCC release gives the levels as multiples of the median, not as dollar amounts, so this post shows none. To look up the median wage for an occupation yourself, use the Job Bank "Search wages" tool linked under "Where to check the median wage" at the end of this post.

The points at each wage level

There are two ways to earn the new points: Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation, or a qualifying job offer in one. Both use the same three levels, set as multiples of the median wage. The chart shows what each level gives under each way.

Canadian work experience: what counts

A candidate needs at least one year of eligible Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation. The top level needs at least 12 months in occupations at 2 times the median. The lower levels apply when a candidate does not qualify for the level above, using combined months. These points are added to the existing points for years of experience, which reach a maximum of 80 for five years.

Eligible experience generally has to be gained in Canada within the previous 10 years, in an occupation in TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 of the National Occupational Classification. Some physicians have specific rules.

A job offer: what counts

A qualifying job offer generally has to be full-time, continuous work in Canada for at least one year after the candidate becomes a permanent resident. Skilled trades and some physicians have specific requirements. An IRCC officer must decide that the offer is genuine, and an offer that is revoked no longer qualifies.

How much this part of the score can give

The most this part of the score can give is 150 points, or 140 with an accompanying spouse or common-law partner.

No LMIA for a qualifying job offer

From November 3, 2026, a qualifying job offer does not need an LMIA to count for the new points. A temporary public policy also removes the LMIA and LMIA-exemption requirement for job offers used to show eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program, for candidates invited on or after that date who meet the policy's conditions.