Canada to remove LMIA-based job offer points from Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System

Express Entry candidates seeking Canadian permanent residency will soon no longer receive additional points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) for having an LMIA-based job offer, as per a CIC News report. Prior to this change, Express Entry candidates could receive an additional 50 or 200 CRS points for having an LMIA-based job offer.

An additional 50 points can easily make the difference between a candidate receiving an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residency, or not being invited at all.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced the change on Tuesday, December 17, in a televised interview.


It is unclear when this change will come into effect.

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As of December 18, the government’s online points calculator still awards 50 points for having a valid job offer.

Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is what the Canadian federal government uses to score Express Entry Candidates.

The higher a candidate's score, the more likely they are to receive an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residence through an Express Entry draw.

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Once a candidate has created a profile in the Express Entry system, and is eligible for one of the three Express Entry managed immigration programs, the candidate's profile is assigned a score out of 1200 based on a variety of factors, including

• Age;
• Education;
• Language proficiency; and
• Work experience.

The these "core human capital" factors are scored differently, depending on whether the candidate has created the profile as a single candidate, or has created a profile with their spouse included.

Candidate profiles can score a maximum of 600 points in core human capital factors.

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Candidates can also score up to 600 additional points on their profiles through

• Having a sibling living in Canada as a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
• French language skills;
• Post-secondary education in Canada;
• Arranged employment; and
• Provincial/territorial nomination.
• The change announced on Tuesday is expected to remove the additional points awarded for arranged employment.

Candidates could receive 50 additional CRS points for arranged employment in any NOC TEER. They would receive 200 additional points for a NOC TEER 0 occupation in major group 00, which includes executive leadership positions in a variety of industries.

Throughout 2024, many Express Entry general and Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws had cut-off scores above 500 points.

Candidates can estimate their chances of receiving an ITA by comparing their CRS score with the current score distribution in the Express Entry pool.

Canada categorizes occupations using the National Occupation Classification (NOC), which assigns a unique code to each job based on its duties and responsibilities.

Each NOC code is classified between 0 and 5, reflecting the level of Training, Education, Experience, and Responsibilities (TEER) required, with 0 being the highest and 5 the lowest.

To be eligible for Express Entry, candidates must work in a NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 occupation, collectively known as "skilled occupations."