Express Entry: New CRS Points and LMIA Changes in Canada

Canada is bringing back CRS points for job offers starting November 3, 2026. Find out who can gain up to 100 points under the new system and whether an LMIA is required

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Canada is once again ready to award points for a job a candidate already has lined up before moving. From November 3, 2026, a job offer in Express Entry will again add Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, as Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced on October 16. The key news is that these points will no longer require a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

The pause lasted about a year and a half. In March 2025, IRCC reduced CRS points for job offers to zero because vacancies and LMIAs themselves were often sold illegally. Now the system is returning, but not for everyone, only for high-wage occupations.

Our guide on how foreigners can get a job in Canada in 2026 is in this article.

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How Will Express Entry Job Offers Change From November 3?

The new rules work through a separate CRS factor that IRCC calls labour market integration. It rewards either Canadian experience in a high-wage occupation or a job offer in the same kind of occupation. The two cannot be combined: the system calculates both and takes the higher one.

For example, a candidate has worked in Canada for two years in a position that is not on the list and has now received an offer worth 70 points. Their result for this factor will equal the higher of the two numbers, not their sum. In total, the factor can give up to 150 points, but the job offer alone is capped at 100.

Details on the new wage thresholds, geographic restrictions, requirements for Canadian businesses and the role of the LMIA in employment in Canada since July 17, 2026 are available here.

How Many Points Will a Job Offer Be Worth?

The level of an occupation is not determined by any individual’s salary. IRCC takes the median wage of everyone working under the relevant NOC code in Canada and compares it with the country’s average median wage. That determines how many points an offer earns:

- 100 points if the occupation’s median wage is at least twice the average;

- 70 points if it is between 1.5 and 2 times higher;

- 50 points if it is between 1.3 and 1.5 times higher.

The top group includes general practitioners, IT managers, financial directors, lawyers and university lecturers. Registered nurses, software developers, cybersecurity specialists and civil engineers can count on 70 points. Web developers, auditors and medical laboratory technologists get 50. Among electricians the list is selective: industrial electricians get 50 points, while power system electricians get 70.

Cooks, plumbers, carpenters and food service supervisors are not on the list, so an offer in these jobs will not add a single point. For a foreigner abroad this is an important nuance: simply having a job guarantees nothing if the occupation is not on IRCC’s list.

Find our top 10 countries to work abroad in 2026 at this link.

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A Bonus for Those Already Working in Canada

Candidates with Canadian experience are not left out either. If at least 12 months (1,560 hours) of work fall in occupations on the list, 20, 40 or 70 points are added to the usual points for work experience, depending on the wage level. The months can be continuous or separate, and can be spread across several jobs on the list.

IRCC will automatically recalculate profiles already in the pool. The system does not require any separate action from these candidates, but those who want points for a job offer should update their profile before November 3.

The best Canadian cities for expats are here.

What Happens to the LMIA Requirement?

After November 3, an LMIA will not be needed for job offer points, and having one will not bring extra points or priority. The same applies to offers a candidate uses to prove eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades programs. Here IRCC promises a temporary public policy for those invited from November 3. As of today, its text has not been published, so the final conditions should be checked on the department’s website.

Dropping the LMIA does not mean there will be no checks. The offer must be in writing, for full-time work, and for at least a year after the candidate becomes a permanent resident. At the permanent residence application stage, an officer will assess whether the job is genuine: whether the company is operating, whether it really needs the position, and whether it complies with employment and recruitment laws. The rules for issuing work permits are not changed by this reform.

Invitation Pause and What to Do Before November 3

While scores are being recalculated, IRCC will pause invitation rounds. The pause may last up to two weeks, and the department has not yet named a restart date. A higher score alone does not guarantee an invitation either, since every round has its own cut-off and competition will most likely increase.

How to prepare for the changes

- determine the NOC code for each of your Canadian jobs and for your job offer, and check it against IRCC’s list;

- add the offer to your profile before November 3 (start date, employer’s name and address, NOC code);

- check the employer’s letter: it should state pay, duties and working hours;

- keep in your profile any offer needed for Federal Skilled Trades or a provincial program, even if it earns no points.

After November 3, IRCC’s online system will still require the LMIA field for a while, so the department has published separate instructions with placeholder values for offers that have none. Follow those instructions exactly rather than inventing your own values.

Also read about Canada’s new Start-Up Visa pilot.

Who Benefits Most From the Changes?

Two groups gain the most. These are candidates with no Canadian experience who have a genuine offer in a listed occupation (they move from zero to 50–100 points), and those who have already worked a year in the right occupation in Canada (they add 20 to 70 points). Workers in other occupations will be left out of this round of reforms.

Canada’s new rules are a reminder that a job offer does not yet guarantee a visa, because a full set of documents is needed next. Visit World’s Work Guide contains a list of the documents required for a work visa to any country, based on your citizenship. Everything arrives in your inbox as a PDF within minutes. Choose your destination country and get your Work Guide.

Reminder! A high salary does not guarantee a high standard of living. In some countries even big incomes are eaten up by expensive rent, groceries and services, while in others workers can afford much more thanks to strong purchasing power. Read here about the countries where 2026 salaries offer the best balance between income and expenses.

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