The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score plays a decisive role in improving your chances of immigrating to Canada through Express Entry. Understanding and improving your CRS score not only helps you stand out in the Express Entry pool but also increases your chances of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence.
Presenting your personal information accurately in your profile is essential, as this both maximises your score and avoids the serious penalties that follow from misrepresentation.
However, many people do not realise that the requirements for enteringExpress Entryare different from the factors that produce the highest CRS score. In this article, we look at the key factors that improve a CRS score, from optimising your profile to strategies for improving language ability, education and work experience, so that your Canadian immigration journey is both effective and lawful.
Detailed article on theThe Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
Contents
Language
Language is a key factor in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) and can be worth up to 310 CRS points when combined with other factors (such as post-secondary education). This rises to 320 points for applicants who are married or in a common-law relationship.
Language is the area where you can most often improve your score, because points are awarded for language ability above the minimum requirement. For example, the Federal Skilled Worker Program requires onlyCanadian Language Benchmark (CLB)of 7 (in all skills), but additional points are available for raising each skill incrementally, up to CLB 10.
Language is also valuable because it is scored in several parts of the CRS:
- Under the human capital factors.
- Under the spouse factors (if married or in a common-law relationship).
- Under the skill transferability “combinations”.
- Under the additional factors.
The table below shows how language combined with another factor, in this case education, can be worth up to 50 points:
| Level of education | CRS points earned |
|---|---|
| Secondary school | 0 |
| A post-secondary programme credential of one year or longer + first official language CLB 7 or higher in all skills (with at least one skill below CLB 9) | 13 |
| A post-secondary programme credential of one year or longer + first official language CLB 9 or higher in all skills | 25 |
| Two or more post-secondary programme credentials (one of at least three years) + CLB 7 or higher in all skills for the first official language (with at least one skill below CLB 9) | 25 |
| Two or more post-secondary programme credentials (one of at least three years) + CLB 9 or higher in all skills for the first official language | 50 |
You need CLB 9 or higher in all four language skills — reading, speaking, writing and listening — to earn the full 50 points.
If even one skill is below CLB 9, you may not receive the full 50 points. Conversely, improving a single skill can be worth a great many points.
Example:
Eric is 29, holds a master’s degree, has three years of foreign skilled work experience and IELTS scores of 7 in each language skill. On this basis, Eric’s CRS score is 405.
If Eric retakes IELTS and improves his listening from 7 to 8, his CRS score jumps to 469. By improving his listening score, Eric gains an extra 25 points in each of two skill transferability combinations, 50 points in total, and also adds 14 points to his human capital language score.
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Education
Education can be worth up to 200 CRS points where all study was completed outside Canada, and up to 250 points where the applicant holds a Canadian post-secondary credential. You can improve your initial education score by obtaining further credentials, for example by completing another degree, or by obtaining additionalEducational Credential Assessment (ECA)for credentials you already hold.
An ECA is mandatory in order to receive CRS points for education obtained outside Canada.
For Federal Skilled Worker Class applicants educated outside Canada, only an ECA for the principal applicant is needed to enter the pool.
For Federal Skilled Trades Class or Canadian Experience Class applicants, no ECA is required to enter the Express Entry pool.
Example:
Johanna is 35, married, holds two foreign bachelor’s degrees, has three years of work experience, advanced English, and a spouse with advanced English and a bachelor’s degree. Johanna has an ECA for only one of her two degrees, which is enough to enter the Express Entry pool immediately, and her spouse has never obtained an ECA.
Johanna enters the Express Entry pool with points for one degree and a CRS score of 405. If Johanna obtains an ECA for her spouse’s bachelor’s degree, her score improves to 413. If she also has her second bachelor’s degree assessed, her score rises to 445.
Switching the principal applicant to the spouse
If you have a spouse or common-law partner, it can be worth comparing your CRS score as principal applicant with theirs.
Sometimes the principal applicant’s CRS score is lower than that of the accompanying partner. In such cases, it may make sense for the spouse or common-law partner to be the principal applicant.
Example:
George and Susan both hold bachelor’s degrees and are fluent in English. George has worked as a financial analyst for the past 10 years and has more work experience than Susan, who most recently worked as a teacher from 2009 to 2012. What George may not realise is that his work experience and Susan’s can earn the same number of CRS points.
The real difference is that Susan, at 29, receives more points for her age as principal applicant than George does at 39. Because of age alone, if Susan entered the pool as principal applicant instead of George, their score would rise from 393 to 443.
Some applicants have job titles that appear unskilled but may in fact have involved duties considered skilled under Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC).
Work experience
Gaining further work experience, or documenting existing work experience more carefully, can both raise an applicant’s CRS score.
Some applicants have job titles that appear unskilled but may in fact have involved duties considered skilled under Canada’sNational Occupational Classification (NOC).
Looking beyond the job title and measuring the duties you performed against those listed under the various NOC occupations can help establish whether your work was skilled or unskilled. That, in turn, can unlock points you might not have claimed.
Once you have selected the correct NOC for your work experience, the next step is to calculate how long you worked in each job. Points are awarded for full-time work experience or the part-time equivalent.
Federal Skilled Worker Class applicants must have at least one year of continuous skilled work experience to enter the pool. However, even non-continuous work experience can count towards the CRS score.
Example:
Shiv is 35. Since completing his master’s degree he has one year of full-time work experience as a software engineer. He has advanced English and has never worked or studied in Canada. Before obtaining his master’s degree, Shiv had four years of part-time work experience as a “sales assistant” selling software. For his work experience, Shiv declared only one year, as that is the minimum needed to enter the Express Entry pool.
He was not sure whether a sales position counts as a skilled occupation under the NOC, or whether part-time work counts towards the CRS score. As things stand, Shiv’s CRS score is 423. In fact, Shiv could have declared three years of work experience, being the full-time equivalent of his part-time work, and technical sales (NOC 6221) is indeed classed as skilled. By declaring these two additional years of skilled work, Shiv could reach a CRS score of 448.
Job offers
Applicants with a valid job offer can gain an additional 50 or 200 CRS points, depending on the position.
Applicants with a valid job offer in an occupation at NOC level 0, A or B can gain an additional 50 CRS points. Applicants with a valid job offer in an occupation under Major Group 00 – Senior management occupations can be awarded an additional 200 points under the CRS.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)states that a job offer must be in writing and must set out the details of the job, including the wage and deductions, the job duties and the working conditions.
Work experience and Provincial Nominee Programs
Documenting your work experience as accurately as possible may also make you eligible for a nomination from one of Canada’sProvincial Nominee Program (PNP). Express Entry candidates nominated for permanent residence by a Canadian province are awarded an additional 600 CRS points.
Provinces sometimes look for candidates with specific work experience that you in fact have, but that you did not consider relevant because it lies outside your main occupation.
Example:
Yasmine is 35, holds a bachelor’s degree, has advanced English and has declared three years of work experience as an Information Technology Manager. On this basis, Yasmine has a CRS score of 408. However, in addition to the work experience she declared, Yasmine also has two years of experience as a programmer. Because she had already earned the maximum CRS points for foreign work experience and did not want to request a reference letter from a former employer, Yasmine did not declare her programming experience.
Had she done so, that programming experience could have made her eligible for Nova Scotia’s Express Entry Labour Market Priorities stream. Programmer is one of the occupations Nova Scotia treats as an opportunity occupation with likely employment prospects in the province. The 600 points she could be awarded through a Nova Scotia nomination would lift Yasmine’s CRS score to 1,008.
Preparing in advance for an ITA or a provincial nomination
Whatever your CRS score, everyone in the Express Entry pool should prepare proactively for anInvitation to Apply (ITA)or a provincial nomination.
Your CRS score may be only 299, but a provincial nomination can suddenly add 600 points, making an ITA in the next Express Entry draw all but certain.
Candidates have only 60 days to submit a complete application after receiving an ITA, and some PNPs allow even less time. Preparing your documents in advance means you can start the moment you are invited.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
Among these are several programmes that:
- Do not take the applicant’s CRS score into account in their eligibility requirements; and
- Are open to applicants with no connection to Canada (such as relatives, a job offer, or previous work or study in Canada).
These PNPs are valuable to Express Entry candidates and are therefore very popular.
Some operate on a first-come, first-served basis and reach their intake cap within a day of opening, and preparing in advance is sometimes the only hope of applying successfully.
Example
A well-known example of a first-come, first-served PNP stream is Nova Scotia Express Entry Labour Market Priorities. Nova Scotia Express Entry:
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Does it take your CRS score into account? | NO |
| Is it open to specific occupations? | CÓ |
| What is the selection system? | Its own points and eligibility system |
| Does Nova Scotia give notice before the programme opens so that you can apply? | 1 NGÀY |
| How long does it take to reach the intake cap? | UNDER 1 DAY |
This stream does not consider an applicant’s CRS score, and has its own points system and list of eligible occupations.
Nova Scotia gives very little notice, and the application cap is often reached just a few hours after opening.
Given this narrow application window, many candidates prepare thoroughly in advance and wait for these streams to reopen.
There is an element of risk in preparing in advance, namely that PNP requirements and eligibility criteria can change without notice.
But even if that happens, the silver lining is that many of the documents required by a PNP are also needed to pursue an Express Entry ITA.
Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities Stream
Another PNP that can reward the proactive applicant is Ontario’s popular Express Entry-linked Human Capital Priorities Stream.
This stream follows a passive model, allowing Ontario to search the Express Entry pool and select candidates with a CRS score above 400 and specific skills matching the province’s labour needs. It is worth noting, however, that Ontario has previously waived the 400-point CRS requirement for information technology professionals.
Express Entry candidates invited through the Human Capital Priorities Stream must apply within 45 days, which can be a tight timeframe in which to gather all the necessary documents.
Beyond gathering documents, Ontario has advised Express Entry candidates interested in the Human Capital Priorities Stream to create a new profile in the Express Entry system. Doing so makes it easier for Ontario to identify a candidate’s profile when searching the Express Entry pool.
As with the Nova Scotia Express Entry stream mentioned above, candidates interested in Ontario’s Human Capital Priorities Stream should follow developments closely and take proactive steps if and when the opportunity arises.
Other Express Entry-linked PNPs
The provinces of Manitoba and Prince Edward Island have both introduced streams under which eligible Express Entry candidates can also proactively submit a profile to the province, which then ranks candidates in its own pool under its own ranking system.
The province of New Brunswick has also opened its Express Entry Labour Market Stream for limited periods, both for information technology professionals and for other sectors.
One thing these various PNPs have in common is that they reward the proactive, well-informed candidate.
PNPs will continue to play a prominent role in economic immigration to Canada through 2020 and 2021, with intake targets rising significantly each year. So keep an eye on the PNPs and start gathering those documents.
Read more about the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) on the government website athere.
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