Canada will restore points for certain high-wage job offers in its Express Entry immigration system on Nov. 3, giving applicants in designated occupations another way to improve their ranking for permanent residence.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said qualifying offers will earn 50, 70 or 100 points. The award depends on the occupation’s median wage across Canada, rather than the pay offered to an individual applicant. The lowest qualifying wage category begins at 1.3 times the median wage of the overall Canadian workforce.
Candidates already receive points based on the length of eligible Canadian work experience. Under the new rules, those with at least one year of qualifying experience in a high-wage occupation may receive an additional 20, 40 or 70 points, depending on the wage category.
IRCC will compare a candidate’s total Canadian work-experience score, including any high-wage bonus, with the points available for a qualifying job offer. It will use the higher score; candidates cannot add the two awards together.
The change favors applicants with qualifying Canadian work experience or offers in the designated high-wage occupations. Offers outside those occupations will earn no job-offer points, although a valid offer may still help someone meet an immigration program’s eligibility rules. A higher score alone will not secure an invitation to apply; candidates must also meet the conditions and score cutoff for a particular round.
IRCC announced the changes Oct. 16. A job offer will no longer need a Labour Market Impact Assessment to qualify for Express Entry points, though immigration officers will still assess whether the offer is genuine and whether the applicant can do the work.
Canada removed job-offer points on March 25, 2025. IRCC said at the time that the move was intended to reduce incentives to buy or sell Labour Market Impact Assessments illegally. The new rules restore those points for offers in specified high-wage occupations.
IRCC will automatically recalculate scores for candidates already in the Express Entry pool when the rules take effect Nov. 3. Invitation rounds will pause during that work, which may take up to two weeks, and resume afterward. Applicants seeking points for a qualifying offer should update their profiles before Nov. 3.
