Starting November 3, 2026, Express Entry will award up to 150 CRS points under a new labor market integration factor — for Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation (up to 70 points) or for a job offer from the high-wage list with no LMIA required (up to 100 points).
In short
- The new labor market integration factor adds up to 150 CRS points, but experience points and job-offer points don’t stack — only the higher result counts.
- Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation tops out at 70 points; a job offer with no LMIA can bring up to 100, depending on the occupation’s tier.
- An occupation only counts as high wage if its NOC code’s median wage is at least 1.3 times the average median wage across Canada’s labor market.
- Scoring requires at least 1,560 hours (12 months) of qualifying Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation.
- As of November 3, LMIA isn’t needed for points, but the profile form still requires the placeholder number 00000 and dates set to 2026–2029.
What changes in Express Entry on November 3
The new factor is officially called the labor market integration factor. Despite the dry name, it’s the one adding new points to CRS — up to 150 in total. Points come from one of two routes — Canadian work experience or a job offer in a high-wage occupation — and IRCC always counts whichever result is higher.
The two routes don’t stack: the system calculates points for both, but only keeps the larger one. Canadian work experience tops out at 70 points, while a job offer from the high-wage list can bring up to 100 points. IRCC doesn’t look at the applicant’s actual job title or salary — it looks at the NOC code. That code alone determines whether a job offer qualifies as high wage.
The two routes don’t stack: the system calculates points for both, but only keeps the larger one.
How high wage is defined: three tiers and wage multipliers
An occupation counts as high wage if the median wage for its NOC code is at least 1.3 times the median wage across Canada’s overall labor market. The applicant’s personal salary doesn’t matter — only the median wage tied to the occupation code does. A high personal salary in a job that isn’t on the list earns zero points under this factor, while a modest salary in a listed occupation still counts.
Within the list, IRCC sorts occupations into three tiers — essentially gold, silver, and bronze:
| Tier | Multiplier vs. average median wage | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2x or more | 70 |
| 2 | 1.5x or more | 40 |
| 3 | 1.3x or more | 20 |
If an applicant’s Canadian experience spans occupations in different tiers, IRCC checks from the top down: first, whether there’s enough experience for 70 points at tier 1. If not, it checks whether 12 cumulative months at tier 1.5x or higher qualify for 40 points. If that doesn’t apply either, it checks the 1.3x threshold for 20 points.
Three high-wage tiers and CRS points
The higher the multiplier against the average median wage for the NOC code, the more points for Canadian experience.
- Tier 12x or more — 70 points
- Tier 21.5x or more — 40 points
- Tier 31.3x or more — 20 points
Points depend only on the median wage for the NOC code, not on the applicant’s personal income. A modest salary in a listed high-wage occupation earns points; a high salary outside the list earns none.
How many hours and how much experience are needed for points
To earn any high-wage points, an applicant needs at least 12 months of qualifying Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation — IRCC defines this as 1,560 hours.
- 30 hours a week for a year is the standard way to reach the required 1,560 hours.
- The experience doesn’t have to be continuous: part-time work counts, as long as the hours add up to 1,560.
- Hours can be combined across several high-wage occupations — the combination still counts.
- With two jobs held at the same time, IRCC counts no more than 30 hours a week total across both — a second job doesn’t shorten the one-year requirement.
Job offer with no LMIA: how many points and how to fill out the profile
As of November 3, a job offer from the high-wage list counts toward CRS without a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) — it’s no longer required either for program eligibility or for scoring points. Having an LMIA anyway doesn’t add points and doesn’t move a profile up the queue.
Points depend on the occupation’s tier: top tier earns 100 points, middle tier 70, and bottom tier 50. A job outside the high-wage list earns 0 points under this factor, even if the offer is formally accepted for other program purposes.
The offer itself must meet standard requirements: it has to be valid under Express Entry rules, can involve either an existing position or a new one, and can come from either a current or a new employer.
The system hasn’t caught up with the new rules yet on the technical side: the profile form still asks about LMIA. To enter a job offer with no LMIA, IRCC instructs applicants to fill in a placeholder number — as if a positive LMIA had actually been issued:
- for the positive LMIA question — answer “yes”;
- LMIA number — five zeros (00000);
- issue date — January 1, 2026;
- expiry date — January 1, 2029.
This isn’t an applicant error or an attempt to hide anything — it’s IRCC’s own instruction, a temporary bridge between the updated rule and a form that hasn’t been updated yet. Fields should be completed exactly as stated on the IRCC page, with no improvised values.
Points for a job offer with no LMIA, by occupation tier
As of November 3, LMIA isn’t needed for points — only the occupation’s tier on the high-wage list matters.
- Top tier100 points
- Middle tier70 points
- Bottom tier50 points
- Outside the high-wage list0 pointseven if the offer is accepted for other program purposes
The profile form hasn’t been updated yet: to enter a job offer with no LMIA, applicants must enter the placeholder number 00000 and fixed dates exactly as instructed by IRCC — don’t substitute your own values.
Work experience vs. job offer: which is better, with example calculations
Points for Canadian work experience and points for a job offer don’t add up — it’s one or the other. IRCC compares both figures and counts the higher one.
Four sample profiles show how the new factor plays out.
| Profile | Experience/offer | Experience points | High-wage points | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A — engineering manager | 1 year Canadian experience, top-tier high wage | 40 | 70 | 110 |
| B — software engineer | 3 years Canadian experience, mid-tier high wage | 64 | 40 | 104 |
| B (with spouse/partner) | same 3 years, but has a spouse or partner | 56 | 40 | 96 |
| C — accountant | 2 years Canadian experience, bottom-tier high wage | 53 | 20 | 73 |
| D — occupation not on the list | 3 years Canadian experience, NOC not on high-wage list | 64 | 0 | 64 |
Profile A, with the shortest tenure, scores higher than everyone else — the occupation matters more than years on the job. Profile D, with the same three years of experience as Profile B, loses 40 points purely because its NOC code isn’t on the high-wage list.
Profile A, with the shortest tenure, scores higher than everyone else — the occupation matters more than years on the job.
Comparing the experience route against the job-offer route on the same profiles: for the software engineer in Profile B, the experience route gives 104 points (40 points at tier 2); if a job offer in the same occupation (middle tier) replaced that experience, it would only give 70 points for the offer, for a lower total — IRCC always counts the larger result, so 104 stands. For a mechanical engineer with no Canadian experience, the experience route gives zero, while a high-wage job offer gives 70 points — the profile earns points it wouldn’t have gotten without the offer. An engineering manager or a physician from abroad with a top-tier offer earns the maximum 100 points available under this factor.
Anyone who already has a year or more of Canadian experience in a high-wage occupation should compare both numbers before accepting a job offer: as Profile B shows, the experience route can outscore a job offer.
Points across four sample profiles
Table scrolls sideways
| Profile | Experience/offer | Experience points | High-wage points | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A — engineering manager | 1 year Canadian experience, top-tier high wage | 40 | 70 | 110 |
| B — software engineer | 3 years Canadian experience, mid-tier high wage | 64 | 40 | 104 |
| B (with spouse/partner) | same 3 years, but has a spouse or partner | 56 | 40 | 96 |
| C — accountant | 2 years Canadian experience, bottom-tier high wage | 53 | 20 | 73 |
| D — occupation not on the list | 3 years Canadian experience, NOC not on high-wage list | 64 | 0 | 64 |
Profile A, with the shortest tenure, scores higher than everyone else — the occupation matters more than years on the job.
How an officer verifies a job offer is genuine
Starting November 3, an IRCC officer will assess whether a job offer is genuine, and only a genuine offer can be used to confirm program eligibility or to calculate points. Dropping the LMIA requirement removed a formal filter and replaced it with an officer’s judgment call.
On the employer’s side, the officer checks:
- whether the business is active and genuinely able to deliver what the offer promises;
- whether the company actually needs this position;
- whether hiring and employment laws have been followed.
On the applicant’s side, the officer checks whether they’re qualified and able to do the job, and whether it’s plausible they’ll accept the offer and start working.
Given these criteria, it’s worth preparing in advance:
- a job description that matches the duties of the stated NOC code precisely;
- proof that the business genuinely exists and operates;
- documents on the education and experience required for the job;
- offer terms that match the program’s requirements.
This check doesn’t happen when a profile enters the pool — it happens at the permanent residence application stage. A profile entering the pool doesn’t mean the job offer has already been approved.
The genuineness check happens at the permanent residence application stage, not when entering the pool. Gather documents on the business, your qualifications, and the offer terms early — not after the ITA arrives.
What to prepare for a job offer genuineness check
The FSW trap: eligible, but zero CRS points
For the Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades programs, IRCC applies two separate tests to a job offer, and the two shouldn’t be confused. For eligibility in the program itself, the offer can fall into any category — the high-wage list has nothing to do with it there. But for CRS points, a different rule applies: only work on the high-wage list counts. That creates a trap — an applicant can pass eligibility with a job outside the high-wage list and still earn zero CRS points for that same offer.
an applicant can pass eligibility with a job outside the high-wage list and still earn zero CRS points for that same offer
There’s also protection against retroactive rule changes. If IRCC updates the high-wage list after an applicant receives an Invitation to Apply (ITA) — adding, removing, or moving an occupation to a different tier — it won’t affect that applicant’s score: whatever tier applied on the ITA date is what counts.
The practical takeaway: check the NOC code chosen for a job offer carefully in advance — it’s what determines whether the job makes the high-wage list and how many CRS points it ultimately earns.
Recalculating existing profiles and the pause in invitation rounds
IRCC will recalculate scores for every profile already in the Express Entry pool the moment the changes take effect — applicants don’t need to do anything themselves. The recalculation is expected to take up to two weeks.
Invitation rounds will pause during that window and resume as soon as the recalculation is complete. This is a planned technical pause, not a sign of problems with the program: the new labor market integration factor needs to be applied to every profile at the same time before IRCC resumes selecting candidates.
When the changes take effect, invitation rounds will pause for up to two weeks — this is a planned score recalculation, not a program failure.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I already have an ITA but no job offer and no Canadian experience in a high-wage occupation
The new labor market integration factor only awards points for Canadian experience in a high-wage occupation or a job offer from that list. Without either, the applicant gets 0 points under this specific factor, but it doesn’t affect the rest of the CRS factors — the profile stays in the pool on the usual terms.
What happens to the points if someone quits before reaching 12 months in a high-wage occupation
Until the full 1,560 hours (the equivalent of 12 months) are accumulated, no high-wage points are awarded under the experience route. Since the experience doesn’t need to be continuous, and hours can be built up across several listed occupations, an interrupted period can later be topped up with a new job in a high-wage occupation to reach the required hours.
Can I submit an Express Entry profile without any job offer and without Canadian experience at all
Yes, the new labor market integration factor is a bonus, not a condition of program eligibility: without it, the applicant simply misses out on up to 150 points, but can still be in the pool based on the remaining CRS factors.
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