Comprehensive Ranking System

The CRS is a scoring mechanism within Canada’s Express Entry system, systematically assessing and ranking immigration candidates based on merit. The highest-scoring candidates receive Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for Canadian permanent residence.

Express Entry Programs:

Express Entry manages three primary immigration programs:

• Federal Skilled Worker (FSW): Targets skilled professionals with work experience outside Canada.

• Federal Skilled Trades (FST): Designed for individuals with specific trade skills and experience.

• Canadian Experience Class (CEC): Intended for candidates with prior work experience in Canada.

CRS Score System:

• Every Express Entry candidate is assigned a CRS score, with a maximum value of 1200 points. Regular draws are conducted, and candidates with the highest CRS scores receive ITAs. Specific draw details are not disclosed in advance.

Enhancing Your CRS Score:

• Increasing CRS points improves chances of receiving an ITA. Factors include language proficiency, education, work experience, and age. Additional points can be claimed for factors like having a sibling in Canada, French language proficiency, a job offer, or a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nomination.

Impact of Marital Status on CRS Points:

• CRS points are assigned differently based on marital status. Single applicants and couples receive points accordingly. Including a spouse’s language proficiency and education assessment maximizes points for couples.Top of Form

Role of Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP):

• PNPs offer a pathway to permanent residency, especially for candidates with lower CRS scores. A PNP nomination adds 600 points to the CRS score, ensuring an ITA.

CRS Points System for Express Entry candidates
A. Core / human capital factors
	Points	Points
Factors	With a spouse or common-law partner	Without a spouse or common-law partner
Age	100	110
Level of education	140	150
Official languages proficiency	150	160
Canadian work experience	70	80
B. Spouse or common-law partner factors
Factors	Points
	(Max. 40 Points)
Level of education	10
Official language proficiency	20
Canadian Work Experience	10
Note: A – Core/human capital + B – Spouse or common-law partner factors = Maximum 500 points (with OR without a spouse or common-law partner)
C. Skill Transferability factors (Maximum 100 points)
Education	Points
	(Max.50 Points)
With good/strong official languages proficiency + a post-secondary degree	50
With Canadian work experience +a post-secondary degree	50
Foreign work experience	Points
	(Max.50 Points)
With good/strong official languages proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark [CLB] level 7 or higher) +foreign work experience	50
With Canadian work experience + foreign work experience	50
Certificate of qualification (for people in trade occupations)	Points
	(Max.50 Points)
With good/strong official languages proficiency + a certificate of qualification	50
Note: A – Core/human capital + B – Spouse or common-law partner + C – Transferability factors = Maximum 600 points
D. Additional points (Maximum 600 points)
Factor	Max. Points
Brother or sister living in Canada (citizen or permanent resident)	15
French language skills	50
Post-secondary education in Canada	30
Arranged employment – TEER 0 Major group 00	200
Arranged employment –NOC TEER 1, 2 or 3, or any TEER 0 other than Major group 00	50
PN nomination	600
Note: A – Core/human capital + B – Spouse or common-law partner factors + C – Transferability factors + D – Additional points = Grand total – Maximum 1,200 points
Points Breakdown – Section by Section
CRS – A. Core / human capital factors
–         With a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 460 points total for all factors.
–         Without a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 500 points total for all factors.
Age	With a spouse or common-law partner	Without a spouse or common-law partner
	(Maximum 100 points)	(Maximum 110 points)
17 years of age or less	0	0
18 years of age	90	99
19 years of age	95	105
20 to 29 years of age	100	110
30 years of age	95	105
31 years of age	90	99
32 years of age	85	94
33 years of age	80	88
34 years of age	75	83
35 years of age	70	77
36 years of age	65	72
37 years of age	60	66
38 years of age	55	61
39 years of age	50	55
40 years of age	45	50
41 years of age	35	39
42 years of age	25	28
43 years of age	15	17
44 years of age	5	6
45 years of age or more	0	0
Level of Education	With a spouse or common-law partner	Without a spouse or common-law partner
	(Maximum 140 points)	(Maximum 150 points)
Less than secondary school (high school)	0	0
Secondary diploma (high school graduation)	28	30
One-year degree, diploma or certificate from  a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute	84	90
Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute	91	98
Bachelor’s degree OR  a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute	112	120
Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years	119	128
Master’s degree, OR professional degree needed to practice in a licensed profession (For “professional degree,” the degree program must have been in: medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, law, chiropractic medicine, or pharmacy.)	126	135
Doctoral level university degree (Ph.D.)	140	150
Official Languages Proficiency – First Official Language
Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening):
32 with a spouse or common-law partner
34 without a spouse or common-law partner
Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability	With a spouse or common-law partner	Without a spouse or common-law partner
	(Maximum 128 points)	(Maximum 136 points)
Less than CLB 4	0	0
CLB 4 or 5	6	6
CLB 6	8	9
CLB 7	16	17
CLB 8	22	23
CLB 9	29	31
CLB 10 or more	32	34
Official Languages Proficiency – Second Official Language
Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening):
6 with a spouse or common-law partner (up to a combined maximum of 22 points)
6 without a spouse or common-law partner (up to a combined maximum of 24 points)
Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability	With a spouse or common-law partner	Without a spouse or common-law partner
	(Maximum 22 points)	(Maximum 24 points)
CLB 4 or less	0	0
CLB 5 or 6	1	1
CLB 7 or 8	3	3
CLB 9 or more	6	6
Canadian work experience	With a spouse or common-law partner	Without a spouse or common-law partner
	(Maximum 70 points)	(Maximum 80 points)
None or less than a year	0	0
1 year	35	40
2 years	46	53
3 years	56	64
4 years	63	72
5 years or more	70	80
Subtotal: A. Core / human capital factors
With a spouse or common-law partner – Maximum 460 points
Without a spouse or common-law partner – Maximum 500 points
CRS – B. Spouse or common-law partner factors (if applicable)
Spouse’s or common-law partner’s level of education	With spouse or common-law partner	Without spouse or common-law partner
	(Maximum 10 points)	(Does not apply)
Less than secondary school (high school)	0	N/A
Secondary school (high school graduation)	2	N/A
One-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute	6	N/A
Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical in school, or other institute	7	N/A
Bachelor’s degree OR  a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute	8	N/A
Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years	9	N/A
Master’s degree, or professional degree needed to practice in a licensed profession (For “professional degree”, the degree program must have been in: medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, law, chiropractic medicine, or pharmacy.)	10	N/A
Doctoral level university degree (PhD)	10	N/A
Spouse’s or common-law partner’s official languages proficiency – first official language
Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening )	Maximum 20 points for section	Without spouse or common-law partner
	Maximum 5 points per ability	(Does not apply)
CLB 4 or less	0	N/A
CLB 5 or 6	1	N/A
CLB 7 or 8	3	N/A
CLB 9 or more	5	N/A
Spouse’s Canadian work experience	Maximum 10 points	Without spouse or common-law partner
		(Does not apply)
None or less than a year	0	N/A
1 year	5	N/A
2 years	7	N/A
3 years	8	N/A
4 years	9	N/A
5 years or more	10	N/A
Subtotal: A – Core / human capital + B – Spouse or common-law partner factors = Maximum 500 points
CRS – C. Skill transferability factors (Maximum 100 points for this section)
Education
With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 7 or higher) and a post-secondary degree	Points for CLB 7 or more on all first official language abilities, with one or more under CLB 9	Points for CLB 9 or more on all four first official language abilities
	(Maximum 25 points)	(Maximum 50 points)
Secondary school (high school) credential or less	0	0
Post-secondary program credential of one year or longer	13	25
Two or more post-secondary program credentials AND at least one of these credentials was issued on completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer	25	50
A university-level credential at the master’s level or at the level of an entry-to-practice professional degree for an occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification matrix at Skill Level A for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required	25	50
A university-level credential at the doctoral level	25	50
With Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree	Points for education + 1 year of Canadian work experience	Points for education + 2 years or more of Canadian work experience
	(Maximum 25 points)	(Maximum 50 points)
Secondary school (high school) credential or less	0	0
Post-secondary program credential of one year or longer	13	25
Two or more post-secondary program credentials AND at least one of these credentials was issued on completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer	25	50
A university-level credential at the master’s level or at the level of an entry-to-practice professional degree for an occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification matrix at Skill Level A for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required	25	50
A university-level credential at the doctoral level	25	50
Foreign work experience – With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 7 or higher)
Years of experience	Points for foreign work experience + CLB 7 or more on all first official language abilities, one or more under 9	Points for foreign work experience + CLB 9 or more on all four first official language abilities
	(Maximum 25 points)	(Maximum 50 points)
No foreign work experience	0	0
1 or 2 years of foreign work experience	13	25
3 years or more of foreign work experience	25	50
Foreign work experience – With Canadian work experience
Years of experience	Points for foreign work experience + 1 year of Canadian work experience	Points for foreign work experience + 2 years or more of Canadian work experience
	(Maximum 25 points)	(Maximum 50 points)
No foreign work experience	0	0
1 or 2 years of foreign work experience	13	25
3 years or more of foreign work experience	25	50
Certificate of qualification (trade occupations) – With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 5 or higher)	Points for certificate of qualification + CLB 5 or more on all first official language abilities, one or more under 7	Points for certificate of qualification + CLB 7 or more on all four first official language abilities
	(Maximum 25 points)	(Maximum 50 points)
With a certificate of qualification	25	50
Subtotal: A – Core / human capital + B – Spouse or common-law partner + C – Skill transferability factors – Maximum 600 points
CRS – D. Additional points (Maximum 600 points)
Additional points	Maximum 600 points
Brother or sister living in Canada who is a citizen or permanent resident of Canada	15
Scored NCLC 7 or higher on all four French language skills and scored CLB 4 or lower in English (or did not take an English test)	25
Scored NCLC 7 or higher on all four French language skills and scored CLB 5 or higher on all four English skills	50
Post-secondary education in Canada – credential of one or two years	15
Post-secondary education in Canada – credential three years or longer	30
Arranged employment – NOC TEER 0 Major group 00	200
Arranged employment – NOC TEER 1, 2 or 3, or any TEER 0 other than Major group 00	50
Provincial or territorial nomination	600
Subtotal: D – Additional points – Maximum 600 points
Grand Total: A – Core / Human Capital + B – Spouse or Common-law Partner + C – Skill Transferability Factors + D – Additional Points = Maximum 1,200 points

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