Canada has announced changes to Express Entry scoring, scheduled to take effect on November 3, 2026. Certain occupations will be able to earn extra points for Canadian work experience or for a qualifying job offer. Under the new rules, a job offer will also no longer need an LMIA to be used in Express Entry.
The increase will not be the same for everyone. The result depends on your NOC, your qualifying Canadian experience, the job offer and the makeup of your profile.
What high wage means in Express Entry
In this context, high-wage is a classification of the occupation. IRCC uses national pay data to sort eligible NOCs into three tiers. Your own salary does not set the tier: earning more does not automatically move an occupation that is off the list into the eligible occupations.
How the points will be awarded
The tiers compare the occupation's median wage with the national benchmark IRCC uses. In the tier from 1.3 to under 1.5 times, the experience bonus will be 20 points and a job offer may be worth 50. In the tier from 1.5 to under 2 times, it will be 40 for experience or 70 for a job offer. In the tier of 2 times or more, it will be 70 for experience or 100 for a job offer.
To receive the experience bonus, you need at least one year of qualifying Canadian experience in the corresponding occupations. These points are added to your points for length of Canadian work experience. Job offer points are an alternative route: the system compares the two results and uses the higher one.
An example of the real gain
Imagine a person with an accompanying spouse and four years of qualifying Canadian experience. They already have 63 points for length of work. If they meet the experience requirement in a middle-tier occupation, they receive a 40-point bonus, reaching 103 for this factor. The increase is 40 points.
If the same person also has a qualifying middle-tier job offer, the offer's 70 points are not added to the 103. The system picks 103, the more favourable result. The factor is capped at 140 with an accompanying spouse or 150 without one.
Which occupations are included
Examples on the published list include secondary school teachers, electrical and electronics engineers and industrial and manufacturing engineers, in the middle tier. Web developers and programmers and bricklayers appear in the first tier.
Other occupations, such as early childhood educators and assistants, carpenters and supervisors of supply chain occupations, are not on the current list. Always check the NOC code: similar names can belong to different classifications.
Does being off the list stop you from immigrating?
No. The high-wage list controls access to the new points for this factor. It does not replace the requirements of the programs managed through Express Entry, or the occupation lists of the selection categories. A person can remain eligible and keep their existing points without receiving the new bonus.
How a job offer without an LMIA works
Once the changes take effect, an LMIA will no longer be required for a job offer to count toward Express Entry eligibility or points. The job must still meet the applicable requirements, and IRCC will check that it is genuine. To earn the new CRS points for a job offer, the NOC must be on the high-wage list.
An offer in an occupation outside that list may still help with eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker or Federal Skilled Trades program, without earning the new job offer points. The exemption in Express Entry does not authorize you to start working in Canada. Work permits still depend on their own review.
What happens to candidates already in the pool
IRCC has said it will recalculate existing profiles when the changes take effect. The update may take up to two weeks, and invitation rounds will pause during that time. Anyone with a job offer should review their profile details and follow the official transition instructions.
What to do now
Confirm your NOC based on your actual duties, check its tier on the official list and review your periods of Canadian experience. If you have a job offer, check its terms and the employer's documents. Then work out the net gain; do not simply add the job offer points to your current CRS.
At Turas Immigration, we review how the rules apply to your history and which adjustments make sense for your permanent residence plan. For an individual review, book an Extended Consultation with Vanessa Constantino de Almeida, RCIC.
Information verified on October 16, 2026. The measures described are announced to take effect on November 3, 2026. Confirm the current instructions before changing or submitting your profile.
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Yours would be the first.