Canada Reshapes Express Entry Points for Work Experience and Job Offers: What Changes on 3 November 2026

On 16 October 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published details of changes to the Express Entry system that take effect on 3 November 2026. The changes do two things. They introduce points for eligible Canadian work experience or a qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation, and they remove the labour market impact assessment (LMIA) requirement for qualifying job offers used to establish program eligibility and to obtain Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points. This article sets out what IRCC has published, in the order a candidate is likely to need it.

Key dates

A new factor: Labour Market Integration

The Labour Market Integration factor is new in the CRS. It awards points for either of two things: Canadian work experience, with extra points for work in eligible high-wage occupations, or a qualifying job offer in an eligible high-wage occupation.

A candidate cannot receive points for both. IRCC compares the points available from each option and the candidate receives whichever is higher. The maximum under this factor is 150 points for a candidate without an accompanying spouse or common-law partner and 140 points for a candidate with one.

What counts as a high-wage occupation

Under Express Entry, an occupation is high-wage if the median wage of all people in Canada working in it is at least 1.3 times the average median wage of the overall Canadian workforce. This is assessed by National Occupational Classification (NOC) code and not by an individual’s specific position or salary. High-wage occupations are grouped into three levels, and only occupations listed in those levels qualify for high-wage points or job offer points. IRCC publishes the list on its high-wage occupations page.

Points for Canadian work experience

Work experience points have two components.

Work-length points are the points already awarded for qualifying Canadian work experience in any TEER 0 to 3 occupation. IRCC states that these do not change, and neither do the eligibility requirements for Canadian work experience.

High-wage occupation points are extra points added on top of work-length points. To qualify, a candidate needs at least 12 months (or 1,560 hours) of qualifying Canadian work experience that meets the existing requirements and was gained in one or more eligible high-wage occupations. The experience may be continuous or not, full-time or an equal amount of part-time work, and can be combined across more than one eligible high-wage job. Where a candidate held more than one job at the same time, hours are counted only up to the equivalent of full-time work, which IRCC specifies as 30 hours per week.

Eligible Canadian work experience generally must have been acquired in Canada within the previous 10 years, in an occupation in TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 of the NOC. IRCC notes that specific provisions apply to certain physicians providing publicly funded medical services. The rules for skills transferability factors are not changing. Canadian work experience will continue to be assessed for those factors using the existing length requirements, not the high-wage requirements.

Points for a qualifying job offer

IRCC states that it is reintroducing job offer points to the CRS. To earn them, the offer must be valid under Express Entry and be for a position in an eligible high-wage occupation.

According to the backgrounder, a qualifying job offer must generally be for full-time, continuous work in Canada for at least one year after the candidate becomes a permanent resident. Specific requirements apply to certain occupations, including skilled trades and physicians providing publicly funded medical services.

The LMIA is removed from the process

From 3 November 2026:

• A candidate does not need an LMIA for a job offer to qualify for program eligibility or CRS points.

• Having an LMIA will not give additional CRS points or priority to a profile.

• A job offer may be for an existing or a new position, and with an existing or a new employer.

A temporary public policy also exempts candidates invited to apply on or after 3 November 2026 from all requirements related to LMIAs and LMIA exemptions for qualifying job offers used to establish eligibility under the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Federal Skilled Trades Program, provided they meet the conditions of the policy.

How job offers will be assessed

IRCC states that it will continue to verify qualifying job offers and take measures to identify and address potential fraud or misrepresentation. It adds that limiting job offer points to high-wage occupations supports verification, because many of these occupations require specialized skills, experience or qualifications that can be assessed as part of the application.

An officer must be satisfied that the job offer is genuine before it can be used for program eligibility or for the Labour Market Integration score. This includes whether the employer is active in the business for which the offer is made, can fulfil the terms of the offer, has made an offer that reflects its reasonable employment needs, and is following federal and provincial employment and recruitment laws. It also includes whether the candidate is qualified and able to perform the work and is likely to accept the offer and carry out the job. A job offer that is revoked will no longer qualify.

Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades candidates

IRCC draws a distinction that matters here. The rules for CRS job offer points are different from the rules used to establish eligibility for an immigration program, and the two are assessed separately. A valid job offer may still help a candidate meet program eligibility requirements even if the job is not on the high-wage occupation list. Qualifying job offers for the Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades Programs are not limited to high-wage occupations and may be in any eligible TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 job that meets program requirements. A job offer may therefore qualify for program eligibility without qualifying for CRS job offer points.

Recalculation and the pause in invitation rounds

IRCC states that the system will recalculate points in existing profiles when the changes take effect, and that this could take up to two weeks. During this time it will pause invitation rounds and resume them once the recalculation is complete. IRCC also states that additional CRS points do not guarantee an invitation to apply. Invitations continue to depend on the requirements and the CRS cut-off score of each round.

Updating a profile that includes a job offer without an LMIA

IRCC states that, as of 3 November 2026, its requirements will have changed but its online system will not yet reflect that change. A candidate will still be required to select that they have a positive LMIA, even though one is not needed. IRCC instructs candidates to enter the job offer under “Work history” with the following responses:

These entries are IRCC’s own published instruction for the period in which the online system has not yet been updated. Candidates should follow the live IRCC page and not rely on any summary, including this one.

An illustration

The following example is our own arithmetic from IRCC’s published tables and is not an IRCC example. Take a candidate without a partner who has three years of eligible Canadian work experience, including at least 12 months in occupations at twice the average median wage, and who also holds a qualifying job offer at that wage level. The work experience route gives 64 work-length points plus 70 high-wage points, a total of 134. The job offer route gives 100. Because the points are not combined, the candidate receives 134.

What to do before 3 November 2026

Candidates should check whether their NOC code appears on IRCC’s high-wage occupation list, and at which of the three levels. Those who hold or expect a job offer should confirm that all required job offer information is in the profile and is accurate. They should also expect a pause in invitation rounds after the changes take effect.

This article is based on information procured from official sources and public portals. It is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Kindly consult the relevant public authority or an immigration advisor at the Legit Migrant for guidance specific to your circumstances.