It is now final. Those applying for permanent residency through Canada’s Express Entry system will no longer receive additional points for job offers. While the proposal to take this step was announced last December, by Marc Miller, who was then the immigration minister, a ministerial instruction was issued today.
Effective March 25, candidates will no longer earn additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points for holding a valid job offer. Previously, candidates could receive an extra 50 or 200 points for a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) – thus significantly increasing their chances of receiving an Invitation to apply for permanent residence through the point-based Express Entry system.
Candidates who have already been successful in earlier draws and have received invitations to apply for permanent residence will not be impacted. Nor will those whose permanent residency applications are being processed.
However, this change affects not only future applications, but also impacts the CRS scores of all candidates currently in the Express Entry pool. In fact, for candidates currently in the Express Entry selection pool, their CRS scores will be recalibrated to account for this change.
A valid job offer continues to be an eligibility requirement for several streams under the Express Entry route. Thus, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC), has emphasised that candidates should continue including job offer details in their Express Entry profiles.
The main objective of removing the additional points for a job offer was to reduce fraud by removing the incentive to illegally buy or sell labour market impact assessments to improve a candidate’s chances of being selected to come to Canada as a permanent resident.
Under Express Entry’s point-based system, candidates complete an online profile and are given a CRS score – the maximum is 1,200. The CRS score is divided into two portions. The ‘core’ score can reach a maximum of 600 points and is based on the candidate’s age, education, official language proficiency, work experience etc. Second, a maximum of 600 points is awarded to the candidates if they meet policy or other objectives such as: having a provincial nomination, a qualifying job offer (now removed), Canadian education, French-language proficiency or a sibling in Canada. Post getting a score, candidates are placed in the Express Entry pool and ranked relative to each other. Periodical draws are held, and those attaining the cut-off CRS score get an invite to apply for permanent residency.
Immigration experts point out that under the CRS mechanism, age also plays a differential factor. Those in the peak of their youth get the maximum points. To illustrate, an individual in the age group of 20-29, who is aspiring to be a permanent resident, gets 110 points if the application is without an accompanying spouse. An application with a spouse fetches 100 points. Those who are 40 years old get 50 and 45 points respectively. Once an individual is 45, nil points are awarded. “Thus, the 50-200 points awarded for a LMIA-backed job offer was crucial to many experienced professionals, especially those in the 40-plus bracket,” explains an immigration consultant.
Further, Canada’s 2025-2027 levels plan aims to focus on converting temporary residents (TRs) in key sectors to permanent residents to avoid new arrivals and increased pressure on housing and the economy. Over 40% of new permanent residents will be erstwhile temporary residents, thus lessening new arrivals. Thus, there are likely to be more Canadian Experience Class draws and more program (occupation) specific draws and for those proficient in French. A target-level of 55,000 has been set for each of the three years starting 2025 for the Provincial Nominee Program. With 600 points awarded outright under the PNP draws, this could be an alternate option for aspirants, view immigrant experts.
India has continued to be the top source country for those getting invitations to apply for permanent residency under the Express Entry route. In 2023, nearly 52,100 Indians were invited to be permanent residents (bagging 47% of the total invites).
