Express Entry Updates

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IRCC Announces Major Express Entry Reforms to Prioritize Canadian Work Experience and High-Wage Occupations

On October 16, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced significant changes to the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), effective November 3, 2026, aimed at prioritizing candidates with Canadian work experience and those employed in high-wage occupations. The reforms introduce a new Labour Market Integration factor, which will award additional CRS points based on eligible Canadian work experience or qualifying job offers in designated high-wage occupations.

Under the revised system, candidates may receive up to 150 points without an accompanying spouse or common-law partner, or 140 points with an accompanying spouse or partner, under the new factor. Eligible Canadian work experience may provide up to 80 points based on duration, with an additional 20, 40 or 70 points for experience in occupations meeting specified national wage thresholds. Alternatively, qualifying job offers in high-wage occupations may provide up to 100 points. Candidates who qualify through both Canadian work experience and a job offer will receive the higher applicable score rather than combining the two.

A key change is the removal of the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) requirement for qualifying job offers used to obtain CRS points or satisfy job-offer requirements under the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Federal Skilled Trades Program. However, job offers must continue to meet applicable eligibility requirements, including occupational classifications and genuineness assessments. Details on how IRCC will assess genuineness have not been provided.

IRCC will automatically recalculate existing Express Entry profiles following implementation, a process that may take up to two weeks. Hence the reason that these changes are not effective for two weeks.  Express Entry invitation rounds will be temporarily paused during this period. Candidates seeking points for qualifying job offers are encouraged to review and update their profiles before November 3, 2026, ensuring that their work experience, National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes and job-offer details are accurate and complete.

For Canadian employers, these reforms may create new opportunities to support the permanent residence pathways of foreign national employees, particularly those with Canadian work experience or qualifying high-wage job offers. The elimination of the LMIA requirement for Express Entry job-offer assessment may reduce administrative burdens, although employers must continue to comply with applicable immigration and work authorization requirements. The changes may also significantly affect candidates’ CRS rankings and permanent residence prospects.

How this fits with the broader 2026 Express Entry direction

These changes are intended to compliment earlier 2026 category-based selection measures focused on labour shortages and strategic talent. Current categories include French-language proficiency; health care and social services; STEM; trades; education; transport; physicians, researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience; and skilled military recruits. The renewed occupation-based categories generally require one year of eligible experience in the preceding three years. The announcement therefore signals two parallel priorities: targeting particular sectors through category-based rounds and rewarding evidence of Canadian labour-market integration through the CRS.

Key implications

  • CRS rankings may shift materially: Existing candidates’ relative positions can change once all profiles are recalculated.
  • Canadian experience becomes more influential: Duration and occupation wage level can now contribute directly through a single, high-value factor.
  • Job offers regain a CRS role, but narrowly: Unlike the broad job-offer points removed in March 2025, the new points focus on qualifying offers in eligible high-wage occupations.
  • Lower process burden does not remove scrutiny: Eliminating the LMIA requirement simplifies the process but does not eliminate IRCC’s assessment of genuineness or eligibility.
  • Profiles need careful factual accuracy: Because the system relies on work-history, NOC and job-offer details, errors or omissions could affect points, invitations, or later admissibility and program decisions.

Given the significance of these changes, we invite clients and prospective clients to contact one of our professionals for a consultation.

Our Canadian immigration legal professionals can be reached by phone (416-368-1111) or via email: caruso@cilf.ca; bonisteel@cilf.ca; ali@cilf.ca; mukherjee@cilf.ca; garciafialdini@cilf.ca; farag@cilf.ca.