How does the removal of LMIA-based job offers affect CRS points Express Entry candidates?

On Tuesday, December 17, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that Express Entry candidates will no longer receive extra points for having a job offer supported by a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

Prior to this change, a candidate with a valid job offer could receive an additional 50 points or an additional 200 points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

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The additional points obtained from a valid job offer provided a significant advantage to these candidates, as a higher CRS score makes a candidate more likely to receive one invitation to apply (ITA) for PR through Express Entry system.

CIC News expects that the removal of additional points for a valid job offer will have a significant impact on the distribution of CRS scores in the Express Entry pool, affecting cut-off scores for Express Entry draws and which candidates who receive ITAs through the Express Entry system.

Besides saying that additional points for job offers would be eliminated, Miller did not provide specific details about the full changes to the CRS. At this time, we do not know exactly how CRS scoring will work after these changes are implemented.

Can I still receive points under CRS for arranging employment?

Prior to the recently announced change, Canada’s Express Entry system awarded additional points for having arranged employment.

This applied to all who applied under

To be eligible for CRS points under “arranged employment”, applicants must have had a valid job offer from a Canadian employer.

To qualify as a “valid job offer” under the Express Entry system, the job offer had to meet several specific conditions, including falling under one of three scenarios. Two of these three scenarios are required LMIA based jobs.

In the announcement Tuesday, Miller said that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) would make up additional points based on job offers.

Miller did not say when those changes would take effect, but said they would be implemented “as soon as possible.”

It is not clear whether any existing Express Entry candidates will continue to benefit from additional points for valid job offers in the period before this change takes effect, or whether IRCC will refrain from holding any non-PNP (Provincial Nominee Program) Express Entry predates the implementation of the change.

How will removing CRS points for valid job offers affect Express Entry candidates?

When this change takes effect, candidates with valid job offers can expect to see their CRS scores drop, reducing their chances of receiving ITAs through Express Entry.

As a consequence, candidates without valid job offers would expect to see their chances of receiving ITAs increase due to the lowering of the score for those with valid job offers.

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For example, let’s take two fictitious Express Entry candidate profiles, Isha and Jacob, and imagine that Isha has a valid job offer in NOC 1 and Jacob has no valid job offer. Before the change, their results could be as follows:

Isha: 530 points (including 50 for a valid job offer).

Jacob: 490 points.

After the change takes effect, Isha’s score will drop to 480, while Jacob’s will remain at 490.

All things being equal, Jacob will be more likely to receive an ITA than Isha after the change takes effect.

We can also expect CRS cut-off scores for Express Entry draws to drop as all those candidates with valid job offers will have their scores lowered.

What can I do to get additional CRS points?

Improve language skills: If you do not have the highest possible score in your stronger official language, you can increase your CRS score by improving your skills and scoring higher on an approved language test. For example, if you increase your score from CLB 6 to CLB 9, you will gain over 60 additional points, in the human capital factors section alone.

Increase your skills in your weaker official language: In addition to maximizing your score in your stronger official language, you can get even more points for proficiency in the other official language. In addition to the core human capital language scoring category, you can also get an additional 50 points for French language skills, so those whose stronger official language is English will benefit more from working with their weaker official language.

Get Educational Credential Assessments (ECA) for all degrees: For any foreign degree to count for immigration purposes, you must have an ECA for that degree. Depending on your situation, you may be able to increase your score by obtaining ECAs for your additional degrees completed outside of Canada.

Get a provincial or territorial nomination: Getting a provincial nomination can increase your CRS by 600 points. You might consider investigating Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) and pursue consideration for all programs for which you are eligible.

Get a Canadian degree (if you don’t already have one): In addition to the basic human capital points you get for education, you can get 30 extra points for having a Canadian degree.

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