Canada Express Entry: up to 100 points for high-wage job offers from 3 November, and no LMIA needed

Canada is changing how its main skilled immigration system rewards work experience and job offers. Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced on 16 October 2026 that, from 3 November, Express Entry candidates with a qualifying job offer or eligible Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation will get extra points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), the score that decides who is invited to apply for permanent residence.

The change matters for the many Indian engineers, IT professionals and former international students in the Express Entry pool, especially those already working in Canada.

What changed

A new “Labour Market Integration” factor. IRCC’s changes page says candidates will get points either for Canadian work experience or for a qualifying job offer, whichever scores higher. The two are not added together. The maximum for this factor is 150 points for a candidate without a spouse or partner and 140 with one.

Job offer points, for high-wage jobs only. From 3 November, a qualifying offer earns:

• 100 points if the occupation’s median wage is at least twice the average median wage;
• 70 points at 1.5 times;
• 50 points at 1.3 times;
• 0 points for jobs outside high-wage occupations.

The offer generally must be for full-time, continuous work in Canada for at least one year after the candidate becomes a permanent resident.

Extra points for Canadian work. Canadian work experience still earns points for its length: up to 80 for five years or more without a spouse, or 70 with one. On top of that, candidates with at least 12 months (or 1,560 hours) of Canadian work in eligible high-wage occupations get 70, 40 or 20 extra points on the same three wage levels. Experience generally must have been gained in Canada in the previous 10 years in TEER 0 to 3 jobs.

No LMIA needed. A Labour Market Impact Assessment, the employer-side approval that used to back most job offers, is no longer required for a job offer to earn CRS points or to meet the job offer requirement of the Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades programs. A temporary public policy covers candidates invited to apply on or after 3 November. Having an LMIA will not add points or give a profile priority. Offers can be for new or existing positions, with new or existing employers, and an officer must confirm the offer is genuine when the candidate applies for permanent residence.

How “high-wage” is decided. IRCC assesses occupations, not individuals. A job counts as high-wage if the median wage of everyone in Canada in that National Occupational Classification (NOC) code is at least 1.3 times the average median wage of the whole workforce. It uses Job Bank, Labour Force Survey and census data from the past three years; the current list is based on 2023 to 2025 data. IRCC’s examples include financial managers and mining engineers at the top level, civil engineers, data scientists and registered nurses at the middle level, and accountants and architects at the 1.3 level. A high personal salary in an occupation that is not on the list does not qualify.

Who it affects

• Candidates already in the Express Entry pool, whose scores will be recalculated automatically.
• Workers in Canada on work permits, including post-graduation work permits, whose occupation appears on IRCC’s high-wage list.
• Candidates abroad with a Canadian job offer in a listed occupation, whose employer no longer needs an LMIA.

Candidates whose occupation is not on the list gain no new CRS points. For eligibility under the Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades programs, though, IRCC says a qualifying job offer can be in any eligible TEER 0 to 3 job, not only a high-wage one.

What it means for you

1. Check your NOC code against IRCC’s high-wage list on the “High-wage occupations and how we assess them” page. The list, not your pay slip, decides eligibility.
2. If you have a job offer, update your profile before 3 November. IRCC says candidates who want job offer points must update their profiles before that date. Make sure the NOC code and employer details match the offer letter. The online profile still asks for a positive LMIA; IRCC’s changes page gives placeholder entries to use, so follow its instructions exactly.
3. Expect a short pause in draws. IRCC says recalculating every profile may take up to two weeks, and invitation rounds will be paused during that time.
4. Be wary of anyone selling job offers. IRCC officers must confirm that an offer is genuine, and a revoked offer no longer counts. Points also do not guarantee an invitation; cut-off scores for each round still apply.

Key dates

• 16 October 2026: changes announced by IRCC.
• Before 3 November 2026: last chance to add job offer details to an Express Entry profile so they count from day one.
• 3 November 2026: new CRS points and the LMIA exemption take effect; draws pause for up to two weeks while scores are recalculated.