Express Entry: Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) explained
Last Updated: 14 August 2021
The Express Entry system was launched in 2015. Since 2015 Federal Skilled Worker applications were managed by the new Express Entry System. Express Entry is one of a kind system developed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), to invite only the brightest talent to immigrate to Canada.
The system allows each candidate who wishes to immigrate to Canada, to create an individual profile. After creating the profile the candidates are ranked according to the following factors:
- A. Core / human capital factors (age, education, language skills, work experience)
- B. Spouse or common-law partner factors (education, language skills, work experience)
- C. Skill Transgerrability factors (Canadian work experience with high language and education skills)
- D. Additional Points (for education in Canada, relatives living in Canada, employment in Canada and other such factors)
Each candidate is given a score called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. Candidates with the highest scores are invited to immigrate to Canada. The higher the score, the better chances you have to be invited to immigrate to Canada.
Draws are usually conducted at regular intervals, there could be 3 or 4 draws each month, or even more, but that could vary depending on the need of the government. Once the draw is conducted the highest-ranking candidates are further invited to immigrate to Canada, therefore they are invited to apply for permanent residence.
Click here to know what you should do after you are invited to apply.
Below is a detailed breakdown of how each of the factors affects the scores, and how much each candidate can score, based on the factors involved.
A. Core / human capital factors
| Factors | Points per factor – With a spouse or common-law partner | Points per factor – Without a spouse or common-law partner |
|---|---|---|
| Age | 100 | 110 |
| Level of education | 140 | 150 |
| Official languages proficiency | 150 | 160 |
| Canadian work experience | 70 | 80 |
B. Spouse or common-law partner factors
| Factors | Points per factor (Maximum 40 points) |
|---|---|
| Level of education | 10 |
| Official language proficiency | 20 |
| Canadian work experience | 10 |
A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors = Maximum 500 points (with OR without a spouse or common-law partner)
C. Skill Transferability factors (Maximum 100 points)
| Education | Points per factor (Maximum 50 points) |
|---|---|
| With good/strong official languages proficiency and a post-secondary degree | 50 |
| With Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree | 50 |
| Foreign work experience | Points per factor (Maximum 50 points) |
| With good/strong official languages proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark [CLB] level 7 or higher) and foreign work experience | 50 |
| With Canadian work experience and foreign work experience | 50 |
| Certificate of qualification (for people in trade occupations) | Points per factor (Maximum 50 points) |
| With good/strong official languages proficiency and a certificate of qualification | 50 |
A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Transferability factors = Maximum 600 points
D. Additional Points (Maximum 600 points)
| Factor | Maximum points per factor |
|---|---|
| Brother or sister living in Canada (citizen or permanent resident) | 15 |
| French language skills | 50 |
| Post-secondary education in Canada skills | 30 |
| Arranged employment | 200 |
| PNP Nomination | 600 |
A. Core/human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors + C. Transferability factors + D. Additional points = Grand total – Maximum 1,200 points
Points breakdown, section by section
CRS – A. Core / human capital factors
- With a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 460 points total for all factors.
- Without a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 500 points total for all factors.
| Age | With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 100 points) | Without a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 110 points) |
|---|---|---|
| 17 years of age or less | 0 | 0 |
| 18 years of age | 90 | 99 |
| 19 years of age | 95 | 105 |
| 20 to 29 years of age | 100 | 110 |
| 30 years of age | 95 | 105 |
| 31 years of age | 90 | 99 |
| 32 years of age | 85 | 94 |
| 33 years of age | 80 | 88 |
| 34 years of age | 75 | 83 |
| 35 years of age | 70 | 77 |
| 36 years of age | 65 | 72 |
| 37 years of age | 60 | 66 |
| 38 years of age | 55 | 61 |
| 39 years of age | 50 | 55 |
| 40 years of age | 45 | 50 |
| 41 years of age | 35 | 39 |
| 42 years of age | 25 | 28 |
| 43 years of age | 15 | 17 |
| 44 years of age | 5 | 6 |
| 45 years of age or more | 0 | 0 |
| Level of Education | With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 140 points) | Without a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 150 points) |
|---|---|---|
| Less than secondary school (high school) | 0 | 0 |
| Secondary diploma (high school graduation) | 28 | 30 |
| One-year degree, diploma or certificate from a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 84 | 90 |
| Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 91 | 98 |
| Bachelor’s degree OR a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 112 | 120 |
| Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years | 119 | 128 |
| Master’s degree, OR professional degree needed to practice in a licensed profession (For “professional degree,” the degree program must have been in: medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, law, chiropractic medicine, or pharmacy.) | 126 | 135 |
| Doctoral level university degree (Ph.D.) | 140 | 150 |
Official languages proficiency – first official language
Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening):
- 32 with a spouse or common-law partner
- 34 without a spouse or common-law partner
| Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability | With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 128 points) | Without a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 136 points) |
|---|---|---|
| Less than CLB 4 | 0 | 0 |
| CLB 4 or 5 | 6 | 6 |
| CLB 6 | 8 | 9 |
| CLB 7 | 16 | 17 |
| CLB 8 | 22 | 23 |
| CLB 9 | 29 | 31 |
| CLB 10 or more | 32 | 34 |
Official languages proficiency – second official language
Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening):
- 6 with a spouse or common-law partner (up to a combined maximum of 22 points)
- 6 without a spouse or common-law partner (up to a combined maximum of 24 points)
| Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability | With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 22 points) | Without a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 24 points) |
|---|---|---|
| CLB 4 or less | 0 | 0 |
| CLB 5 or 6 | 1 | 1 |
| CLB 7 or 8 | 3 | 3 |
| CLB 9 or more | 6 | 6 |
| Canadian work experience | With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 70 points) | Without a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 80 points) |
|---|---|---|
| None or less than a year | 0 | 0 |
| 1 year | 35 | 40 |
| 2 years | 46 | 53 |
| 3 years | 56 | 64 |
| 4 years | 63 | 72 |
| 5 years or more | 70 | 80 |
Subtotal: A. Core / human capital factors
- With a spouse or common-law partner – Maximum 460 points
- Without a spouse or common-law partner – Maximum 500 points
CRS – B. Spouse or common-law partner factors (if applicable)
| Spouse’s or common-law partner’s level of education | With spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 10 points) | Without spouse or common-law partner (Does not apply) |
|---|---|---|
| Less than secondary school (high school) | 0 | n/a |
| Secondary school (high school graduation) | 2 | n/a |
| One-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 6 | n/a |
| Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical in school, or other institute | 7 | n/a |
| Bachelor’s degree OR a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 8 | n/a |
| Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years | 9 | n/a |
| Master’s degree, or professional degree needed to practice in a licensed profession (For “professional degree”, the degree program must have been in: medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, law, chiropractic medicine, or pharmacy.) | 10 | n/a |
| Doctoral level university degree (PhD) | 10 | n/a |
Note: (n/a) means that this factor does not apply in this case.
Spouse’s or common-law partner’s official languages proficiency – first official language
| Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening ) | Maximum 20 points for section Maximum 5 points per ability | Without spouse or common-law partner (Does not apply) |
|---|---|---|
| CLB 4 or less | 0 | n/a |
| CLB 5 or 6 | 1 | n/a |
| CLB 7 or 8 | 3 | n/a |
| CLB 9 or more | 5 | n/a |
Note: (n/a) means that this factor does not apply in this case.
| Spouse’s Canadian work experience | Maximum 10 points | Without spouse or common-law partner (Does not apply) |
|---|---|---|
| None or less than a year | 0 | n/a |
| 1 year | 5 | n/a |
| 2 years | 7 | n/a |
| 3 years | 8 | n/a |
| 4 years | 9 | n/a |
| 5 years or more | 10 | n/a |
Note: (n/a) means that this factor does not apply in this case.
Subtotal : A. Core / human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors = Maximum 500 points
CRS – C. Skill transferability factors (Maximum 100 points for this section)
Education
| With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 7 or higher) and a post-secondary degree | Points for education + 1 year of Canadian work experience (Maximum 25 points) | Points for education + 2 years or more of Canadian work experience (Maximum 50 points) |
|---|---|---|
| Secondary school (high school) credential or less | 0 | 0 |
| Post-secondary program credential of one year or longer | 13 | 25 |
| Two or more post-secondary program credentials AND at least one of these credentials was issued on completion of a post-secondary program of three years or longer | 25 | 50 |
| A university-level credential at the master’s level or at the level of an entry-to-practice professional degree for an occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification matrix at Skill Level A for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required | 25 | 50 |
| A university-level credential at the doctoral level | 25 | 50 |
Foreign work experience – With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 7 or higher)
| Years of experience | Points for foreign work experience + CLB 7 or more on all first official language abilities, one or more under 9 (Maximum 25 points) | Points for foreign work experience + CLB 9 or more on all four first official language abilities (Maximum 50 points) |
|---|---|---|
| No foreign work experience | 0 | 0 |
| 1 or 2 years of foreign work experience | 13 | 25 |
| 3 years or more of foreign work experience | 25 | 50 |
Foreign work experience – With Canadian work experience
| Years of experience | Points for foreign work experience + 1 year of Canadian work experience (Maximum 25 points) | Points for foreign work experience + 2 years or more of Canadian work experience (Maximum 50 points) |
|---|---|---|
| No foreign work experience | 0 | 0 |
| 1 or 2 years of foreign work experience | 13 | 25 |
| 3 years or more of foreign work experience | 25 | 50 |
| Certificate of qualification (trade occupations) – With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 5 or higher) | Points for certificate of qualification + CLB 5 or more on all first official language abilities, one or more under 7 (Maximum 25 points) | Points for certificate of qualification + CLB 7 or more on all four first official language abilities (Maximum 50 points) |
|---|---|---|
| With a certificate of qualification | 25 | 50 |
Subtotal: A. Core / human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Skill transferability factors – Maximum 600 points
CRS – D. Additional points (Maximum 600 points)
| Additional points | Maximum 600 points |
|---|---|
| Brother or sister living in Canada who is a citizen or permanent resident of Canada | 15 |
| Scored NCLC 7 or higher on all four French language skills and scored CLB 4 or lower in English (or didn’t take an English test) | 25 |
| Scored NCLC 7 or higher on all four French language skills and scored CLB 5 or higher on all four English skills | 50 |
| Post-secondary education in Canada – credential of one or two years | 15 |
| Post-secondary education in Canada – credential three years or longer | 30 |
| Arranged employment – NOC 00 | 200 |
| Arranged employment – any other NOC 0, A or B | 50 |
| Provincial or territorial nomination | 600 |
