Express Entry adds high-wage points November 3: up to 100 for job offers, 70 for experience
From November 3, Express Entry awards CRS points for high-wage occupations - up to 100 for a qualifying job offer and 70 for Canadian work experience.
Big news for Express Entry candidates: starting November 3, 2026, IRCC will award new CRS points for high-wage occupations – up to 100 points for a qualifying job offer and up to 70 points for Canadian work experience in eligible high-wage work.
The change, announced by IRCC this month, effectively reverses the March 2025 decision that eliminated job-offer points – and reshuffles the math for every candidate planning their next move.
How the points work
Points scale with wages: occupation tiers are set at multiples of the national median wage – commentators describe thresholds around 1.3x, 1.5x and 2x the median, with the highest tier earning the most. Analyses suggest the combined offer-plus-experience value could reach roughly 150+ points for top-tier candidates – enough, in practice, to clear recent CEC cutoffs that have sat in the 507-523 band.
Notably, the job-offer points do not require an LMIA in the way the old arranged-employment points did, according to immigration law analyses – but the offer must be in an eligible high-wage occupation and meet IRCC’s validity rules. Full criteria are on IRCC’s announcement page.
What it means for the pool
Expect scores to shift upward for many candidates on November 3 – which typically means cutoffs drift up too, as the pool re-ranks. Candidates with Canadian experience in higher-paying TEER categories should re-check their profiles; those near recent cutoffs have a narrow window before the re-rank changes the field.
Latest draws: Express Entry draw results – more in Immigration. Source: IRCC announcement.
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