Comprehensive Canadian ranking system
Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)
In 2015, Canada introduced the new Express Entry system for processing applications in most federal economic immigration applications. All three Express Entry suites are highly competitive. Immigration candidates are ranked against each other and only the highest ranked candidates are selected as permanent recipients of Canada.
In order to rank immigrant candidates, the Government of Canada has established a merit-based scoring system that places a score on each Express Entry Archive for each candidate. This scoring system is called the Comprehensive Canadian Ranking System (CRS) and the score given to each candidate is called the CRS score. Express Entry manages three applications:
- Federal Skilled Workforce (FSW)
- Federal Skills Jobs (FST)
- Canadian Experienced Group (CEC)
Each person who submits a profile to the Express Entry Candidate Archive will receive a CRS score of 1,200 points. About every two weeks, the Government of Canada holds an Express Entry Lottery in which it issues an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for the permanent residency of the highest ranking candidates. Note that the IRCC does not publish information about the lottery date, number of ITAs issued, or at least the required CRS score prior to the lottery.
CRSscore
The following tables show how many points Express Entry candidates can earn for each of the factors contributing to Canada’s comprehensive ranking system.
Did you know?
If your spouse or partner does not accompany you to Canada, or is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, the benefits you receive are as follows: You do not have a spouse or partner.
A summary of the maximum scores for each of the criteria for Express Entry candidates
|
Criteria |
Most points available |
|
A) Criteria of individual abilities |
460 (with spouse) |
|
B) Criteria of spouse or partner |
40 |
|
C) Criteria for skill transfer |
100 |
|
D) Additional privileges |
600 |
|
Most points in total |
1200 |
- Criteria for individual abilities
|
Criterion |
points |
|
|
With a normal spouse or partner |
No normal spouse or partner |
|
|
Age |
100 |
110 |
|
Level of Education |
140 |
150 |
|
Formal language skills |
150 |
160 |
|
Canadian work experience |
70 |
80 |
|
the most |
460 |
500 |
- Spouse or partner criteria
|
Criterion |
points |
|
Level of Education |
10 |
|
Formal language skills |
20 |
|
Canadian work experience |
10 |
|
the most |
40 |
- Criteria for transferability of skills
|
Criterion |
points |
|
education |
|
|
With good or strong official language skills and a high school diploma |
50 |
|
With work experience in Canada and post-secondary education |
50 |
|
the most |
50 |
|
Experience working abroad |
|
|
With good or strong official language skills (wpcodeself Canadian language standard[CLB] with level 7 or higher) and foreign work experience |
50 |
|
With work experience in Canada and foreign work experience |
50 |
|
the most |
50 |
|
Certificate of competence (for people with skilled jobs) |
|
|
With good or strong official language skills and a certificate of competency |
50 |
|
the most |
50 |
|
the most |
100 |
- Extra points
|
Criterion |
points |
|
Sibling living in Canada (citizen or permanent resident) |
15 |
|
French language skills |
30 |
|
Post-secondary education in Canada |
30 |
|
Approved job opportunity |
200 |
|
PN candidate |
600 |
|
the most |
600 |
Section by section descriptions
A) Criteria of individual abilities
- With a normal spouse or partner: Maximum 460 points for total agents.
- Without a normal spouse or partner: Maximum 500 points for total agents.
- Measurement criteria
|
Age |
With a normal spouse or partner |
No normal spouse or partner |
|
17 years old or younger |
0 |
0 |
|
18 years old |
90 |
99 |
|
19 years old |
95 |
105 |
|
20 to 29 years old |
100 |
110 |
|
30 years old |
95 |
105 |
|
31 years old |
90 |
99 |
|
32 years old |
85 |
94 |
|
33 years old |
80 |
88 |
|
34 years old |
75 |
83 |
|
35 years old |
70 |
77 |
|
36 years old |
65 |
72 |
|
37 years old |
60 |
66 |
|
38 years old |
55 |
61 |
|
39 years old |
50 |
55 |
|
40 years old |
45 |
50 |
|
41 years of age |
35 |
39 |
|
42 years old |
25 |
28 |
|
43 years old |
15 |
17 |
|
44 years old |
5 |
6 |
|
45 years old or older |
0 |
0 |
|
the most |
100 |
110 |
- Education criteria
|
Level of Education |
With a normal spouse or partner |
No normal spouse or partner |
|
Less than high school (high school) |
0 |
0 |
|
High school diploma (high school graduation) |
28 |
30 |
|
One year degree, diploma or certificate from a university, college, business or technical school or other institution |
84 |
90 |
|
A two-year program at a university, college, business or technical school, or other institution |
91 |
98 |
|
A bachelor’s degree or a three-year or more program at a university, college, business or technical school, or other institution |
112 |
120 |
|
Two or more certificates, diplomas or degrees. One should be for a three or more year program |
119 |
128 |
|
A master’s degree, or professional degree required to practice in a licensed profession (for a “professional degree”, the degree program must be in: Medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, law, chiropractic medicine or pharmacy). |
126 |
135 |
|
PhD Degree |
140 |
150 |
|
the most |
140 |
150 |
- Criterion of the first official language
Formal Language Skills – The first official language maximum score for each ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening)
- 32 with a normal spouse or partner
- 34 without a normal spouse or partner
|
Canadian Language Criteria Level (CLB) for each ability |
With a normal spouse or partner |
No normal spouse or partner |
|
* Points are awarded for each language ability |
||
|
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 higher |
32 |
34 |
|
the most |
128 |
136 |
- Criterion of the second official language
Formal language skills – Maximum score for a second official language per ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening)
- 6 with a spouse or customary partner up to a maximum of 22 points
- 6 without a spouse or customary partner up to a maximum of 24 points
|
Canadian Language Criteria Level (CLB) for each ability |
With a normal spouse or partner |
No normal spouse or partner |
|
* Points are awarded for each language ability |
||
|
CLB 4 or less |
0 |
0 |
|
CLB 5 or 6 |
1 |
1 |
|
CLB 7 or 8 |
3 |
3 |
|
CLB 9 or higher |
6 |
6 |
|
the most |
22 |
24 |
- Work Experience Criteria in Canada
|
Work experience in Canada |
With a normal spouse or partner |
No normal spouse or partner |
|
No history or less than one 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 |
|
the most |
70 |
80 |
B) The standard of a normal spouse or partner
- Level of Education
|
Level of education of a normal spouse or partner |
With a normal spouse or partner |
No normal spouse or partner |
|
Less than high school (high school) |
0 |
not defined |
|
High school diploma (high school graduation) |
2 |
not defined |
|
One year degree, diploma or certificate from a university, college, business or technical school or other institution |
6 |
not defined |
|
A two-year program at a university, college, business or technical school, or other institution |
7 |
not defined |
|
A bachelor’s degree or a three-year or more program at a university, college, business or technical school, or other institution |
8 |
not defined |
|
Two or more certificates, diplomas or degrees. One should be for a three or more year program |
9 |
not defined |
|
A master’s degree, or professional degree required to practice in a licensed profession (for a “professional degree”, the degree program must be in: Medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry, optometry, law, chiropractic medicine or pharmacy). |
10 |
not defined |
|
PhD Degree |
10 |
not defined |
|
the most |
10 |
Did not request |
- Proficiency in the first official language of a normal spouse or partner
|
Canadian Language Criteria Level (CLB) for each ability |
With a normal spouse or partner |
No normal spouse or partner |
|
* Points are awarded for each language ability |
||
|
CLB 4 or less |
0 |
not defined |
|
CLB 5 or 6 |
1 |
not defined |
|
CLB 7 or 8 |
3 |
not defined |
|
CLB 9 or higher |
5 |
not defined |
|
the most |
20 |
Did not request |
- Work experience in Canada Spouse or partner
|
Spouse’s work experience in Canada |
With a normal spouse or partner |
No normal spouse or partner |
|
None or less than a year |
0 |
not defined |
|
No history or less than one year |
5 |
not defined |
|
1 year |
7 |
not defined |
|
2 years |
8 |
not defined |
|
3 years |
9 |
not defined |
|
4 years |
10 |
not defined |
|
5 years or more |
10 |
Did not request |
C) Skills transfer criteria (maximum 100 points for this section)
- Education and language skills
|
With good formal language skills (standard Canadian language level (CLB score 7 or higher) and post-secondary education |
Points forCLB with a score of 7 or more in all First Official Language abilities, with one or more sub-CLBwith a score of 9 |
Scores forthe CLBwith a score of 9 or higher in all four first official language abilities |
|
Certificate of secondary education (high school) or less |
0 |
0 |
|
Certificate of post-secondary education, one year or more |
13 |
25 |
|
Two or more certificates of post-secondary education and at least one of these certificates has been issued for three years or more after completing the post-secondary education. |
25 |
50 |
|
the most |
25 |
50 |
- Education and work experience in Canada
|
With work experience and degree after high school |
Score for education + 1 year work experience in Canada |
Score for education + 2 years work experience in Canada or more |
|
Certificate of secondary education (high school) or less |
0 |
0 |
|
Certificate of post-secondary education, one year or more |
13 |
25 |
|
Two or more certificates of post-secondary education and at least one of these certificates has been issued for three years or more after completing the post-secondary education. |
25 |
50 |
|
the most |
25 |
50 |
- Experience working abroad with good language skills (CLB7 or higher)
|
Years of experience |
Points forCLB with a score of 7 or more in all First Official Language abilities, with one or more sub-CLBwith a score of 9 |
Scores forthe CLBwith a score of 9 or higher in all four first official language abilities |
|
No experience working abroad |
0 |
0 |
|
1 or 2 years of work experience abroad |
13 |
25 |
|
3 years or more work experience abroad |
25 |
50 |
|
the most |
25 |
50 |
- Experience working abroad with work experience in Canada
|
Years of experience |
Score for education + 1 year work experience in Canada |
Score for education + 2 years work experience in Canada or more |
|
No experience working abroad |
0 |
0 |
|
1 or 2 years of work experience abroad |
13 |
25 |
|
3 years or more work experience abroad |
25 |
50 |
|
the most |
25 |
50 |
- Certificate of language skills and proficiency
|
Certificate of Competence (Skilled Occupations) – with First Official Language Proficiency (CLBCanadian Standard Levelwith a score of 5 or higher) |
Credits for a CLB+ Certificateof 5 or higher in all First Official Language Competencies, with one or more of the followingCLBswith a score of 7 |
Scores for the CLB+ Certificate of Certificate with a score of 9 or higher in all four first official language abilities |
|
Comes with a certificate of competency |
25 |
50 |
|
the most |
25 |
50 |
D) Additional points (maximum 600 points)
|
Criterion |
points |
|
Sibling living in Canada (citizen or permanent resident) |
15 |
|
French language skills |
30 |
|
Post-secondary education in Canada |
30 |
|
Approved job opportunity |
200 |
|
PN candidate |
600 |
|
the most |
600 |
