Express Entry CRS Changes on November 3, 2026: High-Wage Points, Job Offers Without an LMIA, and a Draw Pause
Jerry, PrepMyFrench
10 min read
On October 16, 2026, Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab announced the biggest change to Express Entry scoring since job offer points were removed in March 2025. Starting November 3, 2026, the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) gets a new section that rewards Canadian work experience and job offers in high-wage occupations, and job offers no longer need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
Here is exactly what changes, who gains points, what you should do before November 3, and what it means if French is part of your plan.
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150 (single) · 140 (with an accompanying spouse or partner)
Extra points for Canadian work in a high-wage occupation
up to 70
Job offer points
back, up to 100, only for high-wage occupations
LMIA for a job offer
no longer required
Draws
paused for up to two weeks while IRCC recalculates every profile
1. A new CRS section: the Labour Market Integration factor
Canadian work experience points are moving into a new section of the CRS called the Labour Market Integration factor. It gives you points for either:
your Canadian work experience (based on how long you worked), with extra points if that work was in an eligible high-wage occupation, or
a qualifying job offer in an eligible high-wage occupation.
You can't get both. IRCC calculates each option and gives you whichever is higher.
Option
With a spouse or partner
Without a spouse or partner
Canadian work experience
An important detail: the "work length" points are the same points you already get today for Canadian work experience in a TEER 0–3 job. So the section is worth up to 150, but for most people already in the pool, the new part is the high-wage bonus of up to 70 points, or job offer points of up to 100.
Work length points stay the same:
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2. Up to 70 extra points for high-wage Canadian work experience
If you have at least 12 months (1,560 hours) of eligible Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation, you get extra points on top of your work length points:
Your Canadian work experience
Extra CRS points
12+ months in occupations at 2× the median wage
70
Otherwise, 12+ months combined at 1.5× or above
40
Otherwise, 12+ months combined at 1.3× or above
20
Less than 12 months in high-wage occupations
0
The experience can be continuous or not, full-time or the equivalent in part-time, and combined across more than one high-wage job. If you held two jobs at once, hours count up to 30 hours a week.
"High-wage" is about your occupation, not your salary. An occupation qualifies if the median wage of everyone in Canada in that NOC is at least 1.3 times the median wage of the whole workforce. Your own pay doesn't matter. IRCC sorts occupations into three levels using Job Bank, Labour Force Survey and Census data from the last three years (currently 2023 to 2025).
2× level: engineering managers, computer and information systems managers, family physicians, nurse practitioners, lawyers, university professors, financial managers
1.5× level: software engineers and developers, data scientists, cybersecurity specialists, civil, mechanical and electrical engineers, registered nurses, pharmacists, dentists, secondary and elementary school teachers, power system electricians
1.3× level: accountants, financial analysts, web developers, architects, medical laboratory technologists, social workers, industrial electricians, heavy-duty equipment mechanics
Check your exact NOC code on the list. It takes effect on November 3, 2026.
3. Job offer points are back, but only for high-wage jobs
IRCC removed job offer points in March 2025. They are coming back, with two big differences: they only apply to high-wage occupations, and you don't need an LMIA.
Job offer in a high-wage occupation
CRS points
At least 2× the median wage
100
At least 1.5× (less than 2×)
70
At least 1.3× (less than 1.5×)
50
Not a high-wage occupation
0
A qualifying job offer generally has to be for full-time, continuous work in Canada for at least one year after you become a permanent resident. It can be from a new or existing employer, for a new or existing position. Having an LMIA won't give you extra points or priority.
An IRCC officer will still check that the offer is genuine: that the employer is actively in business, needs the role, can meet the terms of the offer, follows employment and recruitment laws, and that you can do the job.
Note for Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades candidates: a job offer can still help you meet program eligibility even if the occupation isn't on the high-wage list. Eligibility and CRS points are assessed separately.
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When the changes take effect, IRCC will automatically recalculate the CRS score of every profile in the pool. That can take up to two weeks, and invitation rounds will pause until it's done.
What to do before November 3
Look up your NOC code on the high-wage occupations list. Make sure the NOC in your profile matches your actual duties.
If you have a job offer, add it to your profile before November 3. IRCC says Canadian work experience is recalculated automatically, but job offer points need you to update your profile.
If your job offer has no LMIA: IRCC's online form won't reflect the new rules yet. Its official instructions say to answer "Yes" to "Was a positive LMIA issued?" and enter LMIA number 00000, issue date 2026-01-01 and expiry date 2029-01-01.
Don't count on new points alone. More points don't guarantee an invitation. Every round still has its own cut-off, and scores across the pool are about to rise.
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The announcement doesn't change French-language points. Under the current CRS criteria, you can still get:
+50 CRS points for NCLC 7 or higher in all four French skills plus CLB 5 or higher in English
+25 CRS points for NCLC 7+ in French with CLB 4 or lower in English (or no English test)
That matters more after November 3. Candidates with high-wage Canadian experience or job offers are about to gain up to 70 to 100 points, so general draw cut-offs may rise. French-language category draws are a separate route: the latest one, on October 16, invited 5,000 candidates at a cut-off of CRS 435, much lower than the 519 cut-off in the Canadian Experience Class draw the day before.
If you're not in a high-wage occupation or don't have a Canadian job offer, French is one of the few big point boosts you can still control. A strong TEF Canada or TCF Canada result can raise your score in two places: your core language points and the French bonus.
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Aim for NCLC 7 in every skill: listening, reading, writing and speaking. The +25 and +50 bonuses need all four.
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PrepMyFrench has full TEF Canada and TCF Canada mock tests, AI-graded writing and speaking, and NCLC score estimates. Start with the TEF Canada or TCF Canada preparation hub.
All figures are from IRCC's October 16, 2026 news release, backgrounder and updated Express Entry pages on canada.ca, checked on October 16, 2026. The high-wage occupation list can be updated by IRCC. This article is general information, not immigration advice.
