Detailed explanation – Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Criteria – Express Entry
Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Criteria – Express Entry
Note If your spouse or partner is not coming with you to Canada, or they are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you will earn points as if you don’t have a spouse or partner.
Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Criteria – Express Entry
Summary of maximum points per factor for Express Entry candidates
| 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 |
| 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)
| 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
| 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 | 30 |
| Arranged employment | 200 |
| PN 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 CLB 7 or more on all first official language abilities, with one or more under CLB 9 (Maximum 25 points) |
Points for CLB 9 or more on all four first official language abilities (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 |
| With Canadian work experience 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 |
Subtotal: D. Additional points – Maximum 600 points
Grand total: A. Core / human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Skill transferability factors + D. Additional points = Maximum 1,200 points