Express Entry · Oct 16, 2026

Express Entry changes on November 3, 2026

Checked 16 Oct 2026. The answer is the Canada.ca text. Judgment is labelled. Points are not an invitation.

Last checked 2026-10-16.

Official

From 3 Nov 2026, the news release and the backgrounder add points for eligible Canadian work experience or a qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation.

A high-wage occupation, in the news release, has a median wage of at least 1.3 times the median wage of the overall Canadian workforce. That is the occupation's typical earnings, not a person's salary. The high-wage page groups occupations into three levels: twice the average median wage, 1.5 times but less than twice, and 1.3 times but less than 1.5 times.

At least 12 months of eligible Canadian work in a high-wage occupation can add 70, 40, or 20 points. Those amounts are in addition to the duration points, which still max out at 80 for five years. The backgrounder awards 70 only for 12 months at twice the median, then 40 if that test is missed and the 1.5-times months reach 12, then 20 if that test is also missed and the 1.3-times months reach 12. They are not stacked.

A qualifying job offer in a high-wage occupation is 100, 70, or 50 points for the same three levels. IRCC keeps whichever option is higher. Canadian work experience points and job-offer points are not combined. The cap is 150 points, or 140 with an accompanying spouse or common-law partner.

An LMIA is not required for a qualifying job offer to receive the new points. The backgrounder also describes a temporary public policy for candidates invited on or after 3 Nov 2026. It exempts those candidates from LMIA and LMIA-exemption requirements for qualifying job offers used for Federal Skilled Worker or Federal Skilled Trades eligibility, if they meet the policy conditions. Officers still decide whether the offer is genuine. A revoked offer no longer qualifies.

Profiles already in the pool are recalculated automatically, including eligible Canadian work experience. Candidates who wish to receive job-offer points must update the profile before 3 Nov 2026. Recalculation may take up to two weeks. Invitation rounds are paused during that process and start again when it is complete.

These pages do not restore the arranged-employment points removed on 25 Mar 2025. They do not publish a new provincial nominee points rule.

Score both rule sets in the CRS calculator. The calculator starts the 3 Nov 2026 rules at midnight in Toronto. That start time is our assumption. IRCC did not state a time. Confirm the unit group on NOC and read a wage report on Wages. Published cut-offs stay on Draws. The Express Entry high-wage list is not a Job Bank dollar threshold, and this page is not a forecast of the next cut-off.

Canadian work points

The backgrounder table is the experience side of the new factor:

70 points for at least 12 months in one or more occupations at twice the median.
If that 70 is not met, 40 points for at least 12 months combined at 1.5 times the median or above.
If neither 70 nor 40 is met, 20 points for at least 12 months combined at 1.3 times the median or above.

The CRS criteria still print the duration grid inside core human capital. The backgrounder says the new amounts are in addition to that duration score, up to 80 points for five years, and that the two together can reach 150 for Canadian work experience. The calculator keeps the duration points in core and adds only the difference, so the same months are not scored twice.

Eligible Canadian work generally must have been in Canada within the previous 10 years, in TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3. The backgrounder says specific provisions also apply to certain physicians.

Job-offer points

The same backgrounder sets the offer side:

100 points at twice the median wage.
70 points at 1.5 times.
50 points at 1.3 times.

A qualifying offer must generally be full-time, continuous work in Canada for at least one year after permanent residence. Skilled trades and physicians have specific requirements. An offer that is not on the high-wage list does not get these 100, 70, or 50 points.

The cap of 150, or 140 with an accompanying spouse or common-law partner, is the maximum for the labour market integration factor. A 100-point offer does not sit on top of an 80-point duration score. IRCC keeps the higher option.

LMIA, genuineness, and what stays at 0

Beginning 3 Nov 2026, the backgrounder says an LMIA is not required for a qualifying job offer to be eligible for the new points. The temporary public policy is the separate eligibility rule: candidates invited on or after 3 Nov 2026 who meet the policy conditions are exempt from LMIA and LMIA-exemption requirements for qualifying Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades job offers.

The job-offer page states this more flatly. It says you do not need an LMIA for a job offer to qualify, that an LMIA does not add CRS points or priority, and that eligibility offers can be in a high-wage or a non-high-wage occupation. A job offer remains an eligibility requirement where the program already requires one. That page still lists five genuineness questions for the officer: the employer is engaged in the business, the offer reflects reasonable needs, the employer can meet the terms, the candidate can do the work and is likely to carry it out, and the employer has complied with employment and recruitment laws.

The online system will still ask for a positive LMIA. The job-offer page’s placeholder is Yes, LMIA number 00000, issuance 2026-01-01, expiry 2029-01-01.

The additional-points arranged-employment amounts removed on 25 Mar 2025 stay at 0. The 16 Oct 2026 pages do not bring those amounts back, and they do not publish a new provincial nominee score.

Before 3 Nov 2026, and the pause

The news release says scores already in the pool are recalculated automatically, including eligible Canadian work experience. Job-offer points are the exception: candidates who wish to receive them must update the profile before 3 Nov 2026. The backgrounder says candidates who may qualify for those points should review and update the profile. The job-offer page says to update before 3 Nov 2026 if the offer is not already on the profile.

Invitation rounds pause while that recalculation runs. IRCC says the process may take up to two weeks, and that rounds start again when it is complete. That is not a published end date of its own.

FAQ

When does this start?

3 Nov 2026. The news release, the backgrounder, and the high-wage occupations page all use that date.

What does high-wage mean?

The news release says a high-wage occupation has a median wage of at least 1.3 times the median wage of the overall Canadian workforce. That is the occupation, not a person’s salary. The high-wage page groups the list into three levels: twice the average median wage, 1.5 times but less than twice, and 1.3 times but less than 1.5 times.

How many points does a qualifying job offer get?

100 points at twice the median, 70 at 1.5 times, and 50 at 1.3 times. IRCC keeps the higher of that offer and the Canadian work experience package. The two are not combined. The cap is 150 points, or 140 with an accompanying spouse or common-law partner.

Is an LMIA still needed?

An LMIA is not required for a qualifying job offer to receive the new points. A temporary public policy exempts candidates invited on or after 3 Nov 2026 from LMIA and LMIA-exemption requirements for qualifying job offers used for Federal Skilled Worker or Federal Skilled Trades eligibility, if they meet the policy conditions. Officers still assess whether the offer is genuine.

What if you are already in the pool?

IRCC recalculates profiles automatically, including eligible Canadian work experience. Candidates who wish to receive points for a qualifying job offer must update the profile before 3 Nov 2026. Recalculation may take up to two weeks. Invitation rounds are paused during that process and start again when it is complete.

What the pages do not say

The high-wage introduction says “1.3 times higher.” The news release says “at least 1.3 times,” and the tier bullets match that. This page follows the news release and the bullets. The wage base on both pages is the overall Canadian workforce.

No dollar wage threshold is published on the high-wage list. The list checked on 16 Oct 2026 uses 2023 to 2025 data. If the list changes after an invitation, the high-wage page says IRCC keeps the level in effect on the invitation date.

The announcement pages do not link to a Canada Gazette text or to updated Ministerial Instructions for this schedule. The check-your-score page still describes CRS as a 1,200-point total. The backgrounder does not publish a replacement ceiling.

The job-offer page still prints the older LMIA eligibility bullets under the Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades sections, beneath the 3 Nov 2026 banner.