The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is a points-based system that allows the government to evaluate and rank the profiles of candidates in the Express Entry pool.
Eligible candidates who have submitted an Express Entry profile are given a CRS score out of 1,200. The CRS is broken down into four sections:
1) Core / Human Capital Factors
This section awards points for age, level of education, official languages proficiency (English and French), and Canadian work experience.
2) Spouse/Partner Factors
This section awards points for a spouse or common-law partner’s education, language, and Canadian work experience.
3) Skills Transferability Factors
This section awards points based on a combination of factors (for example, strong language proficiency and a post-secondary degree).
4) Additional Points (max 600)
This section awards points for additional factors, such as having a brother or sister living in Canada, arranged employment, and a provincial nomination.
The CRS points allocated will vary depending on whether you are applying as a single individual, or with a spouse or common-law partner.
Let's take a look at how CRS points are allocated per section in greater detail:
1) 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 spouse | Without spouse |
|---|---|---|
17 or younger | 0 | 0 |
18 | 90 | 99 |
19 | 95 | 105 |
20-29 | 100 | 110 |
30 | 95 | 105 |
31 | 90 | 99 |
32 | 85 | 94 |
33 | 80 | 88 |
34 | 75 | 83 |
35 | 70 | 77 |
36 | 65 | 72 |
37 | 60 | 66 |
38 | 55 | 61 |
39 | 50 | 55 |
40 | 45 | 50 |
41 | 35 | 39 |
42 | 25 | 28 |
43 | 15 | 17 |
44 | 5 | 6 |
45 or older | 0 | 0 |
Level of Education | With spouse | Without spouse |
|---|---|---|
Less than secondary (high school) | 0 | 0 |
Secondary (high school) | 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 |
CLB Level per Ability | With spouse | Without spouse |
|---|---|---|
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 |
CLB Level per Ability | With spouse | Without spouse |
|---|---|---|
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 spouse | Without spouse |
|---|---|---|
None or less than 1 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 |
2) Spouse/Common-law Partner Factors (if applicable)
Level of Education | With spouse | Without spouse |
|---|---|---|
Less than secondary (high school) | 0 | n/a |
Secondary (high school) | 2 | n/a |
One-year degree, diploma or certificate from a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 6 | n/a |
Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical 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 (Ph.D.) | 10 | n/a |
CLB Level per Ability | With spouse | Without spouse |
|---|---|---|
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 | 6 | n/a |
Canadian Work Experience | With spouse | Without spouse |
|---|---|---|
None or less than 1 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 |
Subtotal : 1. Core / human capital + 2. Spouse or common-law partner factors = Maximum 500 points
3) Skills Transferability Factors (maximum 100 points for this section)
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 (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 |
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 (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 |
Years of work 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 |
Years of work experience | Points for foreign work experience + 1 year of Canadian work experience | Points for foreign work experience + 2 years or more of Canadian work experience |
|---|---|---|
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 [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: 1. Core / human capital + 2. Spouse or common-law partner + 3. Skill transferability factors = Maximum 600 points
4) Additional Points (maximum 600 points)
Adaptability | 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: 4. 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
If you would like to calculate your potential CRS points, you can use the government's CRS Calculator to do so.
Using the CRS Calculator linked above can also give you insight into your eligibility and potential of success within the Express Entry pool. However, as mentioned, you will only be able to accurately determine your eligibility for Express Entry after you have obtained the results of your language test(s) and ECA(s).
The highest ranked candidates are “fished out” of the Express Entry pool and issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) via regular “draws” or “invitation rounds”, which occur roughly once every other week*, typically on Wednesdays.
It is very important that you achieve a high enough CRS score to be selected from the Express Entry pool. The CRS score cut-off (score required during a draw) is dynamic and changes every time there is an Express Entry draw. Express Entry candidates with a CRS score over 500 are generally in a good position to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
In our next lesson, we will learn more about the Invitation to Apply (ITA) and what happens if you are selected from the Express Entry pool when a draw occurs.