Express Entry: How the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Works
Canada uses the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to rank skilled worker candidates who want to immigrate to Canada through Express Entry. The CRS awards candidates a score based on criteria such as their age, education, language skills, and work experience.
This CanadaVisa page has everything you need to know on Express Entry's Comprehensive Ranking System.
Calculate your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Score!
Table of Contents
- About the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)
- Comprehensive Ranking System Points Breakdown
- How to Improve your Comprehensive Ranking System Score
About the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)
Most of Canada's new immigrants are economic class skilled workers. Since 2015, Canada has used Express Entry as the main way to manage skilled worker applications.
Express Entry is a dynamic system. Only the highest-scoring skilled worker candidates are invited by the Canadian government to immigrate to Canada.
In order to score Express Entry candidates and rank them, the Canadian government uses the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).
The CRS evaluates each candidate (and their spouse or partner, if they have one) based on their human capital. Canada looks at a candidate's age, education, English and/or French skills, work experience, among other criteria. The Canadian government then provides candidates with a CRS score based on their human capital characteristics.
Usually every two weeks, the Canadian government holds Express Entry draws providing permanent residence invitations to those with the highest CRS scores.
What steps can I take to begin the Express Entry process?
Step 1: Visit CanadaVisa's Express Entry page to learn more.
Step 2: Discover your Express Entry eligibility and CRS score with CanadaVisa's free CRS calculator.
Step 3: If you are eligible for Express Entry, visit CanadaVisa's Express Entry draw page to see what the most recent CRS requirements have been for successful candidates.
Step 4: Identify ways to improve your CRS score.
Step 5: Create an Express Entry profile on the website of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). At this stage you must have completed your language test(s) and obtained an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA).
Calculate your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Score!
Why does Canada uses the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)?
Canada uses the Comprehensive Ranking System to identify skilled worker candidates who have the best chance to succeed in its job market. The CRS is beneficial for Canada and immigrants themselves. By using this detailed and evidence-based approach to scoring and ranking immigrants, Canada does its part to welcome immigrants who are most likely to have fulfilling careers in the country.
The CRS is informed by many decades of Canadian government research on immigrant outcomes in the job market. The Canadian government's research finds that new immigrants who arrive young and middle-aged, with high levels of work experience, education, and language skills are able to integrate very well in the Canadian job market.
More evidence confirms that Canadian government research is correct and that the CRS is the right model for Canada to use for Express Entry. In 2020, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released a report on how Express Entry immigrants have been performing in the Canadian job market since Express Entry launched in 2015. Thanks to how the CRS is structured, the report found that Express Entry immigrants have high salaries, high rates of employment, and low rates of unemployment in Canada.
Comprehensive Ranking System Points Breakdown
The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) contains three factors:
Additional Factors relating to a provincial nomination, a qualifying offer of arranged employment, Canadian study experience, a sibling in Canada, and/or French language ability.
There is a total of 1,200 points available under the Comprehensive Ranking System.
- a maximum of 500 points available for core human capital factors;
- a maximum of 100 points available for skill transferability factors; and
- 600 points available for additional factors (including a provincial nomination, an offer of arranged employment, Canadian study experience, a sibling in Canada, and/or French language ability).
- a maximum of 460 points available for core human capital factors of the principal applicant;
- a maximum of 40 points for the core human capital factors of the spouse or common-law partner;
- a maximum of 100 points available for skill transferability factors; and
- 600 points available for additional factors (including a provincial nomination, an offer of arranged employment, Canadian study experience, a sibling in Canada, and/or French language ability).
French ability
- 25 additional points for French-speaking candidates who prove adequate intermediate (equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark 7) or better French ability, and English language test results of CLB 4 or lower, or no English test results at all.
- 50 additional points for French-speaking candidates who prove adequate intermediate or better French ability, and who also prove English language test result of CLB 5 or better.
Sibling in Canada
- 15 additional points for candidates with a sibling in Canada who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of at least 18 years of age. These points may also be awarded if the candidate’s spouse or common-law partner has a sibling in Canada. The candidate or his or her spouse/common-law partner must share a mother and/or father with the sibling in Canada. This relationship can be through blood, adoption, marriage, or common-law partnership.
Comprehensive Ranking System: Core Human Capital Factors
For the purposes of this table, "PA" refers to the principal applicant and "spouse" refers to the spouse or common-law partner.
Age
| Age (in years) | With an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 100) | Without an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 110) |
|---|---|---|
| under 18 | 0 points | 0 points |
| 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
| Level of education | With an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 140 for PA, 10 for spouse) | Without an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 150) |
|---|---|---|
| Less than secondary (high) school credential | 0 points | 0 points |
| Secondary school credential | 28 for PA; 2 for spouse | 30 |
| One-year post-secondary program | 84 for PA; 6 for spouse | 90 |
| Two-year post-secondary program | 91 for PA; 7 for spouse | 98 |
| Post-secondary program of 3 or more years | 112 for PA; 8 for spouse | 120 |
| Two or more post-secondary programs, of which at least one was completed after a post-secondary program of three or more years | 119 for PA; 9 for spouse | 128 |
| Master's or entry-to-practice professional degree | 126 for PA; 10 for spouse | 135 |
| Doctoral Degree (PhD) | 140 for PA; 10 for spouse | 150 |
First Language Ability (English or French)
| Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) | With an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 128 for PA; 20 for spouse) | Without an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 136) |
|---|---|---|
| For each language ability | 32 points for PA; 5 points for spouse | 34 points |
| CLB 3 or lower | 0 | 0 |
| CLB 4 | 6 for PA; 0 for spouse | 6 |
| CLB 5 | 6 for PA; 1 for spouse | 6 |
| CLB 6 | 8 for PA; 1 for spouse | 9 |
| CLB 7 | 16 for PA; 3 for spouse | 17 |
| CLB 8 | 22 for PA; 3 for spouse | 23 |
| CLB 9 | 29 for PA; 5 for spouse | 31 |
| CLB 10 or higher | 32 for PA; 5 for spouse | 34 |
*Points in the chart above are for each language ability: speaking, writing, reading and listening, respectively.
Second Language Ability (English or French)
| Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) | With an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 22) | Without an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 24) |
|---|---|---|
| For each language ability | 6 | 6 |
| CLB 4 or lower | 0 | 0 |
| CLB 5 or 6 | 1 | 1 |
| CLB 7 or 8 | 3 | 3 |
| CLB 9 or higher | 6 | 6 |
*Points in the chart above are for each language ability: speaking, writing, reading and listening, respectively.
Canadian Work Experience
| Number of years | With an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 70 for PA; 10 for spouse) | Without an accompanying spouse (maximum points available: 80) |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 1 | 0 points | 0 points |
| 1 year | 35 for PA; 5 for spouse | 40 |
| 2 years | 46 for PA; 7 for spouse | 53 |
| 3 years | 56 for PA; 8 for spouse | 64 |
| 4 years | 63 for PA; 9 for spouse | 72 |
| 5 years or more | 70 for PA; 10 for spouse | 80 |
Comprehensive Ranking System: Skill Transferability Factors
A maximum of 100 points are awarded for a candidate's skill transferability factors. There are five combinations of such skill transferability, with a maximum of 50 points awarded for each combination. Even if a candidate scores more than 100 points in total, only 100 points will be awarded under the Comprehensive Ranking System. Candidates with or without an accompanying spouse or common-law partner are awarded points for skill transferability in exactly the same way. There are no points available for the skill transferability of a candidate's spouse or common-law partner.
For the purposes of this table, "CLB" refers to Canadian Language Benchmark.
Education and Canadian Work Experience
| Education | 1 year of Canadian work experience | 2 or more years of Canadian work experience |
|---|---|---|
| No post-secondary education | 0 | 0 |
| Post-secondary education of 1 year or longer | 13 | 25 |
| Two or more post-secondary credentials, the first of which was 3 or more years in duration | 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 |
Education and Language Ability
| Education | CLB 7 or higher on all language abilities, with at least one of these CLB 8 | CLB 9 or higher for all language abilities |
|---|---|---|
| No post-secondary education | 0 | 0 |
| Post-secondary education of 1 year or longer | 13 | 25 |
| Two or more post-secondary credentials, the first of which was 3 or more years in duration | 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 |
Language Ability and Non-Canadian Work Experience
| Non-Canadian Work Experience | CLB 7 or higher on all language abilities, with at least one of these CLB 8 | CLB 9 or higher for all language abilities |
|---|---|---|
| No non-Canadian work experience | 0 | 0 |
| 1 or 2 years of non-Canadian work experience | 13 | 25 |
| 3 or more years of non-Canadian work experience | 25 | 50 |
Canadian and non-Canadian Work Experience
| Experience | 1 year of Canadian work experience | 2 or more years of Canadian work experience |
|---|---|---|
| No non-Canadian work experience | 0 | 0 |
| 1 or 2 years of non-Canadian work experience | 13 | 25 |
| 3 or more years of non-Canadian work experience | 25 | 50 |
Certificate of Qualification in a Trade and Language Ability
| Certificate of Qualification | CLB 5 or higher on all language abilities, with at least one CLB 5 or 6 | CLB 7 or higher on all language abilities |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of qualification in a trade occupation issued by a province | 25 | 50 |
Comprehensive Ranking System: Additional Factors
| Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nomination certificate | Points |
|---|---|
| For an enhanced nomination certificate from a Canadian province (except Quebec) | 600 points |
| Qualifying offer of arranged employment | Points |
| For a qualifying job offer of arranged employment from a Canadian employer if the offer is in an occupation contained in Major Group 00 Senior Management Occupations | 200 points |
| For a qualifying job offer of arranged employment from a Canadian employer if the offer is any other qualifying offer of arranged employment | 50 points |
| Canadian study experience | Points |
| If the candidate has an eligible credential from a one-year or two-year post-secondary program in Canada | 15 points |
If the candidate has either:
| 30 points |
| French language ability | Points |
| If the candidate proves adequate intermediate (equivalent to CLB 7) or better French ability, and English ability of CLB 4 or lower (or no English language test result) | 25 points |
| If the candidate proves adequate intermediate (equivalent to CLB 7) or better French ability, and English ability of CLB 5 or better | 50 points |
| Sibling in Canada | 15 Points |
If the candidate, or the accompanying spouse/common-law partner, has a sibling in Canada who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of at least 18 years of age
| 15 points |
Points are only assigned for Canadian study experience if, for the purpose of obtaining the credential, the candidate:
- studied in Canada at a Canadian educational institution;
- was enrolled in full-time study or training for at least eight months; and
- was physically present in Canada for at least eight months.
A maximum of 15 points may be awarded for a sibling in Canada, regardless of how many siblings the candidate (and his or her spouse/common-law partner, if applicable) has in Canada.
The maximum available number of points for these additional factors for any one candidate is 600 points. Therefore, if a candidate has completed a Canadian post-secondary study program and obtains an enhanced nomination certificate from a Canadian province, he or she will be awarded 600 points for these additional factors (rather than 615 or 630 points).
Improve your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score
The highest-ranked candidates in the Express Entry pool are often guaranteed an invitation to apply for Canadian permanent residence. Therefore, individuals interested in immigration to Canada are encouraged to take every opportunity to increase their chances of receiving an invitation to apply. For more information, visit our dedicated page to learn how to improve your CRS score.
Calculate your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) Score!
