Express Entry
Express Entry Overview
An applicant must qualify in the Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Skilled Trades, or Canada Experience Class to submit an Express Entry profile into the Express Entry pool. Candidates with the highest passmark will be selected drawn (the passmark changes constantly depending on the candidates in the pool).
Major Groups of Points System (Section Breakdown)
The points in Express Entry are calculated based on 4 major groups:
A – Core/Human Capital factors (max 500) +
B – Spouse or Common Law factors (max 40) +
C – Skills Transferability Factors (max 100) +
D – Additional Points (max 600)
MAXIMUM TOTAL = 1,200 points
These factors focus on the age, level of education, official language ability and work experience of the applicant and their common law partner/ spouse (if applicable).
NOTE: The Core/Human Capital factors have a maximum of 500 points, with OR without a spouse/ common-law partner.
A. Points for Core/human capital factors
Age
- With a spouse of common-law partner: Maximum 460 points total for all factors
- Without a spouse of 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 100 points) |
|---|---|---|
| 17 years of age or less | 0 | 0 |
| 18 years of age | 90 | 99 |
| 19 years of age | 95 | 105 |
| 20-29 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 | 0 | 0 |
Education
| 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 degree, diploma or certificate from a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 91 | 98 |
| Bachelor’s degree or a three or more year degree, diploma or certificate from a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 112 | 120 |
| Two or more certificates, diploma 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 |
Canadian Work Experience
| 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 |
First Language Ability
Maximum points:
- 32 for each ability (reading, writing, speaking and understanding) with a spouse or common-law partner
- 34 for each ability (reading writing, speaking and understanding) without a spouse or common-law partner
| Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability | With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 120 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 |
Second Language Ability
Maximum points for each ability:
- 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 |
B. Points for Spouse or common-law partner factors (if applicable)
Education
| Spouse’s or common-law partner’s level of education | With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 10 points) |
Without a spouse or common-law partner (N/A) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 First Language Ability
| Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening ) | Maximum 20 points for sectionMaximum 5 points per ability | Without spouse or common-law partner (N/A) |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Canadian Work Experience
| Spouse’s Canadian Work Experience | Maximum 10 points | Without spouse or common-law partner (N/A) |
|---|---|---|
| None or less than a year | 0 | N/A |
| 1 year | 5 | N/A |
| 2 year | 7 | N/A |
| 3 year | 8 | N/A |
| 4 year | 9 | N/A |
| 5 year or more | 10 | N/A |
Note: (n/a) means that this factor does not apply in this case.
C. Points for Skill transferability factors
Maximum points for this section = 100
Education and Language
| 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 (CLB 6,7 and 8 | 25 | 50 |
Education and Canadian Work Experience
| 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 year of Canadian work experience or more(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 |
Foreign Work Experience & Language
| 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 |
With a Certificate of Qualification & Language
| 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.
D. Additional Points Factors
| Additional points | Maximum 600 points |
|---|---|
| Arranged employment (positive Labour Market Impact Assessment required) | 50 |
| Provincial or territorial nomination | 600 |