Getting a high Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score gives you a better chance of immigrating to Canada through Express Entry.

The CRS is the points-based ranking system that Canada uses to assess immigration applications in the Express Entry system. Express Entry is an application management system for three economic-class immigration programs. It is not an immigration program itself.

Calculate your CRS score

The Express Entry-managed programs are: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Certain Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) pull candidates from the Express Entry pool, but these candidates have to already be eligible for one of these programs.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) uses the CRS to assess your profile as a candidate for immigration. Basically, the more points you get, the more likely you are to be invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

You get points based off of factors that the Canadian government has determined will help you succeed in the labour market. Namely, your education, work experience in a skilled occupation, official language proficiency, and age. You also get scored differently depending on if you are including a spouse on your application. The CRS is out of a total of 1,200 points, though most people fall somewhere under 500 points.

You can get a pretty good idea of what your score will be in the Express Entry system before you submit your profile. There are a number of online tools that allow you to easily estimate what your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score may be, although you will only get your official score once you upload all of your documents to the online system.

Understanding how the CRS is calculated can help you to make the most of the Express Entry system and improve your chances of getting an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residency.

The ranking system

The first consideration when it comes to calculating points is whether or not you are including your spouse. You do not have to include your spouse if they are already a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

Including a spouse on your application means that you will be eligible for 40 fewer points than single applicants in the core human capital factors, but you get to make them up in a special section for your partner’s human capital. This is supposed to make it so couples do not necessarily have an advantage in the pool over single applicants.

The core human capital factors are age, education, official language proficiency, and Canadian work experience. Beyond that, you can get points for skills transferability, such as your foreign work experience or education. There are a few other miscellaneous factors that can add points to your score, such as: having a sibling in Canada, French-language skills, Canadian education, arranged employment, and a provincial nomination.

Here are those three CRS components broken down further.

Core Human Capital Factors

For your core human capital score, you can get a maximum of 100 points if you are applying solo, and 110 if you are applying with a spouse. These factors include your age, education, language ability, and Canadian work experience.

IRCC uses the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) to measure language proficiency in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. To determine if work experience is “skilled,” IRCC refers to the National Occupational Classification (NOC). Occupations that are classified as skill level 0, A, and B are eligible for CRS points. Self Employed work in Canada cannot be used toward your overall score.

Age

Age	With an accompanying spouse maximum points available: 100	Without an accompanying spouse maximum points available: 110
under 18	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

Level of education	With an accompanying spouse maximum points available: 140 for principal applicant (PA), 10 for spouse	Without an accompanying spouse maximum points available: 150
Less than secondary school credential	0	0
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 principal applicant; 20 for spouse	Without an accompanying spouse maximum points available: 136
For each language ability	32 for PA; 5 for spouse	34
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

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

Canadian Work Experience

Number of years	With an accompanying spouse maximum points available: 70 for principal applicant (PA); 10 for spouse	Without an accompanying spouse maximum points available: 80
Less than 1	0	0
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

Skill Transferability Factors

A maximum of 100 points are available 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 CRS. 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.

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 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

Additional Factors

The maximum number of points for these additional factors for any one candidate is 600 points. So for example, if you get a provincial nomination plus have a sibling in Canada, you do not get 615 additional points.

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nomination certificate	Points
For an enhanced nomination certificate from a Canadian province (except Quebec)	600
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
For a qualifying job offer of arranged employment from a Canadian employer if the offer is any other qualifying offer of arranged employment	50
Canadian study experience	Points
If the candidate has an eligible credential from a one-year or two-year post-secondary program in Canada	15
If the candidate has either: an eligible credential from a post-secondary program of three years or more, or an eligible credential from a university-level program 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, or an eligible credential from a university-level program at the doctoral level.	30
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
If the candidate proves adequate intermediate (equivalent to CLB 7) or better French ability, and English ability of CLB 5 or better	50
Sibling in Canada	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, related through blood, adoption, marriage, or common-law partnership.	15

Calculate your CRS score

© CIC News All Rights Reserved. Visit CanadaVisa.com to discover your Canadian immigration options.