Express Entry – Comprehensive CRS Points Breakdown

Understanding Your Express Entry CRS Score

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is used by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to assess and rank candidates in the Express Entry pool. Your CRS score is calculated based on factors such as age, education, language proficiency, work experience, and other additional criteria. The maximum CRS score is 1,200 points. Candidates with the highest scores are invited to apply for permanent residence through regular draws from the pool. Use the detailed breakdown below to understand how points are allocated across different categories and calculate your potential CRS score.

A. Core/human capital factors

You will earn points as if you don’t have a spouse or partner if:

they are not coming with you to Canada, or
they are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident

Factors	Points with a spouse or common-law partner	Points without a spouse or common-law partner
Age	100	110
Level of education	140	150
Official languages proficiency	150	160
Canadian work experience	70	80

Point Breakdown of Core/human capital factors

With a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 460 points total
Without a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 500 points total

Age

Age	With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 100 points)	Without a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 110 points)
17 years of age or less	0	0
18 years of age	90	99
19 years of age	95	105
20 to 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 or more	0	0

Level of 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 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

Official languages proficiency – first official language

Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening):

32 with a spouse or common-law partner
34 without a spouse or common-law partner

Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability	With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 128 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

Official languages proficiency – second official language

Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening):

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

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

B. Spouse or common-law partner factors (if applicable)

Factors	Points (Maximum 40 points)
Level of education	10
Official language proficiency	20
Canadian work experience	10

Point Breakdown of Spouse or common-law partner factors (if applicable)

Spouse’s or common-law partner’s level of education

Spouse’s or common-law partner’s level of education	With spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 10 points)	Without spouse or common-law partner (Does not apply)
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’s or common-law partner’s official languages proficiency – first official language

Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening)	Maximum 20 points for section Maximum 5 points per ability	Without spouse or common-law partner (Does not apply)
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’s Canadian work experience

Spouse’s Canadian work experience	Maximum 10 points	Without spouse or common-law partner (Does not apply)
None or less than a 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

Note: (n/a) means that this factor does not apply in this case.

C. Skill Transferability factors

Education	Points (Maximum 50 points)
With good/strong official languages proficiency and a post-secondary degree	50
With Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree	50

Foreign work experience	Points (Maximum 50 points)
With good/strong official languages proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark [CLB] level 7 or higher) and foreign work experience	50
With Canadian work experience and foreign work experience	50

Certificate of qualification (for people in trade occupations)	Points (Maximum 50 points)
With good/strong official languages proficiency and a certificate of qualification	50

Point Breakdown of Skill transferability factors

For skill transferability factors: Maximum of 100 points

Education

With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 7 or higher) and a post-secondary degree

Education level	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	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

With Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree

Education level	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 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
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

Foreign work experience – With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 7 or higher)

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

Certificate of qualification (trade occupations) – With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 5 or higher)

Qualification	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

D. Additional points

Factor	Maximum points per factor
Brother or sister living in Canada (18 years or older, citizen or permanent resident)	15
French language skills	50
Post-secondary education in Canada	30
Provincial or territorial nomination	600

Breakdown of additional points

Additional points	Maximum 600 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
Provincial or territorial nomination	600

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One of our licensed immigration consultants can speak with you in person, online or on the phone about your unique immigration situation and give you a breakdown of your options.

862 thoughts on “Express Entry – Comprehensive CRS Points Breakdown”

Chinwe on January 6, 2016 at 1:16 am said:

Dear CICS Immigration Team,

I have an overall score of 7 (L-7.5, R-7, W-6.5,S-7).

My ECA is in MBA. and I have 8 years experience of working in different units in the Bank. I am married h 1 child and I am 32year old. Can I go ahead and create a profile with these scores and stand a chance of being invited to apply?

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Many thanks.

Reply ↓
Kiranjit Kaur on January 12, 2016 at 6:01 am said:

Hello
My CRS is 411. I have experience of 5.6 yeat.What will be the change in CRS after it reaching 6 year?
Thanks

Reply ↓
raj arora on January 20, 2016 at 5:53 am said:

Min ielts score required for spouse in each module …pls suggest

Reply ↓
Irosh on January 21, 2016 at 10:38 pm said:

Hi,

I’m Irosh from Sri Lanka. I got Listening:6.0, Reading:6.0, Writing:6.0, Speaking:6.5
Overall:6.0. Is it possible for me to apply with this results?

Regards,
Irosh

Reply ↓
- Irosh on January 22, 2016 at 12:35 am said:
  
  And, I have 10 years of experience in HR (currently working as a Senior HR Executive in Sri Lanka) and holding a Diploma in HRM. My wife has 8 years of experience as a Travel Executive in Sri Lanka.
  
  What is the percentage of getting a chance?
  
  Reply ↓
Mohamed on January 25, 2016 at 1:43 am said:

Hi CICS Immigration Team,
I have a multiple IELTS score like 1) R8.5, L8,S8,W6.5 and another 2) R8,L7,S7,W7, can I submit both the result to show my English ability and claim the marks from the skill transferability factor.
Please advise because this issues is confusing as the main aim from this criteria is to determine the level of language proficiency and I believe that the applicant shows that by receiving marks in both exams above 6 in all components.
Thanks and waiting to your answer.

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on January 25, 2016 at 11:09 pm said:
  
  You can only submit one language score. You cannot combine two together.
  
  Reply ↓
Ananta on January 25, 2016 at 8:16 am said:

Dear Sir,
I am an IT professional from India and having 12 Years of experience in IT industry.I am a post graduate and 39 year old.
I got Below Scores in IELTS.
R:6.5
L: 5.5
W: 7
S:5.5.
OVERALL : 6.

Could you please clarify whether I am eligible to apply for Express entry.
Thanks!

Reply ↓
Mohamed on January 25, 2016 at 8:24 am said:

Hello,
My ECA report states that my bachelor compares to the completion of a first professional university degree in dentistry, would this get me the points in the skill transferability for ” 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” combined with my english CLB 9?

Reply ↓
Noor Kamil on January 25, 2016 at 9:47 am said:

Hello,
I wanted to know that my husband is a system engineer with 3 years of experience and i am a physiotherapist with 2 years of experience and my age is 26.My husband has given IELTS his score is also 7.5 overall then what can be the possible reason of ineligibility as we are bringing even enough funds with us if you can help me out with this.No consultant you can trust here as we already paid around 750 dollars to a well known firm and they haven’t helped us in anyway yet.
Waiting for your prompt reply

Noor
Noor

Reply ↓
maria on January 26, 2016 at 9:59 am said:

Hi,

My husband is planning to apply for express entry .He gave his Ielts in early 2015. But i gave my Ielts in Nov 2013. will my result will be accepted. ( its 7.5 in all)

Thanks
Maria

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on January 28, 2016 at 3:17 am said:
  
  It cannot be older than 2 years.
  
  Reply ↓
Talya on January 27, 2016 at 6:55 am said:

Hello, sir,

May I ask whether my job experience should be relevant to my university degree?
I have few years of job experience (NOC) that is not connected with my bachelor’s dergee. Will it be a problem?

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on January 28, 2016 at 3:16 am said:
  
  No. As long as the job is skilled, it will be counted.
  
  Reply ↓
Marwa on January 28, 2016 at 4:17 am said:

Dear sir,
I am a spouse of a principal application in express entry federal skilled program,
I need to know do i need to get an ECA report for my education to receive a score on it? or i can receive a score when submitting my transcript from university stamped from country foreign affairs ministry?
Thank you

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on January 28, 2016 at 10:10 am said:
  
  You would need an ECA to validate your education.
  
  Reply ↓
TJ on February 2, 2016 at 8:54 am said:

Hello Sir,
I am from India working with reputed MNC and have a total of 3 years experience in embedded domain .I gave my IELTS exam with overall score of 6.5 bands :-
Reading – 7
Listening – 6
Speaking -6.5
Writing -6
I have consulted with some immigration consultancies for Express Entry but they told me eligibility for Express Entry is 7 in IELTS as I am having no job offer,no blood relation etc.Even the online eligibility tool is not considering.So I am little bit confused whether to retake the Exam or I can apply with same score Also how can I proceed further.Your help will be really appreciated.
Regards,
TJ

Reply ↓
Vicky on February 6, 2016 at 1:31 am said:

Sir
I am working as an Sales and Service engineer. I got Speaking 7.5 , Writing 6.5, Reading 7, Listening 8. My CRS is 387.
Noc lies under 6221.
I want to apply for express entry. I just want to confirm is there any probability to get selected with this crs ? As last draw was 457.
And another question is how to apply for pnp. ?

Reply ↓
REBECCA on February 6, 2016 at 11:46 am said:

HI THERE,

I SUBMITTED A PROFILE UNDER EXPRESS ENTRY AND IT CAME BACK STRAIGHT AWAY AS INELIGIBLE. SLIGHTLY CONFUSED AS MYSELF AND HUSBAND HAVE 10 YRS EXPERIENCE IN A AND B SKILL CATEGORIES. DOES THE APPLICATION COUNT AS INCOMPLETE WITHOUT AN ECA CERTIFICATE NUMBER? (I AM THE PRINCIPAL APPLICANT). I’M WONDERING IF THIS IS WHY IT IS DEEMED INELIGIBLE AT THE MOMENT.

MANY THANKS

BEC

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on February 7, 2016 at 12:07 am said:
  
  Yes. You must have an ECA report. Spouse’s ECA is compulsory, but it will add points to your overall profile if your spouse has high school or more in education.
  
  Reply ↓
Satinder Jit Kaur on February 8, 2016 at 5:09 pm said:

Hi sir/madam
i am gnm nursing and ielts s.6.5,L6, W6, R4.5 overall 6 bands. I have enough work experience too. So am I eligible to apply under express entry.
Thanks

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on February 14, 2016 at 10:33 pm said:
  
  No. You cannot have less than 6.0 in any language ability.
  
  Reply ↓
sadia afrin on February 8, 2016 at 8:28 pm said:

I want to migrate. But my husband will not appear in IELTS exam. Can I apply?If I apply what is the possibility

Reply ↓
sadia afrin on February 8, 2016 at 8:28 pm said:

I want to migrate. But my husband will not appear in IELTS exam. Can I apply?If I apply what is the possibility?

Reply ↓
Pranav Batra on February 9, 2016 at 10:46 am said:

Dear Team ,

My overall IELTS score is7.5 &the breakage is as below.

R -8
L- 8
W-7
S-7

I have 7.5years of experience in IT specializing in storage & backups. I am a graduate with Btech in Electronics &Communication . Canyou tell me my chances of getting a PR &Job there in Canada.

Reply ↓
Mittalkumar Patel on February 9, 2016 at 10:02 pm said:

My Question is My Wife has IELTS Score as below :

L 5.0
R 3.5
W 4.0
S 4.5

Is she eligible to get the points of adaptability ?? Please reply me asap.

Reply ↓
Vip on February 11, 2016 at 10:51 pm said:

Hi There,

I would like to more about job offer letter. Is job offer letter with different NOC than my profession NOC valid or not?

Thanks

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on February 14, 2016 at 10:21 pm said:
  
  Only if you are qualified for that job.
  
  Reply ↓
Ramesh S on February 12, 2016 at 1:51 am said:

Is it Mandatory to take language proficiency test for spouse?

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on February 14, 2016 at 10:20 pm said:
  
  No. But will help the points.
  
  Reply ↓
alphy on February 14, 2016 at 2:57 am said:

i am a staff nurse and want to apply for Canada express entry. please can anybody suggest which version of IELTS(Academic Or General ) i need to go for?????

About ECA- Do i need to go for only my higher degree(B.Sc Nursing) or i need to go for 10th and 12th?

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on February 14, 2016 at 10:19 pm said:
  
  To answer your questions:
  
  IELTS General + Highest Degree
  
  Reply ↓
Hamid Mavli on February 16, 2016 at 6:12 am said:

Hi..i hv L-7.5 R-6.5, w-6 s-6.5….I have got 72 points..what could be my points in CRS out of 1200…what r my chances.

Reply ↓
Vishnu on February 18, 2016 at 11:27 pm said:

I am working as Sytem admin in IT company in india. I completed my Bachelor of Biotechnology in 2009.
My question is am i eligible for Express entry eventhough my work experience is irrelevant to my education?
Is it mandatory to have same work experience compare with education?

Please guide us at the earliest

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on March 4, 2016 at 1:38 am said:
  
  Sometimes it does, but usually it doesn’t. It depends if the occupation is heavily regulated, like doctors.
  
  Reply ↓
Manoj on February 19, 2016 at 1:59 am said:

Dear Sir,

Trying to calculate CRS score from the CIC website, I would want to know if my foreign work experience of continuous full time 34 months, will be considered as 3 years or 2 years?

Looking forward to your reply.

Regards,
Manoj

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on March 4, 2016 at 1:36 am said:
  
  2 years
  
  Reply ↓
Manoj on February 19, 2016 at 2:17 am said:

Dear Sir/Madam,

Please let me know if my own sister is a PR of Canada, then does that help me increase my CRS score or increase my chances to get Canadian PR?

Regards,
Manoj

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on March 4, 2016 at 1:33 am said:
  
  No. It does not. At least, not at this time. They might introduce extra points for family into Express Entry.
  
  Reply ↓
noble on February 22, 2016 at 11:16 pm said:

i would like to go through this programme for Canadian PR. How much the total cost incurred is??

my CRS score is 375. Is it possible for me to get selected?? Please tell me the other possible options to get into pool

Reply ↓
Nishant Sannan on March 3, 2016 at 3:04 pm said:

Hello,

I have completed my Masters in Engineering in United States in December 2015. I want to apply for Express entry Program, but i don’t have IELTS score. Although I have valid GRE and TOEFL. Can i apply for the same?
Thank you!

Reply ↓
- CICS Immigration Team on March 4, 2016 at 1:20 am said:
  
  You need IELTS.
  
  Reply ↓
AB on March 4, 2016 at 7:11 am said:

Hi CIC Team,

we reappeared in IELTs and got the better score
Previous one R 6.5 L7.5 W 6.5 S 6.5
This time R 7 L 7.5 W 7 S 7

But there is not change’s in points any clue what would be reason?

Reply ↓
Sanjay Goswami on March 4, 2016 at 7:33 am said:

Hello Sir,

I am planning to Apply for PR, i wanted to know how much minimum band is required for spouse ?

My Wife got below score is it okay or we need min 6 in Each. ( second applicant)
L 7.5,
R 6.0
S 7.5
W5.5

Reply ↓

A. Core/human capital factors

Age

Level of Education

Official languages proficiency – first official language

Official languages proficiency – second official language

Canadian work experience

B. Spouse or common-law partner factors (if applicable)

Spouse’s or common-law partner’s level of education

Spouse’s or common-law partner’s official languages proficiency – first official language

Spouse’s Canadian work experience

C. Skill Transferability factors

Education

With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 7 or higher) and a post-secondary degree

With Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree

Foreign work experience – With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 7 or higher)

Foreign work experience – With Canadian work experience

Certificate of qualification (trade occupations) – With good official language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark Level [CLB] 5 or higher)

D. Additional points

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862 thoughts on “Express Entry – Comprehensive CRS Points Breakdown”

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