June 10, 2019

Score that Point: Comprehensive Ranking System for Canadian Immigration

By AllCleared | 3 Min Read

Immigrating to Canada

Immigrating to Canada (or any country for that matter) can be a long and arduous process with a lot of necessary paperwork to complete. That's why we have elected our immigration specialist to help you unpack and better understand the process from beginning to end. In this insight, you are going to better understand the ranking system for Canadian Immigration and if you have any further questions you can contact us via email at hello@allcleared.com or call us at 1-866-972-7366.

Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)

CRS is the Canadian immigration eligibility method when applying for Permanent Residency through Express Entry. The total points that can be scored are 1200 with Core Criteria making up for 600 points and Additional Criteria making up for the other half.

Core Criteria

Core Criteria includes factors like:

  • Age.
  • Skills & Experience.
  • Spouse or Common-Law Factors such as their language skills & education.
  • Skills transferability including education and work experience.

Additional Criteria

Additional Criteria includes:

  • Canadian degrees, diplomas or certificates.
  • Valid Canadian job offer.
  • Provincial Nomination.
  • A brother or sister living in Canada who is a citizen or permanent resident.
  • French Language skills.

Canada has two official languages: English & French. The proficiency in these is ranked according to the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Level per ability. It should be noted at each step that the points earned would be higher if one is moving to Canada without a Spouse or Common-law Partner.

Core Factor Analysis

Core Factor analysis begins with the Age of the immigrating person with those under 17 years of age or above 45 years get no points in this category. Level of Education is another way to increase the points earned. Canadian Experience is also a Core criterion in determining the score of the immigrating person. If immigrating to Canada with a Spouse of a Common-law Partner, the same Core Skills are applied to the Partner and added into the total score of the immigrating individual.

Skills Transferability is measured through Education which includes good Official Language skills, Canadian Experience, and post-secondary education, and Foreign Work Experience. There is an upper limit for the scope of these Skills at 100 points.

Additional Points

Additional points can be made through any of these factors:

  • Brother or Sister living in Canada who is a Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada.
  • French or English Language scores.
  • Post-secondary Education in Canada.
  • Arranged Employment.
  • Provincial Nomination which awards the entire 600 points.

Changes in Points Requirements

The total points required changes every year with each draw. The governmental instructions released every few months provide the details for each draw including the points scored by the last person to get an invitation to apply for PR, programs which are eligible to apply for PR, minimum rank required to be invited to apply, and the number of invitations issued.

As the age of the applicant increases, the points earned in that category decrease. Therefore, to be eligible to apply, it is better to work on skills, experience and language skills in a timely manner or seek to work towards a Provincial Nomination. To learn which program you can be eligible for and to apply for Express Entry, please contact us or call us directly at 1-866-972-7366.