From 3 November 2026, IRCC will award up to 100 CRS points for a high-wage job offer and up to 70 extra for Canadian experience, without an LMIA. Chinese candidates should update profiles before then.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced on 16 October 2026 that from 3 November 2026 Express Entry will award additional points to candidates with Canadian work experience or a qualifying job offer in a “high-wage occupation”. At the same time, a qualifying job offer will no longer need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to earn those points. For Chinese skilled-immigration candidates already working in Canada, or holding an offer from a Canadian employer, this is the most important rule change since job-offer points were removed in 2025.
How the new points work
IRCC defines a high-wage occupation as one whose median wage is at least 1.3 times the median wage of the overall Canadian workforce. It is based on the occupation’s typical earnings, not the applicant’s own salary. IRCC maintains the list using Job Bank, Labour Force Survey and Census wage data from the previous three years; it covers fields such as health care, skilled trades, engineering, technology and education.
| Occupation wage level (vs national median) | Job offer points | Extra Canadian work experience points |
|---|---|---|
| ≥2× | 100 | 70 |
| ≥1.5× | 70 | 40 |
| ≥1.3× | 50 | 20 |
Three caveats: candidates get points for either the job offer or the work experience, whichever is higher, not both; the work-experience bonus requires at least 12 months of eligible experience in Canada within the last 10 years, in NOC TEER 0–3; and the job offer must generally be full-time, continuous work for at least one year after permanent residence. Extra points do not guarantee an invitation, which still depends on each round’s cut-off score.
What it means for Chinese applicants
The clearest winners are Chinese graduates and workers in Canada on a post-graduation or employer-specific work permit in engineering, IT, health care and similar jobs: their scores will be recalculated automatically. Anyone with a qualifying job offer must update their Express Entry profile before 3 November to make the offer information complete. IRCC says recalculation may take up to two weeks, and invitation rounds will pause during that time.
For applicants still in China, dropping the LMIA requirement lowers the bar for using a Canadian offer, but IRCC stresses that officers will still check that the offer is genuine: whether the employer is actively in business, the job is reasonable, the employer can meet its terms and it follows recruitment law. A revoked offer no longer counts. While you prepare, you can start on permanent-residence documents such as a Chinese police certificate, and read about working in Canada.
Beware of agents selling “guaranteed offers” or “LMIA packages”. IRCC says it will keep tackling fraudulent job offers and misrepresentation, and a misrepresentation finding can have far worse consequences than missing out on points.
What to do next
- Check your occupationConfirm whether your NOC occupation is on IRCC’s high-wage list
- Update your profileAdd complete job-offer details to your Express Entry profile before 3 November
- Watch the drawsDraws pause during recalculation; then watch how cut-off scores move
For an overview of Canadian visa and permanent-residence routes, see our Canada visa guide and the Canada country hub; for local rules on leisure once you arrive, such as whether gambling is legal and how it affects Chinese citizens, see Canada gambling laws. The official text is in IRCC’s backgrounder.
Sources
- IRCC: Canada refocusing Express Entry on top talent that drives economic growth (16 Oct 2026) (accessed October 2026)
- IRCC: Changes to Express Entry for high-wage occupations (16 Oct 2026) (accessed October 2026)
