Express Entry 101: How many points do you need for FSW - 67 or 1200?
Embarking on your journey of immigrating to Canada through the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program, it's crucial to comprehend the application process from start to finish. Navigating the minimum eligibility requirements, document checklists, and various rules can be intricate and bewildering. One of the primary points of confusion lies in the fact that a potential applicant for the FSW program must accumulate points through two grading systems:
Initially, you need to amass a minimum of 67 FSW points before you're even able to create a profile in the Express Entry system.
Then, once the you meet the FSW minimum eligibility requirements and attain at least 67 FSW points, you will be awarded the so-called CRS points. You can receive a maximum of 1200 CRS points. These points determine your ranking in the Express Entry Pool of candidates as well as the likelihood of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA).
Now, let's delve into how this entire process operates and determine the exact number of points you need to score!
FSW Points
So, let’s begin with the basics and the eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker program. To become eligible for FSW, you need to score at least 67 FSW points. These points are determined based on six selection factors, such as:
Age:
- You can score a maximum of 12 points if you're between 18 and 35 years old.
- You don’t get any points for age if you’re younger that 18 years old, and with each year beyond the age of 35, the number of points decreases.
Education:
- You can score a maximum of 25 points for education.
- The number of points you receive greatly depends on your program. For instance, typically, a doctoral degree earns you 25 points. However, having a Juris Doctor(JD) degree would only grant you 23 points. Furthermore, certain Bachelor's degrees also yield a significant number of points; for example, a Bachelor of Laws would yield you the same 23 points, just as a JD.
- You should check your ECA and compare the assessed education to the FSW education points grid, to know exactly how many points will you get.
Work Experience:
- You can score a maximum of 15 points for work experience if you have more than 6 years of work experience (in Canada or Abroad) in a skilled occupation.
- If you have just 1 year of work experience, you will get only 9 FSW points.
Language Proficiency:
- There are two official languages in Canada - English and French. To qualify under FSW you must pass the language test that shows that you know one or, ideally, both languages. If you score less than CLB 7 in your language test you will not be eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker program.
- You can score a maximum of 28 points for you official language proficiency.
- You first official language test results can bring you a maximum of 24 points. Each language skill (reading, listening, writing, speaking) can earn you up to 6 points.
- If you know a second official language, you can get additional 4 points. For that you must score at least CLB 5 in all 4 abilities.
Arranged Employment in Canada:
- You can score a maximum of 10 points for a valid job offer in Canada.
- To be able to claim points for arranged employment your employer must have an LMIA, or you must be currently working on a LMIA-based Work Permit, or you must work in a job that LMIA-exempt.
Adaptability Factors:
- Up to 10 additional points can be earned if:
you have close relatives in Canada (maximum 5 points),
you have an arranged employment in Canada (maximum 5 points),
you or your spouse have past work experience in Canada (maximum 5 points for spouse and 10 points for the Principal Applicant),
you or your spouse studied in Canada (maximum 5 points),
if your spouse took a language test in French of English and scored CLB4 or higher (maximum 5 points).
Remember, FSW only determine your eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker program and allow you to proceed with creating the profile in the Express Entry system. The likelihood of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) is determined by another metric - the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, which we'll discuss below.
CRS Points
If you scored 67 FSW points - congratulations! You're ready for the next step - creating a profile under the Federal Skilled Worker program in the Express Entry system. After you create a profile, you will receive a certain number of the CRS points that will determine your rank in the pool of candidates. The higher your rank, the greater your chances of receiving an ITA.
You can earn a maximum of 1200 CRS points. Calculating the CRS score is a bit more complex because the number of points you get for a particular factor really depends on whether you’re applying with an accompanying spouse or alone. It’s also a bit complicated to calculate the score without referring to the official grid because of the so-called Skill Transferability Factors points. So, let’s take a look at this breakdown below:
Core / Human Capital Factors (With a spouse or common-law partner – Maximum 460 points / Without a spouse or common-law partner – Maximum 500 points)
Age:
- The maximum points (110) are awarded to candidates between 20 and 29 years old. If you’re older than 29, each year you’ll be losing at least CRS 5 points.
- If you’re under 17 or older than 45, you won’t get any points for age at all.
- Unlike with FSW points where you get the maximum score until you’re 35, the CRS points for age start drop after you turn 30.
| 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 |
Education:
- You can get a maximum of 150 CRS points for education if you’re applying alone.
- If you’re applying with a spouse or a partner you can get a maximum of 140 points.
| 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 |
Canadian Work Experience:
- Canadian work experience may yield you up to 80 points if applying alone, or up to 70 points if applying with a spouse or a partner.
| 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 |
Language Proficiency:
- You must take IELTS General Training, CELPIP General, TEF or TCF test to demonstrate your English or French language ability.
- You can get up to 24 extra points if you take a language test for the second official language.
| 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 |
| SECOND LANGUAGE: 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 |
Spouse or common-law partner factors (if applicable)
Maximum 40 CRS points
You may have noticed that you may get more points if you’re applying alone, rather than with your spouse or common-law partner. The system deducts the points for some of the factors, unless you spouse or a common-law partner can demonstrate that they have the education, Canadian work experience or know English or French. Here is the summary of the maximum points that can be claimed by your spouse or your common-law partner:
Education
| Spouse’s or common-law partner’s level of education | With spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 10 points) |
|---|---|
| Less than secondary school (high school) | 0 |
| Secondary school (high school graduation) | 2 |
| One-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 6 |
| Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical in school, or other institute | 7 |
| Bachelor's degree OR a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 8 |
| Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years | 9 |
| 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 |
| Doctoral level university degree (PhD) | 10 |
Official language proficiency:
| Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level per ability (reading, writing, speaking and listening ) | Maximum 20 points for section Maximum 5 points per ability |
|---|---|
| CLB 4 or less | 0 |
| CLB 5 or 6 | 1 |
| CLB 7 or 8 | 3 |
| CLB 9 or more | 5 |
Canadian Work Experience
| Spouse's Canadian work experience | Maximum 10 points |
|---|---|
| None or less than a year | 0 |
| 1 year | 5 |
| 2 years | 7 |
| 3 years | 8 |
| 4 years | 9 |
| 5 years or more | 10 |
Additional CRS points
You may get additional CRS points if you meet some of the criteria set out in the table below:
| 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 |
| Arranged employment – NOC TEER 0 Major group 00 | 200 |
| Arranged employment – NOC TEER 1, 2 or 3, or any TEER 0 other than Major group 00 | 50 |
| Provincial or territorial nomination | 600 |
How do I improve my CRS score and what are the “Skill Transferability Factors”?
Express Entry is very competitive and you want to make sure you get as many CRS points as possible. One of the most effective ways to maximize your CRS score is to receive additional points for Skill Transferability Factors. These points are calculated by combining your core human capital factors.
Combining your Education with Language Abilities
| 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 | 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 |
Combining your Education with 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 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 |
Combining your Foreign Work Experience with Language Proficiency
| 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 |
Combining your 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 |
Combining the points for Trade Certificate and Language Proficiency
| 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 |
How many CRS points do you need to get an ITA under the Federal Skilled Worker program?
Usually, each round of invitations indicates a certain "minimum score" the candidates must have to receive an ITA. The number of CRS points required for receiving an ITA varies and depends on the type of the draw, the number of invitations issued, the number of candidates in the pool, their ranks, etc.
At the time of writing this blog post, the minimum score for ITAs has hovered around 530 CRS points or even higher. You can check the latest draws and required scores on the official IRCC website.
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About the author:
Igor Kyryliuk
Canadian Immigration Lawyer, LLM
