CRS Score Criteria

In our previous post, we have looked at the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) which is a points-based system used by the Canadian government to assess and rank the candidates based on various factors that predict who will be able to succeed the most in Canadian life, financially and culturally. The Canadian immigration authorities have designed CRS to be a highly competitive and dynamic system based on the “survival of the fittest” model. The scoring algorithm is based on objective criteria that came out of evidence-based research done by IRCC and are considered best contributors in an applicant’s economic success. Higher your CRS score, higher is your rank in the applicant pool.

Now, let’s look at how CRS points are allocated based on certain factors. You can score a maximum of 1200 points in the CRS, based on:

• Core or human capital factors necessary for economic success (maximum of 460-500 points)

  • Age

  • Level of education

  • Official language proficiency

  • Canadian work experience

• Spousal factors (maximum of 40 points)

• Skills transferability factors that strengthen the core factors (maximum of 100 points)

• Additional factors (maximum 600 points):

  • A valid provincial/territorial nomination (maximum of 600 points)

  • A qualifying offer of arranged employment (maximum of 50 points for all occupations in NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 except Major Group 00 which has maximum of 200 points)

  • Canadian educational degree (maximum of 30 points)

  • A sibling in Canada (maximum of 15 points)

  • French language proficiency (maximum of 50 points)

To understand how Canadian immigration authorities use these factors to calculate your points, let’s breakdown each of these sets, section by section.

A. Core or Human Capital Factors

• With a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 460 points total for all factors

• Without a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 500 points total for all factors

A.1 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

A.2 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 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

 A.3 Official Language Proficiency

A.3.1 First Official Language - Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking, listening) - 32 points with a spouse or common-law partner and 34 points 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

A.3.2 Second Official Language - Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) - 6 points with or without a spouse or common-law partner  

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)
Less than or equal to CLB 4	0	0
CLB 5 or 6	1	1
CLB 7 or 8	3	3
CLB 9 or more	6	6

A.4 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 1 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

Subtotal A. Core or Human Capital Factors

• With a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 460 points

• Without a spouse or common-law partner: Maximum 500 points

CRS B. Spouse or Common-Law Partner Factors (if applicable)

B.1 Spouse’s or Common-law Partner’s Level of Education

Spouse’s or Common-law Partner’s Level of Education	With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 10 points)	Without a spouse or common-law partner (Not applicable)
Less than high school	0	NA
Secondary diploma (high school graduation)	2	NA
One-year program from a university, college, trade or technical school or other institute	6	NA
Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school or other institute	7	NA
Bachelor’s degree or a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school or other institute	8	NA
Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees (One must be for a program of three or more years)	9	NA
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	NA
Doctoral level university degree (Ph.D)	10	NA

B.2 Spouse’s or Common-Law Partner’s Official Language Proficiency

B.2.1 First Official Language - Maximum points for each ability (reading, writing, speaking, listening) - Maximum 20 points for section and maximum 5 points per ability

Spouse’s Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Level per ability	With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 20 points)	Without a spouse or common-law partner (Not applicable)
CLB 4 or less	0	NA
CLB 5 or 6	1	NA
CLB 7 or 8	3	NA
CLB 9 or more	5	NA

B.2.2 Spouse or Common-Law Partner’s Canadian Work Experience

Spouse’s Canadian Work Experience	With a spouse or common-law partner (Maximum 10 points)	Without a spouse or common-law partner (Not applicable)
None or less than 1 year	0	NA
1 year	5	NA
2 years	7	NA
3 years	8	NA
4 years	9	NA
5 years or more	10	NA

Subtotal : A. Core / human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner factors = Maximum 500 points

CRS – C. Skill transferability factors (Maximum 100 points for this section)

C.1 Education Level

C.1.1 With good official language proficiency and a post-secondary degree 

With good official language proficiency (CLB 7 or higher) and a post-secondary degree	Points for CLB 7 or more on all 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 for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required	25	50
A university-level credential at the doctoral level	25	50

C.1.2 With Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree

With Canadian work experience and a post-secondary degree	Points for education + one year of Canadian work experience (Maximum 25 points)	Points for education + two 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 for which licensing by a provincial regulatory body is required	25	50
A university-level credential at the doctoral level	25	50

C.2 Foreign Work Experience

C.2.1 With Good Official Language Proficiency

Work Experience in years	Points for foreign work experience + CLB 7 or more on all official language abilities, with one or more under CLB 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 to 2 years of foreign work experience	13	25
3 years or more of foreign work experience	25	50

C.2.2 With Canadian Work Experience

Work Experience in years	Points for foreign work experience + one year of Canadian work experience (Maximum 25 points)	Points for foreign work experience + two years or more of Canadian work experience  (Maximum 50 points)
No foreign work experience	0	0
1 to 2 years of foreign work experience	13	25
3 years or more of foreign work experience	25	50

C.3 Certificate of Qualification with good official language proficiency 

Certificate of Qualification (for trade occupations) with good official language proficiency (CLB 5 or higher)	Points for certificate of qualification + CLB 5 or more on all official language abilities, with one or more under CLB 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

Subtotal: A. Core / human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Skill transferability factors - Maximum 600 points

CRS – D. Additional points (Maximum 600 points)

Additional Points	Maximum 600 points
Sibling in Canada who is a citizen or a permanent resident	15
Scored NCLC 7 or higher on all four French language skills and scored CLB 4 or lower in English or didn’t take the English test	25
Scored NCLC 7 or higher on all four French language skills and scored CLB 5 or higher in English	50
Post-secondary education in Canada – credential of one or two years	15
Post-secondary education in Canada – credential of 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 except Major Group 00	50
Provincial or territorial nomination	600

 Subtotal: D. Additional points – Maximum 600 points

Grand total: A. Core or human capital + B. Spouse or common-law partner + C. Skill transferability factors + D. Additional points = Maximum 1,200 points

---

Disclaimer:

The content available on this page is for informational purpose only. For professional advice, please book an appointment with our licensed immigration consultants through our website.

---