The Canadian Immigration Department has announced that candidates in the Express Entry Program will no longer receive additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points for a valid job offer, including those supported by a Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). This change was implemented and took effect on March 25, 2025.

Before this change, Express Entry candidates could receive an additional 50 or 200 CRS points for securing a job offer, increasing their chances of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residency (PR) through the Express Entry program.

This change affects the CRS points of all candidates in the Express Entry pool who previously received additional points for securing a job offer. Candidates who have already received an Invitation to Apply (ITA) or are in the process of applying for permanent residency (PR) will not be affected.

In a press release on December 23, 2024, IRCC announced that the removal of additional points is only a temporary measure, but did not specify when this measure will end.

The Minister's Guidance version on March 25, 2025, still retains most of the descriptions of what constitutes a valid job offer, despite removing the bonus points for such offers.

SO HOW WILL THIS CHANGE IMPACT EXPRESS ENTRY CANDIDATES?

Now that this change is in effect, candidates with a valid job offer will see their CRS points decrease by the exact number of points they were awarded for their valid job offer (50 or 200).

This means that individuals with a valid job offer will have fewer chances of receiving an ITA through Express Entry.

On the other hand, candidates without a valid job offer can expect their chances of receiving an ITA to increase, as while their scores remain the same, the scores of other candidates in the pool will decrease.

On the CRS website, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) notes that "it may take a few days" for the candidates' new points to be displayed accurately and advises affected candidates not to contact them unless their points remain inaccurate for more than a week.

A valid job offer is still relevant to the eligibility criteria of the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and some Provincial Nominee Programs.

Source: https://www.cicnews.com/2025/03/breaking-canada-removes-bonus-crs-points-for-arranged-employment-from-express-entry-0353251.html#gs.kn51ig