Nov. 3 deadline: IRCC is bringing back job offer points for designated high-wage occupations and dropping the LMIA requirement
Employers face a Nov. 3 deadline to help foreign workers in high-wage occupations claim new Express Entry job offer points that could boost their odds of permanent residence and help employers keep skilled talent.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced on Oct. 16 that its Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) will award extra points for eligible Canadian work experience or a qualifying job offer in a designated high-wage occupation.
A qualifying job offer will also no longer need a labour market impact assessment (LMIA) to earn the new points or to meet job offer rules under the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Federal Skilled Trades Program, IRCC said.
“Canada is competing globally for people with the skills we need to build a prosperous economy and stronger public services. These changes will help us identify, attract and retain the skilled newcomers who are best positioned to succeed in Canada, while making the Express Entry system more targeted and responsive to our labour market needs,” Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab said in a news release.
How do the new Express Entry points work?
IRCC defines a high-wage occupation as one whose median wage is at least 1.3 times that of the Canadian workforce, based on an occupation’s typical earnings, not an individual’s pay. Its list sorts eligible National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes into three wage levels. Several HR roles qualify: human resources managers sit in the top tier, while human resources professionals and occupational health and safety specialists are at the 1.3-times level. Software engineers and registered nurses are mid-tier.
Under a new labour market integration factor outlined in IRCC’s backgrounder, a qualifying job offer is worth:
- 50 points at the 1.3-times level
- 70 points at 1.5 times
- 100 points at twice the median wage.
Candidates with at least 12 months of Canadian work experience in a high-wage occupation can instead earn 20, 40 or 70 extra points. The two routes don’t stack.
The move reverses a March 2025 decision to remove job offer points from the CRS, according to an Oct. 16, 2026 client alert from Fragomen, a global immigration law firm. Canadian HR Reporter covered an earlier overhaul of Express Entry job offer points in 2016.
Fraud concerns and employer reaction
Dropping the LMIA requirement removes a costly step for employers already navigating tighter federal rules for hiring temporary foreign workers. But an IRCC officer must still confirm an offer is genuine – including whether it reflects reasonable employment needs and whether the employer has complied with federal and provincial employment and recruitment laws, the backgrounder states.
Job offer points were pulled after reports that fake jobs were being sold to newcomers, the Financial Post reported. “Job offer fraud will be top of mind for IRCC given their challenges with it before,” immigration lawyer Zeynab Ziaie Moayyed told the newspaper.
“By awarding points only for qualifying job offers in high-wage occupations, while strengthening how we assess and verify job offers, we are improving efforts to manage integrity risks,” IRCC said.
Adam Hajji, director of government relations at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Ottawa, said in a statement that removing the LMIA requirement will ease employers’ administrative burden and add predictability for businesses and skilled workers, the Post reported.
Deadlines HR should track before Nov. 3
Existing scores will be recalculated automatically, but anyone seeking job offer points must update their profile before Nov. 3, IRCC said. Invitation rounds will pause for up to two weeks during the recalculation.
Fragomen recommends employers review affected workers’ job offer documentation, keep records supporting business legitimacy and coordinate profile updates.
HR teams should confirm each sponsored worker’s NOC code against IRCC’s high-wage list and check that offers cover full-time, continuous work for at least a year after permanent residence. For employers already adjusting to Ottawa’s reduced immigration levels and permanent resident targets, the stakes are higher.
