How to Improve CRS Score for Canada – 2021 Guide

How to Improve CRS Score for Canada – 2021 Guide

When it comes to immigration, Canada probably has the most systematic method of creating new pathways and accepting newcomers into the country. The most well-known of these pathways is arguably the Express Entry system. Since 2015, Express Entry has been the go-to method of immigration for skilled workers outside Canada. What makes Express Entry special is that it is a very transparent system for applicants. The rules are set out clearly for everyone involved so all applicants will have a basic understanding of whether they will receive an Invitation to Apply (simply known as an ITA) or not. Of course, whether you will receive an ITA or not depends entirely on your Comprehensive Ranking System or CRS score. So the question is, how to improve CRS score to get an ITA? Here we will show you how CRS scores are calculated, and what you can do to improve your CRS score to receive an ITA and ultimately receive a Permanent Resident status.

How Express Entry Works? A Quick Recap

For those who are not aware of how the Express Entry works, we’ll try to give a quick recap in this section. If you are a skilled worker or if you are skilled in trades and you fulfill the requirements, you are eligible to get in the Express Entry pool. These requirements are:

• you must have at least one year of uninterrupted experience in a full-time job that is in the National Occupation Type (NOC) 0, A, or B. If you’re applying for the Federal Skilled Trades Program instead, you need two years of experience. See NOC Skill Type jobs more in detail
• Your proficiency in English or French must at least be CLB 7 (5 for Trades). See the table for CLB 7 below:

CLB 7 EQUIVALENT SCORES		Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
ENGLISH	IELTS – General	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
	CELPIP – General	7	7	7	7
FRENCH	TEF – Canada	207-232	310-348	249-279	310-348
	TCF – Canada	453-498	10-11	458-502	10-11

• You need to have completed a program from a post-secondary institution either in Canada or abroad. If you did your studies abroad, you’re going to need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA). If you’re applying for the trades program, you don’t need to have a post-secondary credential however having one will greatly improve your chances as we’ll mention below.

Once you fulfill all of the requirements, you will be able to get into the Express Entry pool along with other applicants. But of course, to receive an ITA you need to be selected from this pool. This selection is made according to your CRS scores. Approximately every two weeks, IRCC will draw the applicants with the highest CRS scores from the pool.

What CRS Score Do I Need to Receive an ITA?

Well, that depends on the cutoff scores determined by the IRCC. There have been cases where applicants with scores as low as 75 (but these are extremely rare exceptions!) received an ITA. However, it is generally assumed that if you have a score over 500 you will most certainly get an ITA. And applicants with scores over 450 also usually receive an ITA, however, they might have to wait for a couple of draws. Below you can find a table from IRCC about the CRS cut-off scores and ITA’s sent to each program in 2019 (the latest available report):

Invitation to apply date	CRS cut-off	Canadian Experience Class	PNP	Federal Skilled Worker	Skilled Trades	Total
2019-01-10	449	1,265	452	2,183	0	3,900
2019-01-23	443	1,307	318	2,275	0	3,900
2019-01-30	438	1,031	260	2,059	0	3,350
2019-02-20	457	1,149	548	1,653	0	3,350
2019-03-06	454	121	435	1,705	0	2,261
2019-03-20	452	1,009	447	1,894	0	3,350
2019-04-03	451	1,292	380	1,678	0	3,350
2019-04-17	451	116	417	1,773	0	2,306
2019-05-01	450	1,249	401	17	0	1,667
2019-05-15	*332	0	0	0	500	500
2019-05-29	470	1,171	887	1,292	0	3,350
2019-06-12	465	132	407	1,623	0	2,162
2019-06-26	462	122	446	1,684	0	2,252
2019-07-10	460	1,515	434	1,651	0	3,600
2019-07-24	459	1,314	438	1,848	0	3,600
2019-08-12	466	141	752	1,438	0	2,331
2019-08-20	456	147	276	1,854	0	2,277
2019-09-04	463	1,457	630	1,513	0	3,600
2019-09-18	462	1,356	745	1,499	0	3,600
2019-10-02	464	154	933	1,427	0	2,514
2019-10-16	*357	0	0	0	500	500
2019-10-30	475	1,326	1,495	1,079	0	3,900
2019-11-13	472	134	953	1,307	0	2,394
2019-11-27	471	1,162	112	1,318	0	2,592
2019-12-11	472	117	1,033	997	0	2,147
2019-12-19	469	112	721	1,359	0	2,192
Total		30,563	14,928	38,809	1,000	84,301

The average CRS cut-off for 2019 (excluding the Federal Skilled Trades Program draws, as they are very rare and they are only made within the pool of Skilled Trades applicants) was 460. This is the latest data available on IRCC’s website but you need to be aware that each year the cutoff score is getting higher to get the most qualified applicants. All in all, the maximum CRS score you can get is 1200, however half of that score comes from Provincial Nomination. We will look at the other 600. With all that being said, let us look at how your CRS score is calculated.

What Affects Your CRS Score?

Many factors affect your CRS score. Out of all them, the four main factors are as follows:

• Age
• Level of Education
• Proficiency in English or French
• Work Experience

Let us take a look at each of them one by one.

How Age Affects your CRS Score?

Your age is one of the most principal factors that affect your CRS score. Unfortunately, it’s also something that the applicants can’t simply change. Understandably, IRCC gives a higher priority to younger applicants, as they will have more time to generate more taxable income (in other words, they will work more until they retire!) and they will adapt to the Canadian lifestyle more easily. This is made apparent in the CRS scores, if you are in the ages between 20 and 29, you will get 110 points. After 30, the score you get deteriorates rapidly. For example, if you are 35, you would only get 77 points. If you are 45 or over, you will get zero points from age.

Level of Education’s Effect on your CRS Score

If you’re applying through Federal Skilled Worker Program, you’re going to require some sort of post-secondary qualification in any case. However, it doesn’t end with a Bachelor’s Degree or its equivalent in other countries (note that you’re going to need an assessment if you studied in another country). With a Bachelor’s Degree, you’ll get 120 points. If you apply with a Master’s Degree under your belt, then you’ll get 135 points from your education, and if you apply with a doctoral degree or a Ph.D., you’ll get 150 points in total. One important thing here to note is that, if you got your Bachelor’s Degree from another country than Canada, the program’s duration has to be at least 3 years or longer. A similar limitation does not exist for a Master’s Degree; you can graduate from a 2 year or a one-year program.

How your Language Tests Affect your CRS Score?

We mentioned that you need to be on CLB 7 level (or NCLC 7 for French) to apply to Express Entry, however it doesn’t end there. A level of CLB 7 will net you 17 points. However, let’s say you studied harder on your English and got test scores equivalent to level CLB 9. That CLB level would net you 31 points. If you got the highest CLB level, CLB 10, you would get 34 points from language alone!

Another important point: In October 2020 IRCC raised the additional points for bilingual English and French speakers. With this new update, if you can prove you’re NCLC level 7, you will get an additional 50 points which are huge, and that will carry your CRS score over 450!

Work Experience’s Effect on your CRS Score

Canada aims to bring skilled and highly qualified people with the Express Entry system, so it’s no surprise that you can get quite a boost if you have sufficient work experience. That work experience can either be in or out of Canada. Obviously, you’re going to get a lot more points if you have Canadian work experience, compared to foreign work experience. Even with one year of Canadian work experience, you’re going to get 40 points. With 3 years you’ll be getting 64 points. Finally, with more than 5 years of experience in Canada, you can get as many as 80 points.

For comparison, a foreign work experience of 3 years or more will only net you 50 points – and you’ll get that 50 points only if you have CLB 9 or above. If you’re CLB 7, you’ll only get 25 points. Canadian work experience makes a lot of difference in Express Entry and you can see it here.

Top 3 Tips to Increase your CRS Score

By now, you probably realized we purposefully did not mention the factors in “additional points”. We did not touch on those because some of those factors are out of the applicant’s control. For example, you’ll get 15 more points if you have a sibling in Canada with a permanent resident or citizen status. Thing is, you can’t do anything about that. After all, you either have a brother or sister in Canada or not, you can’t send them over to Canada so that they can get extra points for you.

Another source of additional points is getting a job offer, which can give you 200 to 50 points depending on the employment opportunity’s NOC code. We did not mention this either because if you’re able to get a job offer from Canada you’ve already got the ITA in the bag. The truth to the matter is, most employers aren’t too keen on employing someone without a permanent resident status or someone who isn’t in Canada yet. Getting an LMIA is a tedious process for most business owners, so if you don’t know someone who owns a business in Canada personally who can give you a job, your chances won’t be high arranging employment before you come to Canada. So instead, we will talk about more practical ways to increase your CRS score.

1. Getting Higher Scores in your Language Proficiency Exams!

This might seem like an obvious recommendation but the easiest and most effective way you can boost your CRS score seems to be getting that CLB 9 or 10 marks from IELTS or CELPIP exams. Being more proficient in English or French will not only boost your scores, but it will ultimately make it easier for you to adapt to your new life in Canada and it will help you find a job much easier. Raising your CLB from 7 to 9 will also not only add 14 points to your CRS score but will also double your score you got from Foreign Work Experience. If you have foreign work experience of 3 years or longer, you’ll get 25 points with CLB 7. You’ll get an additional 25 points by raising your proficiency level to CLB 9, as we mentioned before.

CLB 9 EQUIVALENT SCORES		Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
ENGLISH	IELTS – General	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
	CELPIP – General	7	7	7	7
FRENCH	TEF – Canada	207-232	310-348	249-279	310-348
	TCF – Canada	453-498	10-11	458-502	10-11

In the past, it did not make a lot of sense to invest in improving your French skills, since it only added 30 points. Now if you are bilingual, you will be getting 50 additional points, which can make a great difference. Therefore, if you already know French and you are on a CEFR level of A2, you can get an NCLC 7 (which is CEFR B2) by studying intensively for 4-5 months. Remember, just because you’re getting points by being bilingual, you won’t have to reside in Quebec specifically. You can still choose to reside wherever you want if you get your formal application approved.

2. Higher Education – In Canada!

Investing in a post-secondary program, such as a Master’s Degree or a Ph.D. can be beneficial not just for you but for your CRS score too. If you are serious about moving to Canada, applying for a program in Canada can be your pathway to permanent residency. If you apply and graduate with any sort of post-secondary degree from Canada, you will get an additional 30 points on top of your points you already got from education! Couple that with the post-graduate work permit you can get after finishing your program and you will easily get your invitation to apply. Applying and finishing a post-secondary program could be financially difficult, however, keep in mind that during your study you will also be able to work for 20 hours/week. For comparison, study permits in the US do not offer that kind of advantage to international students, so you can again see how advantageous Canada be when it comes to immigration!

3. Choose Your Principal Applicant Carefully!

If you’re applying with your spouse or your common-law partner, choosing the principal applicant could be critical in getting an ITA. When you apply with your spouse, you’ll be getting fewer points from most of the factors mentioned above. The reasoning is that your spouse can also be eligible to get some points towards your CRS score. Let’s take a look at an example:

Under normal circumstances, a Bachelor’s Degree would net you 120 points;
however, if you’re applying with your spouse you would get 112 points;
if your spouse also has a Bachelor’s Degree s/he would get 8 points;
both of your totals would still be 120 points.

But that’s not always the case. If your significant other does not have any formal education, you would only get 112 points instead of 120. And this doesn’t only apply to education, but also language proficiency and work experience as well. So you have to sit down and do some math to see which principal applicant can get the most points. In some cases, it’s also logical for a single partner to apply solely. After the principal applicant gets the permanent residence, s/he can sponsor the other partner’s permanent residency in Canada. But of course, this would mean that the couple would have to live separately for some time.

Get Professional Help from ICCRC Licensed Immigration Consultants!

The Express Entry system is probably the most advanced system of immigration in the world. As such, it takes a lot of experience in knowing the intricacies of it. Even if you can’t apply the tips mentioned above, you can still receive your ITA through Provincial Nominee Programs. But understanding and keeping on top of them (since some of the immigration streams in PNPs are opened and closed in a matter of days) is even more difficult than keeping track of the Express Entry process. By getting consultation from experts in their field, you can make sure that you’re maximizing your chances of getting permanent residency in Canada.

Reach out to us if you have any queries with Canadian immigration processes. Our experts would be happy to assist you. Don’t forget to check out our free 15-minute consultation by filling out the evaluation form here.