CRS: Comprehensive Ranking System – Part 2
If there’s a will, there’s a way.
Anyone interested to move to Canada can find different pathways to try. Personally, I believe it all boils down to doing some research. This is because the information is very easy to find. The IRCC or Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada manages these immigrations programs. And their website would be the number one resource I would suggest people to check. In an attempt to assist others, I am sharing my notes on the topic. After all, I did use this information to successfully achieve PR status in Canada.
In my previous post, I introduced the CRS or the Comprehensive Ranking System. The IRCC uses this system to ranking candidates in the Express Entry pool. I answered these questions in that post:
- What does it do?
- How is it used by IRCC?
- How does it impact the chances of a candidate for permanent residence?
In this second post about the CRS, I shift the focus on the candidates themselves.
- Which details about candidates matter at this stage?
- How can candidates fare better versus the system?
Basically, my goal is to explain how candidates work with the CRS.
The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)
- a points-based system
- used to assess and score your profile and rank it in the Express Entry pool
How Candidates Work with the CRS
The Express Entry questionnaire needs the information below. As we can see, except nationality, each of the other items on the list contributes to points. And each of those items that matter is called a factor.
nationality- age
- language ability
- family members
- education
- work experience
- details on any job offer
Also note that a candidate who has a spouse accompanying him or her is scored different from one who has none.
And the list above doesn’t indicate the sequence the information will be asked in the Express Entry questionnaire.
Let’s look at each factor below:
The Age Factor
Looking at the CRS criteria tables, there is a range of ages noticeably scoring better than the rest. That range is 20 – 29. And each year after, candidates lose five points.
In our case, Jade and I were 30 years old when we created our profiles. That gave us 95 points each. As my birthday was after my profile creation, I lost five points once I turned 31. However, since I’d already gotten my first ITA (Invitation to Apply) then, it didn’t result to any disqualification or cancelling of my ITA.
The Language (Ability) Factor
For this factor, the CRS refers to a language scale called the CLB or Canadian Language Benchmark. This is useful for the system because there are four different ways to test and prove proficiency in Canada’s official languages.
The good thing is, the Express Entry questionnaire itself doesn’t require details of CLB matching. It just needs:
- name of the test
- date of testing
- scores on the skills
- details of other exams
Candidates can then input their scores for each language skill, as shown below:
Unlike the age factor, this is one of those that candidates can greatly help themselves with. Practice. Practice. Practice. And aim high.
I will be coming up with a separate post to aid in IELTS preparation.
The Family Factor
There are two ways family details can affect CRS scoring.
- Inclusion of a spouse and relevant details in the application
- Having family members in Canada
Basically, the criteria shifts for candidates who have their spouse moving with them to Canada. The system will assign points to the partner’s own language test results, level of education and work experience. So it’s important for couple to individually check who is more likely to get a higher CRS score and make that spouse the principal applicant.
Depending on the number of family members moving, the amount required for settlement funds likewise changes. As of this writing, this table shows how much is needed for a certain number of family members:
The numbers do change from time to time so it’s really important to watch out for updates from IRCC, even if it’s just on Twitter.
Finally, having family members in Canada can help increase scores. At least for a having a brother or a sister in Canada, candidates get 15 extra points!
The Education Factor
After the Language (Ability) Factor, this is another that I recommend candidates to look into. I was fortunate enough to have made the decision to pursue a post-graduate diploma. Although I found very little use for it, this little investment finally showed its worth when I was trying for Canada PR.
Essentially, the more degrees or the higher the level of educational attainment, the better the score. Whatever that degree was or the combination of degrees were. Combined with excellent language test results, this factor is even more powerful.
These are the scores assigned for each level of education under the CRS:
And this shows the scores for combinations of Level of Education and Language Proficiency:
In such a system where it is possible to be a point shy of an ITA, jumping ahead of the curve surely calls for critical decisions.
The Work Experience Factor
To qualify candidates for certain streams and determine which documents will be needed, the Express Entry questionnaire asks a number of questions regarding work experience:
- in Canada
- in Skilled Work
- in Skilled Trades
Although experience in Skilled Trades as a category falls under Skilled Work, there are certain NOCs or occupations that make one qualified for the Federal Skilled Trades stream. Again, this is different from the Federal Skilled Worker program. That’s why there’s a more specific set of criteria for that.
This is how those questions look like in the questionnaire:
The Job Offer Factor
At the bottom of the list is the Job Offer. Make no mistake. This factor is worth 200 points.
However, from our personal experience, this was our least priority. This was simply because acquiring a qualifying job offer meant finding an employer keen on hiring us from abroad, willing to take a risk on the approval of our application, and comfortable with acquiring a positive LMIA (Labour Market Impact Assessment). The last bit entails proving that there are no citizens or PRs in Canada who are available and capable for the job.
It’s still a mystery to me how to get one and I’d like to do further research on how this happens for others.
But for now, I’d like to focus the last section of this post on another helpful tip:
The Provincial Nominee Program
Clicking “Check your eligibility” here will open up the the Express Entry questionnaire. And this is the landing for that link:
It’s not about the factors above, rather about the province candidates are most interested in.
At which point, I’d like to relate this to a key concept in immigrating to Canada:
- Research.
- Research.
- Research.
Even before moving to Canada, it helps to imagine life in Canada.
- Which province is the most suitable?
- Which city is a good size considerable for future planning?
- Which has a pace comfortable for the people moving?
- Which has the key industries where one’s personal preference is included?
Apart from that, why the chosen province helps or matters is because it is possible to get 600 points from choosing province that is likewise interested.
In our original applications, Jade and I expressed interest in all provinces. Eventually, when Nova Scotia ran a draw for Accountants with five years or more experience, Jade was invited by the province to apply for its provincial nominee program. Upon successful nomination, Jade got the 600 points. She got her ITA soon after and was approved for PR less than four months after submitting all her Express Entry documents.
While, we did not do advanced research in Nova Scotia per se, this is an afterthought for us. And by sharing this, we are hoping that people who come to this blog for tips or help on their preparations for immigrating to Canada, do get helpful and useful info.
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