Ottawa is introducing new express entry points for certain permanent residency applicants in “high-wage” positions, Immigration Minister Lena Diab announced on Friday.
The government will also eliminate the need for an employer to show that they can’t find a qualified Canadian for those roles.
These changes, effective Nov. 3, will be available to applicants who already have Canadian work experience or hold a job offer in a high-paying sector like engineering.
In the announcement regarding the update, the government defines a high-wage job as one that pays “at least 1.3 times the median wage of the overall Canadian workforce.”
It mentions that the number of express entry points awarded corresponds to how high the wage is.
According to Statistics Canada, the median annual income in Canada was $46,300 in 2024, not counting those with zero income.
Additionally, there’s a temporary policy change removing the requirement for employers to provide a Labour Market Impact Assessment for qualifying jobs eligible under these new express entry points.
The government states this adjustment aims to make the application process easier and is part of its ongoing strategy over the past year to attract more immigrants in high-paying professions to Canada.
Recent measures have been put in place to award more express entry points for workers in medicine, skilled trades, transportation, and research fields.
Candidates seeking permanent residency who are already in the express entry pool will see their scores updated based on these new points from Canadian work experience and job offers.
The Immigration Department notes it might take up to two weeks for these new totals to be calculated and that invitations to apply for permanent residency will be paused during this period.
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