Get immigration help you can trust. Book a consultation with one of Moving2Canada’s recommended Canadian immigration consultants.
Find the best immigration program for you. Take our free immigration quiz and we’ll tell you the best immigration programs for you!
Learn everything you need to know about Canadian immigration
If you need help with your immigration, one of our recommended immigration consultant partners can help.
Calculate your estimated CRS score and find out if you're in the competitive range for Express Entry.
Take the quiz
Your guide to becoming a student in Canada
Take our quiz and find out what are the top programs for you.
Learn more
Watch on YouTube
This guide will help you choose the best bank in Canada for your needs.
Get your guide
latest articles
Read more
Updated 51 mins ago
Advertisement
Effective Spring 2025, and until further notice, Express Entry candidates will no longer receive additional points for having a valid Canadian job offer. Valid job offers are still important in the context of the Federal Skilled Worker Program.
All applicants with a valid job offer should explore other ways to boost their CRS score.
In Express Entry, the number of CRS points you receive for a Canadian job offer depends on the NOC code of the offered position. You can receive either 50 or 200 points, depending on the TEER category of your position, but only upper management positions are awarded the highest amount of 200 points.
Landing a valid job offer is just one way to boost your CRS score and be invited in an Express Entry draw— there are tons of other possible ways, too.
The best way to discover possible CRS improvements for your situation is to complete the Moving2Canada CRS Calculator and play around with different scenarios to see their effect on the total score. And, if you’re not already in the Express Entry pool, as a bonus you’ll get an initial assessment of how you may enter the pool.
Start using the Express Entry CRS Calculator here.
Not all job offers will earn you CRS points on your Express Entry profile. In order to get points, your Express Entry job offer has to be considered valid.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) states that to be considered valid under Express Entry, a Canadian job offer must be for a job that is:
If you are claiming points for a job offer under Express Entry you will have to provide a copy of the written job offer outlining your position, your duties, your salary, and your conditions of employment. As well, you must include proof of your LMIA or LMIA-exemption.
From IRCC:
“To get points from the Comprehensive Ranking System for a job offer in Express Entry, your employer will usually need to get a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). You should only answer “Yes” to the question “Does [your name] have a job offer in Canada?” if: a Canadian employer (or up to two for the Federal Skilled Trades Program) has offered you a full-time, non-seasonal job for one year or more and that job offer is supported by an LMIA, OR the job is exempt from needing an LMIA.”
“To get points from the Comprehensive Ranking System for a job offer in Express Entry, your employer will usually need to get a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
You should only answer “Yes” to the question “Does [your name] have a job offer in Canada?” if:
a Canadian employer (or up to two for the Federal Skilled Trades Program) has offered you a full-time, non-seasonal job for one year or more and
that job offer is supported by an LMIA, OR
the job is exempt from needing an LMIA.”
A job offer is valid for Express Entry when it is issued by an employer that requires an LMIA that meets the following requirements:
If the employer does not require an LMIA then you must have a valid work permit for a NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupation, and you are currently working for that employer, and have been for at least one year full-time or the equivalent amount of part-time work, and have a valid job offer from that employer for at least one year of work.
Your job offer is not valid for Express Entry if it does not meet the eligibility requirements. In other words, if your job offer is seasonal or part-time, not continuous or for a period of less than one year, or for a NOC TEER category 4 or 5, or is not exempt from or supported by a positive LMIA, then it is not valid.
According to the Canadian government, a job offer is not valid if your employer is:
You will not be able to claim points for a job offer if your employer is ineligible, does not get a positive LMIA or is not LMIA-exempt.
A quick note about ineligible employers. The government keeps a list of employers who have been found non-compliant. But non-compliance does not automatically mean that the employer is ineligible for an LMIA. Some employers may just receive a financial penalty but may remain eligible to support an LMIA. So you should search for your employer in the government’s non-compliance table and, if they come up, check to see whether they were listed as ineligible in the ‘status’ column.
In certain cases, Canadian employers are exempt from requiring an LMIA to hire foreign workers. There are three broad categories of LMIA exemptions:
For full details about LMIA-exemptions, please consult IRCC’s guidelines on which jobs are exempt from requiring an LMIA. If you claim points for an LMIA-exempt job offer on your Express Entry profile, you will have to prove the offer meets the exemption criteria if you are invited to apply for permanent residence.
A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document obtained by a Canadian employer who wishes to hire a foreign national to fill an open position. Only a Canadian employer can apply for an LMIA, foreign workers cannot apply on their own.
An LMIA assesses whether or not hiring foreign talent will have a positive or a negative impact on the Canadian labour market. To apply, Canadian employers must include information about their business, the position they are seeking to fill with a foreign worker, and must include evidence that they have attempted to hire a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to fill the position.
LMIAs are submitted to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). ESDC reviews all submitted LMIAs to determine whether an LMIA is positive or negative. A positive LMIA means that hiring a foreign worker will have a positive effect on the Canadian labour force, while a negative LMIA means it will have a negative effect.
First, you need to find a job in Canada. For some candidates, you may already be working for an employer in Canada and you may need to have the LMIA talk if you aren’t already in Canada working on an LMIA or employer-specific work permit.
For others, you will need to find a job in Canada. We have comprehensive resources covering how to get a job in Canada, which you can find here.
Check out our video on finding a job in Canada with Moving2Canada’s CEO and founder, Ruairi Spillane.
A Canada job offer letter is a document that explains the details of your job. As a temporary foreign worker, you receive this job offer letter from your Canadian employer.
Getting the job offer letter right can be complex, and exactly what your employer must include in the job offer letter depends on various factors, including whether it’s a new job offer and which Express Entry stream you are applying for (Federal Skilled Worker or Canadian Experience Class, vs Skilled Trades).
For the FSW and CEC streams, the job offer must be made by one employer for continuous, full-time, non seasonal work in a NOC TEER category 0, 1, 2, or 3.
It must also be made by an employer with a new positive LMIA, unless you’re already working legally in Canada in a NOC TEER category 0, 1, 2, or 3 position on a work permit issued based on a positive LMIA or in an LMIA-exempt position.
Aside from this, a Canada job offer letter is less detailed than a contract. It would also usually include information such as:
If you need an LMIA with your work permit application, IRCC says you should include a copy of your Canada job offer in the application.
Search results
results for “”