Who’s Eligible for the Senior Managers with Canadian Work Experience Category?

When IRCC removed the additional CRS points for job offers in March 2025 due to fraud concerns, senior managers lost a significant advantage. Before that change, executives could receive 200 CRS points for a qualifying job offer – often enough to offset the reality that Express Entry points strongly favour younger candidates. Once those points were eliminated, many experienced, older senior managers became far less competitive in the pool. 

This new category feels like course correction, with a different focus. Instead of rewarding a future job offer, IRCC is now focusing on past Canadian work experience in designated senior managerial roles. The emphasis shifts from what an applicant will do to what they have already done in Canada. 

It’s also worth noting that this isn’t new territory. This is the third time Canada has adjusted policy that has a direct impact on senior managers. 

Before looking at the broader implications of this category, here’s who qualifies. 

Eligibility Requirements 

To qualify under this category, a candidate must: 

• Have accumulated at least 12 months of full-time work experience (or an equivalent amount of part-time experience) 

• The work experience must have been gained within the past three years 

• The experience does not need to be continuous, but it must be in a single qualifying occupation  

• The qualifying occupation can be different from the applicant’s primary occupation 

• The work must have been completed in Canada 

• The applicant must meet all additional requirements outlined in the instructions for the specific round of invitations 

The qualifying occupations are limited to just four NOCs: 

• Legislators (NOC 00010) 

• Senior government managers and officials (NOC 00011) 

• Senior managers – financial, communications and other business services (NOC 00012) 

• Senior managers – health, education, social and community services and membership organizations (NOC 00013) 

These are not mid-level roles. They sit at the very top of the NOC system and are intended for individuals who lead entire organizations or major divisions. Think of senior managers as people who establish strategies and policies. They direct other managers, who then handle the execution. 

Because of that, a job title alone won’t be enough to qualify. Officers will look at how the organization is structured, the scope of your authority, and the level at which you made decisions. This category is intentionally narrow, and it will likely be applied that way. 

A word of caution: “Senior manager” does not mean the same thing in every organization. Mid-level managers should not attempt to position themselves as executives simply because the title feels close enough. Even genuine senior leaders should expect heightened scrutiny, particularly if the organization is smaller or structured differently from a traditional corporate model. 

The History of CRS Points for Senior Managers 

This is not the first time Canada has attempted to prioritize senior managers under Express Entry. Let’s look back at what has previously been done: 

1. At Launch of Express Entry

When Express Entry first launched, qualifying job offers were worth 600 CRS points, effectively guaranteeing an invitation. This applied broadly to anyone who had a qualifying job offer, including senior management roles. 

2. Later Changes

The system was amended in 2016 to reduce the points for job offers in general. Between later 2016 and early 2025, the following points where available: 

• 50 CRS points for most qualifying job offers 

• 200 CRS points for senior managerial positions (NOC 000) 

This tiered approach gave senior managers a competitive advantage over others in the pool.  

3. March 2025 Changes

In March 2025, IRCC removed the additional CRS points for all job offers due to concerns around fraud and abuse. 

As a result, senior managers, who often have extensive work histories and are typically older, lost a significant competitive advantage when ranked against others in the pool.  

What Makes This Update Different? 

Previous attempts to prioritize senior managers focused on future employment, specifically, whether a candidate had a qualifying job offer in a senior managerial role. 

That meant decisions were based on what was expected to happen. There was always an element of projection involved, relying on the promise of a role rather than proof of one already done. 

This new category shifts the focus to past Canadian work experience, removing any element of projection in the assessment. If someone has already worked in a qualifying senior management role in Canada, that experience should be supported by objective evidence: payroll records, reporting structures, corporate documentation, reference letters, etc. The assessment is grounded in what has been done, not what is anticipated to be done.  

Is This a Substitute for Self-Employed Pathways? 

Right now, it isn’t entirely clear whether 12 months of self-employed senior management work is qualifying for this category. 

This clarity matters because many senior managers are also business owners. They may have founded the company, may hold shares, or run the organization they built. In immigration terms, that often means their work experience can be considered self-employment. Plus, there really isn’t a broad federal immigration pathway for self-employed people anymore. 

So, can entrepreneurs and self-employed persons qualify through the senior manager category? That’s where things get tricky. 

Under Express Entry rules, self-employed work experience does not count as qualifying work experience for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).  

However, the Express Entry guidance also says that self-employed work can count toward meeting the requirements of an occupation-based category, and at the same time acknowledges that it cannot be used for CEC.  

We’ve reached out to IRCC for clarification and will update this section once we receive a formal response. 

What This Means for You 

This is now the third time Canada has adjusted Express Entry to target senior managers: 

• 600-point job offers when Express Entry first launched 

• A 200-point bonus for senior managerial job offers 

• Now, category-based selection based on Canadian work experience as a senior manager 

IRCC’s goal in the last 10 years has not changed, but how you prove you qualify has.   

If you’re hoping to apply under this category, you need to be prepared to show that you were genuinely operating at the senior executive level. Not just in title, but in practice. 

Ask yourself: 

• Did you set overall strategy for the organization or a major division? 

• Did you direct other managers, not just employees? 

• Can you clearly document your reporting structure and decision-making authority? 

• Does the size and structure of the organization support a true executive role? 

This category will likely require more than a standard reference letter. You’ll need documentation that shows you were truly operating at the senior management level. 

In a larger organization, that might include formal organizational charts, board minutes, corporate filings, detailed employment agreements, and clear reporting structures. 

In a smaller company, the evidence may look different, but it still needs to show seniority. It can include: 

• Corporate registry documents showing your role or status 

• Proof that other managers reported to you 

• Internal organizational charts, even if informal 

• Contracts you signed on behalf of the company 

• Evidence of strategic decision-making responsibility 

• Public materials (website, press releases, LinkedIn profiles) confirming your executive role. 

The clearer you can show your level of authority and scope of responsibility, the stronger your application will be.