On October 16, 2026, IRCC announced Express Entry changes scheduled for November 3, 2026. Eligible Canadian work experience and genuine job offers in listed high-wage occupations will receive different treatment. This may create opportunities for some workers already in Canada and applicants with qualifying offers.
Search the full list of 186 eligible occupations and NOC codes ↓
What has been confirmed?
A new Labour Market Integration factor compares two routes: Canadian work-experience points, including any eligible high-wage supplement, and qualifying high-wage job-offer points. IRCC uses the higher result. These two routes are not added together.
| Occupation’s median wage compared with the Canadian workforce median | Extra points for at least 12 months of qualifying Canadian experience | Alternative qualifying job-offer score |
|---|---|---|
| At least 2× | 70 | 100 |
| At least 1.5×, below 2× | 40 | 70 |
| At least 1.3×, below 1.5× | 20 | 50 |
The experience supplement sits on top of the existing duration-based Canadian experience points. The combined factor can reach 150 without an accompanying spouse or partner, or 140 with one; the job-offer route has a maximum of 100. Work outside the high-wage list can still qualify for duration-based Canadian experience points.
Your NOC matters—not just your salary
IRCC uses published occupation-level wage tiers, identified by National Occupational Classification codes. A high personal salary does not by itself make a job eligible. The actual duties, correct NOC, listed tier and qualifying experience or offer must be checked. Examples appear across health care, engineering, technology, education, management and certain trades; not every job in those sectors qualifies.
Eligible high-wage occupations: full NOC list
These 186 occupations are on IRCC’s published list scheduled to take effect November 3, 2026, based on wage data from 2023–2025. Checked October 21, 2026. Search by job title or five-digit NOC code.
The tier reflects the occupation’s national median wage, not your individual salary. A listed occupation alone does not establish eligibility: your duties, qualifying Canadian experience or genuine job offer must also meet the rules.
Showing all 186 occupations.
No matching occupations. Try another title or NOC code.
At least 2× the national median wage
31 occupations · Experience supplement: 70 points · Alternative qualifying job-offer score: 100 points. The two routes are compared, not added.
| NOC code | Occupation |
|---|---|
| 00011 | Senior government managers and officials |
| 00012 | Senior managers - financial, communications and other business services |
| 00013 | Senior managers - health, education, social and community services and membership organizations |
| 10010 | Financial managers |
| 10011 | Human resources managers |
| 10012 | Purchasing managers |
| 10020 | Insurance, real estate and financial brokerage managers |
| 10021 | Banking, credit and other investment managers |
| 20010 | Engineering managers |
| 20011 | Architecture and science managers |
| 20012 | Computer and information systems managers |
| 21330 | Mining engineers |
| 21332 | Petroleum engineers |
| 31100 | Specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine |
| 31101 | Specialists in surgery |
| 31102 | General practitioners and family physicians |
| 31103 | Veterinarians |
| 31302 | Nurse practitioners |
| 31303 | Physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals |
| 40010 | Government managers - health and social policy development and program administration |
| 40011 | Government managers - economic analysis, policy development and program administration |
| 40012 | Government managers - education policy development and program administration |
| 40019 | Other managers in public administration |
| 40040 | Commissioned police officers and related occupations in public protection services |
| 40041 | Fire chiefs and senior firefighting officers |
| 41100 | Judges |
| 41101 | Lawyers and Quebec notaries |
| 41200 | University professors and lecturers |
| 60010 | Corporate sales managers |
| 80010 | Managers in natural resources production and fishing |
| 90011 | Utilities managers |
At least 1.5×, below 2× the national median wage
89 occupations · Experience supplement: 40 points · Alternative qualifying job-offer score: 70 points. The two routes are compared, not added.
| NOC code | Occupation |
|---|---|
| 00014 | Senior managers - trade, broadcasting and other services |
| 00015 | Senior managers - construction, transportation, production and utilities |
| 10019 | Other administrative services managers |
| 10022 | Advertising, marketing and public relations managers |
| 10029 | Other business services managers |
| 10030 | Telecommunication carriers managers |
| 11103 | Securities agents, investment dealers and brokers |
| 11201 | Professional occupations in business management consulting |
| 21100 | Physicists and astronomers |
| 21102 | Geoscientists and oceanographers |
| 21103 | Meteorologists and climatologists |
| 21109 | Other professional occupations in physical sciences |
| 21111 | Forestry professionals |
| 21120 | Public and environmental health and safety professionals |
| 21202 | Urban and land use planners |
| 21210 | Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries |
| 21211 | Data scientists |
| 21220 | Cybersecurity specialists |
| 21221 | Business systems specialists |
| 21222 | Information systems specialists |
| 21223 | Database analysts and data administrators |
| 21230 | Computer systems developers and programmers |
| 21231 | Software engineers and designers |
| 21232 | Software developers and programmers |
| 21300 | Civil engineers |
| 21301 | Mechanical engineers |
| 21310 | Electrical and electronics engineers |
| 21311 | Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) |
| 21320 | Chemical engineers |
| 21321 | Industrial and manufacturing engineers |
| 21322 | Metallurgical and materials engineers |
| 21331 | Geological engineers |
| 21390 | Aerospace engineers |
| 21399 | Other professional engineers |
| 22231 | Engineering inspectors and regulatory officers |
| 22312 | Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics |
| 30010 | Managers in health care |
| 31110 | Dentists |
| 31112 | Audiologists and speech-language pathologists |
| 31120 | Pharmacists |
| 31200 | Psychologists |
| 31202 | Physiotherapists |
| 31203 | Occupational therapists |
| 31300 | Nursing coordinators and supervisors |
| 31301 | Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses |
| 32111 | Dental hygienists and dental therapists |
| 40020 | Administrators - post-secondary education and vocational training |
| 40021 | School principals and administrators of elementary and secondary education |
| 40030 | Managers in social, community and correctional services |
| 40042 | Commissioned officers of the Canadian Armed Forces |
| 41210 | College and other vocational instructors |
| 41220 | Secondary school teachers |
| 41221 | Elementary school and kindergarten teachers |
| 41310 | Police investigators and other investigative occupations |
| 41311 | Probation and parole officers |
| 41320 | Educational counsellors |
| 41401 | Economists and economic policy researchers and analysts |
| 41402 | Business development officers and market researchers and analysts |
| 41404 | Health policy researchers, consultants and program officers |
| 41407 | Program officers unique to government |
| 42100 | Police officers (except commissioned) |
| 42101 | Firefighters |
| 50010 | Library, archive, museum and art gallery managers |
| 50011 | Managers - publishing, motion pictures, broadcasting and performing arts |
| 51100 | Librarians |
| 70010 | Construction managers |
| 70012 | Facility operation and maintenance managers |
| 70020 | Managers in transportation |
| 70021 | Postal and courier services managers |
| 72011 | Contractors and supervisors, electrical trades and telecommunications occupations |
| 72012 | Contractors and supervisors, pipefitting trades |
| 72023 | Supervisors, railway transport operations |
| 72103 | Boilermakers |
| 72202 | Power system electricians |
| 72203 | Electrical power line and cable workers |
| 72301 | Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers |
| 72406 | Elevator constructors and mechanics |
| 72600 | Air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors |
| 72601 | Air traffic controllers and related occupations |
| 72604 | Railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators |
| 73310 | Railway and yard locomotive engineers |
| 82020 | Supervisors, mining and quarrying |
| 82021 | Contractors and supervisors, oil and gas drilling and services |
| 83101 | Oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers |
| 90010 | Manufacturing managers |
| 92011 | Supervisors, petroleum, gas and chemical processing and utilities |
| 92100 | Power engineers and power systems operators |
| 93100 | Central control and process operators, mineral and metal processing |
| 93101 | Central control and process operators, petroleum, gas and chemical processing |
At least 1.3×, below 1.5× the national median wage
66 occupations · Experience supplement: 20 points · Alternative qualifying job-offer score: 50 points. The two routes are compared, not added.
| NOC code | Occupation |
|---|---|
| 00010 | Legislators |
| 11100 | Financial auditors and accountants |
| 11101 | Financial and investment analysts |
| 11102 | Financial advisors |
| 11109 | Other financial officers |
| 11200 | Human resources professionals |
| 12201 | Insurance adjusters and claims examiners |
| 12203 | Assessors, business valuators and appraisers |
| 21101 | Chemists |
| 21110 | Biologists and related scientists |
| 21112 | Agricultural representatives, consultants and specialists |
| 21200 | Architects |
| 21201 | Landscape architects |
| 21203 | Land surveyors |
| 21234 | Web developers and programmers |
| 22214 | Technical occupations in geomatics and meteorology |
| 22232 | Occupational health and safety specialists |
| 22233 | Construction inspectors |
| 22310 | Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians |
| 22313 | Aircraft instrument, electrical and avionics mechanics, technicians and inspectors |
| 31121 | Dietitians and nutritionists |
| 32102 | Paramedical occupations |
| 32103 | Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists |
| 32120 | Medical laboratory technologists |
| 32121 | Medical radiation technologists |
| 32122 | Medical sonographers |
| 41300 | Social workers |
| 41400 | Natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers |
| 41403 | Social policy researchers, consultants and program officers |
| 41405 | Education policy researchers, consultants and program officers |
| 41409 | Other professional occupations in social science |
| 43201 | Correctional service officers |
| 43203 | Border services, customs, and immigration officers |
| 50012 | Recreation, sports and fitness program and service directors |
| 51101 | Conservators and curators |
| 51102 | Archivists |
| 51111 | Authors and writers (except technical) |
| 51112 | Technical writers |
| 51120 | Producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations |
| 52112 | Broadcast technicians |
| 60020 | Retail and wholesale trade managers |
| 60031 | Accommodation service managers |
| 60040 | Managers in customer and personal services |
| 72010 | Contractors and supervisors, machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades and related occupations |
| 72013 | Contractors and supervisors, carpentry trades |
| 72014 | Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers |
| 72020 | Contractors and supervisors, mechanic trades |
| 72021 | Contractors and supervisors, heavy equipment operator crews |
| 72102 | Sheet metal workers |
| 72105 | Ironworkers |
| 72201 | Industrial electricians |
| 72302 | Gas fitters |
| 72320 | Bricklayers |
| 72321 | Insulators |
| 72401 | Heavy-duty equipment mechanics |
| 72403 | Railway carmen/women |
| 72404 | Aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors |
| 72500 | Crane operators |
| 72602 | Deck officers, water transport |
| 72603 | Engineer officers, water transport |
| 73311 | Railway conductors and brakemen/women |
| 82010 | Supervisors, logging and forestry |
| 83100 | Underground production and development miners |
| 83120 | Fishing masters and officers |
| 92010 | Supervisors, mineral and metal processing |
| 93102 | Pulping, papermaking and coating control operators |
If IRCC changes the list after issuing your Invitation to Apply, it uses the occupation tier that applied on your invitation date. Source: IRCC, High-wage occupations and how we assess them, published October 16, 2026.
How much could your score improve?
For illustration, a candidate without an accompanying spouse with one year of qualifying Canadian experience currently receives 40 duration points. If that year qualifies for the 70-point supplement, the work route becomes 110. A 100-point offer would not be added to 110: IRCC selects the higher route. Your net increase depends on the whole comparison.
What changes for job offers and LMIAs?
From November 3, an LMIA will not be needed for a qualifying offer to receive these Express Entry points. Related measures also change job-offer assessment for Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades eligibility, subject to the applicable conditions. A genuine offer may support program eligibility even when it earns no high-wage CRS points.
This is an Express Entry change. It does not remove work-permit requirements or make every position LMIA-exempt. Employers and candidates must still meet the relevant rules, and IRCC will assess whether the offer is genuine and the candidate can perform the work.
Dates and next steps
- Before November 3: review your NOC, experience and offer evidence; check that the required information in your Express Entry profile is complete and accurate.
- From November 3: existing profiles are to be recalculated. IRCC says this may take up to two weeks, with invitation rounds paused during recalculation.
- Before relying on a projected score: confirm eligibility, transition instructions and supporting documents. Other ideas discussed in the reform consultation are not automatically part of this November 3 change.
Recent Express Entry draws
Checked October 21, 2026. The latest round in IRCC’s published data is October 16. These draws used the earlier scoring framework; their cut-offs do not predict results after recalculation.
| Date | Round type | Invitations | Lowest CRS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-16 | French-Language proficiency | 5,000 | 435 |
| 2026-10-15 | Canadian Experience Class | 2,500 | 519 |
| 2026-10-13 | Provincial Nominee Program | 752 | 772 |
| 2026-10-01 | Trades Occupations | 3,500 | 476 |
| 2026-09-29 | Canadian Experience Class | 2,000 | 518 |
| 2026-09-28 | Provincial Nominee Program | 733 | 725 |
A cut-off is specific to that round, including its eligibility criteria and tie-break rule. PNP cut-offs include the nomination points. Explore the full draw history.
Let us assess what this means for you
We can review your occupation, work history, job offer and profile, then explain whether the announced rules could improve your options. Include your current status, NOC or job duties, Canadian work dates and any employer offer when you enquire.
Request an Express Entry Assessment
General information, checked October 21, 2026. Eligibility, evidence and implementation instructions must be reviewed for each case. More points do not guarantee an invitation or permanent residence. We do not find jobs.
Sources: IRCC’s October 16 news release and backgrounder; the 2026 Express Entry changes guidance; high-wage occupation guidance; and the official rounds dataset checked October 21.