How to Increase Canada CRS Score?

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) employs the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to determine how you will rank among other candidates in the Express Entry draw pool. The following criteria are used to evaluate your Express Entry profile: skills, education, language proficiency, work experience, and other characteristics.

You will be given points in many categories, which will be added together to determine your CRS score. 

What is the Comprehensive Ranking System?

The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), as previously stated, is a method that is used to rank you when you apply for permanent residency through the Express Entry System. You will be able to apply for one of three immigration programs in Canada:

The Canada Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, or the Federal Skilled Trade Program.

Each program has its own set of requirements that must be satisfied in order to be considered.

It's vital to know that in order to qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, you must score at least 67 out of a possible 100 points. This is a preliminary assessment of whether or not you qualify to apply through this program and is graded differently than the CRS.

Once this is determined, your points will be calculated using the CRS.

Because Canada's Express Entry draws are so popular, you'll face stiff competition, therefore the higher your CRS score, the better your chances of receiving an ITA for permanent residency in Canada.

To be eligible for an ITA, you must have a score that is equal to or greater than the CRS cut-off score, which is issued every two weeks after the Express Entry drawings are completed. This score varies per draw and is calculated using the Canada CRS scores of everyone in your draw pool. The CRS cut-off score is determined by the average of the cut-off scores in the draw pool.

Ways to Increase Your Canada CRS Score

1. Raise Your Test Scores in Language

This is arguably one of the simplest and most straightforward ways to improve your CRS score, and there are two options:

Retake your original first language test or learn a second language.

2. Increase Work Experience

If you're applying for a Canadian visa from outside Canada and don't have more than three years of work experience, it's a good idea to add a year or two to your job experience to obtain additional skills transferability points. The same is true if you are currently employed in Canada on a temporary work permit. In fact, Canadian work experience will get you more CRS points, so strive for five years or more if possible. Also, when you create your Express Entry profile, make sure to specify that you are still employed in Canada so that your points increase automatically as your work experience grows.