- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada published 186 occupations that will earn additional Comprehensive Ranking System points starting November 3, 2026
- The occupations are grouped into three wage tiers, with top-tier candidates potentially earning up to 100 additional CRS points for a qualifying job offer
- Kenyan healthcare workers, engineers, and tech professionals appear across the top two tiers, with scores set for automatic recalculation
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Canada's immigration authority has released a list of 186 occupations that will attract bonus points under the Express Entry system from November 3, 2026, marking one of the most significant changes to the points-based selection framework since it was introduced in 2015.
Source: Getty Images
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) published the list on October 16, 2026, tying additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points to the national median wage of each occupation.
An occupation qualifies when its median wage is at least 1.3 times the overall Canadian workforce average, based on data drawn from Job Bank, the Labour Force Survey, and the Census of Population over the three-year period from 2023 to 2025.
How the Three Wage Tiers Work
The 186 eligible occupations are divided into three tiers, each carrying a different points bonus depending on whether the candidate is claiming credit for Canadian work experience or a qualifying job offer.
High-Wage Occupation Level | Work Experience Points | Job Offer Points |
At least twice the average median wage | 70 | 100 |
At least 1.5 times but less than twice | 40 | 70 |
At least 1.3 times but less than 1.5 times | 20 | 50 |
Below the high-wage threshold | 0 | 0 |
A candidate may only receive one type of bonus, whichever is higher between work experience and job offer points — and the two cannot be combined.
From November 3, a Labour Market Impact Assessment will no longer be required for a qualifying job offer to generate CRS points, reducing the administrative burden on both applicants and Canadian employers.
What Kenyan Professionals Should Know
For Kenyan nationals with qualifications in healthcare, technology, or engineering, the updated list opens meaningful opportunities. Physicians, surgeons, nurse practitioners, and general practitioners all fall into the top tier.
Registered nurses and dentists are placed in the middle tier, alongside software engineers, software developers, cybersecurity specialists, and data scientists.
A Kenyan registered nurse with at least 12 months of qualifying Canadian work experience in NOC 31301 would gain an additional 40 CRS points. A software developer in NOC 21232 qualifies for the same amount, while a physician in NOC 31102 could receive the top-tier 70 points for work experience.
IRCC has confirmed it will automatically recalculate CRS scores for all candidates already in the pool — no one needs to withdraw and resubmit their profile. However, candidates seeking job-offer points must ensure all offer details are entered into their profiles before the November 3 deadline, as the system will not detect unsubmitted offers automatically.
Invitation rounds will be paused briefly from November 3 during the recalculation process, with draws expected to resume within approximately two weeks.
Full List: Occupations at Twice the Median Wage (Top Tier)
The top tier carries 70 additional CRS points for eligible Canadian work experience and 100 points for a qualifying job offer.
It includes 31 NOC codes concentrated in senior management, medicine, engineering management, law, and public protection leadership. These include:
Senior government managers and officials, senior managers in financial, communications and other business services, senior managers in health, education, social and community services and membership organisations, financial managers, human resources managers, purchasing managers, insurance, real estate and financial brokerage managers, banking, credit and other investment managers, engineering managers, architecture and science managers, computer and information systems managers, mining engineers, petroleum engineers, specialists in clinical and laboratory medicine, specialists in surgery, general practitioners and family physicians, veterinarians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, midwives and allied health professionals, government managers in health and social policy development and program administration, government managers in economic analysis, policy development and program administration, government managers in education policy development and program administration, other managers in public administration, commissioned police officers and related occupations in public protection services, fire chiefs and senior firefighting officers, judges, lawyers and Quebec notaries, university professors and lecturers, corporate sales managers, managers in natural resources production and fishing, and utilities managers.
Full List: Occupations at 1.5 to Under 2 Times the Median Wage (Middle Tier)
The middle tier awards 40 additional CRS points for eligible Canadian work experience and 70 points for a qualifying job offer. This is the largest group by far, with 89 NOC codes covering a wide cross-section of professions. These include:
Senior managers in trade, broadcasting and other services; senior managers in construction, transportation, production and utilities; other administrative services managers; advertising, marketing and public relations managers; other business services managers; telecommunication carriers managers; securities agents, investment dealers and brokers; professional occupations in business management consulting; physicists and astronomers; geoscientists and oceanographers; meteorologists and climatologists; other professional occupations in physical sciences; forestry professionals; public and environmental health and safety professionals; urban and land use planners; mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries; data scientists; cybersecurity specialists; business systems specialists; information systems specialists; database analysts and data administrators; computer systems developers and programmers; software engineers and designers; software developers and programmers; civil engineers; mechanical engineers; electrical and electronics engineers; computer engineers (except software engineers and designers); chemical engineers; industrial and manufacturing engineers; metallurgical and materials engineers; geological engineers; aerospace engineers; other professional engineers; engineering inspectors and regulatory officers; industrial instrument technicians and mechanics; managers in health care; dentists; audiologists and speech-language pathologists; pharmacists; psychologists; physiotherapists; occupational therapists; nursing coordinators and supervisors; registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses; dental hygienists and dental therapists; administrators in post-secondary education and vocational training; school principals and administrators of elementary and secondary education; managers in social, community and correctional services; commissioned officers of the Canadian Armed Forces; college and other vocational instructors; secondary school teachers; elementary school and kindergarten teachers; police investigators and other investigative occupations; probation and parole officers; educational counsellors; economists and economic policy researchers and analysts; business development officers and market researchers and analysts; health policy researchers, consultants and program officers; program officers unique to government; police officers (except commissioned); firefighters; library, archive, museum and art gallery managers; managers in publishing, motion pictures, broadcasting and performing arts; librarians; construction managers; facility operation and maintenance managers; managers in transportation; postal and courier services managers; contractors and supervisors in electrical trades and telecommunications occupations; contractors and supervisors in pipefitting trades; supervisors in railway transport operations; boilermakers; power system electricians; electrical power line and cable workers; steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers; elevator constructors and mechanics; air pilots, flight engineers and flying instructors; air traffic controllers and related occupations; railway traffic controllers and marine traffic regulators; railway and yard locomotive engineers; supervisors in mining and quarrying; contractors and supervisors in oil and gas drilling and services; oil and gas well drillers, servicers, testers and related workers; manufacturing managers; supervisors in petroleum, gas and chemical processing and utilities; power engineers and power systems operators; central control and process operators in mineral and metal processing; and central control and process operators in petroleum, gas and chemical processing.
Full List: Occupations at 1.3 to Under 1.5 Times the Median Wage (Entry Tier)
The entry-level high-wage tier provides 20 additional CRS points for eligible Canadian work experience and 50 points for a qualifying job offer. It contains 66 NOC codes and includes a mix of professional and skilled trade occupations. These include:
Legislators; financial auditors and accountants; financial and investment analysts; financial advisors; other financial officers; human resources professionals; insurance adjusters and claims examiners; assessors, business valuators and appraisers; chemists; biologists and related scientists; agricultural representatives, consultants and specialists; architects; landscape architects; land surveyors; web developers and programmers; technical occupations in geomatics and meteorology; occupational health and safety specialists; construction inspectors; electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians; aircraft instrument, electrical and avionics mechanics, technicians and inspectors; dietitians and nutritionists; paramedical occupations; respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists; medical laboratory technologists; medical radiation technologists; medical sonographers; social workers; natural and applied science policy researchers, consultants and program officers; social policy researchers, consultants and program officers; education policy researchers, consultants and program officers; other professional occupations in social science; correctional service officers; border services, customs and immigration officers; recreation, sports and fitness program and service directors; conservators and curators; archivists; authors and writers (except technical); technical writers; producers, directors, choreographers and related occupations; broadcast technicians; retail and wholesale trade managers; accommodation service managers; managers in customer and personal services; contractors and supervisors in machining, metal forming, shaping and erecting trades and related occupations; contractors and supervisors in carpentry trades; contractors and supervisors in other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers; contractors and supervisors in mechanic trades; contractors and supervisors in heavy equipment operator crews; sheet metal workers; ironworkers; industrial electricians; gas fitters; bricklayers; insulators; heavy-duty equipment mechanics; railway carmen/women; aircraft mechanics and aircraft inspectors; crane operators; deck officers in water transport; engineer officers in water transport; railway conductors and brakemen/women; supervisors in logging and forestry; underground production and development miners; fishing masters and officers; supervisors in mineral and metal processing; and pulping, papermaking and coating control operators.
Candidates should verify that the National Occupational Classification code in their profile accurately reflects their job duties, confirm that at least 12 months of eligible Canadian experience is correctly recorded, and check which tier their occupation falls under on the official IRCC list.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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