For these purposes, we will be focusing on the first item in the above list, age.
Canada’s CRS system provides the most age points to Express Entry applicants aged 20-29 (100). If you are 30 or older, the points you receive in the age category will progressively decrease every year (95 points for an applicant aged 30, 90 points for a 31year-old applicant and so forth). Applicants aged 45 or older receive 0 points in the age category under the CRS.
Thankfully, simply being 30 or over does not mean an applicant’s Express Entry hopes are gone with the wind. There are many ways prospective Express Entry applicants can maximize their CRS score if they are applying at or after age 30.
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Another way that an applicant can maximize their CRS score is by applying through Express Entry while holding a valid job offer that is in writing and details all job requirements, including pay, duties, and employment conditions. In fact, this strategy is one of the best ways to boost an applicant’s CRS score because candidates with a valid offer of employment can obtain either 50 or 200 additional CRS points depending on the position.
Work experience can help improve an applicant’s CRS score in several different ways. Firstly, simply obtaining additional work experience can aid an applicant in improving their score. Moreover, doing a better job of articulating current work experience can do much of the same to help applicants.
Language ability is another crucial element of CRS scores that falls under the category of “core human capital factors”. As mentioned above, language as a larger category is split into first language ability and second language ability to test an applicant’s proficiency in English and French. This component of an applicant’s CRS score can add up to a significant number of points, making it an essential part of any Express Entry application.
Language — broken down into proficiency with writing, reading, speaking, and listening — can earn a single applicant between 128 and 136 points (depending on spousal/partner status, but more on that later).
Additionally, the language category is valuable for maximizing CRS scores because of its ability to count for points across multiple sections. More specifically, language as an individual element of the CRS can count for points within the following four larger categories: human capital factors; spousal factors (if applicable); skills transferability and “additional factors”.
Furthermore, language can also be combined with other factors such as education to further improve an applicant’s CRS score.
In certain cases, Express Entry applicants may find that their spouse or common-law partner has a better CRS score. In situations such as this, it may be advisable to consider swapping the principal applicant and the dependent spouse or common-law partner.