What Express Entry changes to expect in 2025?

Highlights: Changes to Canada’s Express Entry System in 2025

• IRCC is set to implement new changes to Canada's Express Entry system in 2025.
• According to the latest changes, Express Entry candidates with a valid job offer will no longer receive CRS points.
• The Federal government will increase the overall admission targets to 124,590 for the federal economic programs.
• The Federal High Skilled Allocations will be replaced by two new categories: Federal Economic Priorities and In-Canada Focus.

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Changes that will affect the Express Entry System in 2025

Given below are some of the major changes that will impact the Express Entry system this year, in 2025:

 

Increase in the Immigration Targets  

The Express Entry system will increase the immigration targets this year. The admissions for the Federal economic programs will be increased to 124,590. However, the overall immigration levels will decrease by 20% compared to 2024. The overall PR admissions under the Federal High-Skilled (FHS) allocation will also increase to 31.5%. With all the above changes, the Express Entry pathway is set to play a major role for skilled workers looking to migrate to Canada through the program.

 

“NO” CRS points for Job offers

The Canadian Immigration Minister announced the removal of CRS points for Express Entry applicants with a job offer. The announcement was made in December 2024 and will be effective starting in the spring of this year. Until the new rule is implemented, candidates can score up to 50-200 additional points under the Express Entry program for having a legit job offer. However, removing the extra points may result in a drop in the CRS scores of most candidates. Express Entry applicants can score points on other factors such as age, work experience, language proficiency, etc.

 

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Federal Economic Priorities and In-Canada Focus to Replace Federal High Skilled (FHS) Allocations

Two new categories will replace the Federal High Skilled Allocations, the Federal Economic Priorities, and In-Canada Focus.

 

The table below shows the subcategories, the total number of allocations, and the candidates that will be accepted under each of these categories:

Category	Allocations under Express Entry	Candidates considered under this category
In-Canada Focus	82,890	Candidates from Express Entry-aligned PNP, Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).
Federal Economic Priorities	41,700	Candidates who receive nominations under category-based selections meet Canada's labor market needs and demographic goals. Priority would be given to the Healthcare and Trade occupations and French language proficiency.

 

 

More Priority to be given to Category-based selections

This year, the IRCC aims to focus on category-based selections that are aligned with Canada's labor market priorities. The IRCC has set the below categories as a priority for the Immigration Levels Plan of 2025-2027:

• Healthcare occupations
• Trades occupations
• French-language proficiency

IRCC will likely hold more draws targeting the above categories, focusing equally on the French language proficiency category. The overall immigrant admissions for the French category will be set at 8.5% and 9.5% in 2025 and 2026, respectively.  

 

The six main categories for the Express Entry category-based draws are as follows:

• Healthcare occupations
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) occupations
• Trades occupations
• Transport occupations
• Agriculture and Agri-food occupations
• French language proficiency

 

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