How to improve your CRS score to get an ITA

For the majority of the applicants, the biggest hurdle in getting the Canadian PR is their low CRS score. Unfortunately, this is the step that most applicants will not be able to cross and a quick glance at the CRS Score distribution will tell you that.

But you are a determined person (that’s why you are reading this page) and you do not want to be left behind. If your score is good enough, you will be able to clear the cut off score easily. If not, you will need to work on improving your score to have any fighting chance. Reading how the CRS scores are calculated will help you understand how it works in the first place.

From our own and our friends’ experiences, we learned a lot and these tips might help you as well to improve your CRS score.

1. Time is everything

You might have heard of this phrase before, but it applies here as well. Age is one of the most important factors used to calculate these scores. You will get maximum points for age if you are between 20 and 29 years old. But from 30 years onwards, you will start losing points for each additional year in your age until it becomes 0 at the age of 45. So you better start your process right now while you are still young and have a good chance of making it!

Some of our friends took quite a bit of time in making up their mind or in starting the preparations. By that time they had already reached their mid-thirties and now they are finding it difficult to get a good score. They are still losing points on every birthday and that’s definitely not what you’d want as your birthday gift.

Also, the cut off scores keep changing with every draw and you never know if the latest cut off score might be the lowest score you will see for many months or even years. One of our friends took time in booking an IELTS test for language assessment and in the meanwhile cut off scores dropped to a very low number. By the time his test results arrived, he had just missed that round of draw by a few days. He would have cleared the cut off by a thin margin if he had already applied by then. However, the scores never went that low again and he had to wait for 2 years to clear the cut off.

2. Improve your IELTS results

It is easier said than done, but if you haven’t maxed out on your IELTS results, keep trying until you get a respectable score. It is not as hard as some people may think and we have also shared tips on getting a good IELTS score.

All it needs is some practice and less over-confidence. Yes, over-confidence is one of the big reasons why we see people getting low scores. A lot of people who have English as their first language get poor scores because they think that they don’t need to prepare for a test that assesses their own mother tongue. Beware if that thought ever crosses your mind!

In most cases, you won’t need to strike the perfect score of band 9 (that is, 9 each in all four components) to get a good CRS score. If you have a good degree and professional work experience, then you only need to score 8 in Listening and 7 in each of the other three sections to get up to 100 additional points called “Skill transferability”. Consider this as a free gift from the government. Of course, you can score a perfect 9 and get an even higher score but the bulk of the points are already in your bag when you get a score of 8, 7, 7, 7.

More importantly, you also need to balance your scores. If you score a perfect 9 in three sections but you get a 6.5 in the fourth section, you will lose those extra 100 points. So try to hit the sweet spot of 8, 7, 7, 7 at the least.

If you don’t score well enough in the first attempt, book the next test right away. You can try as many times as you want; it’s the latest score that will be considered. Some of our friends got disappointed with their first attempt and did not book another test for over a year and lost some points on age. Again, time is everything.

3. Get a higher degree

You might have already seen that the level of education plays a big role in calculation of your CRS score. If you only have a bachelor’s degree then you may not be able to get a high enough score but having a master’s degree combined with a good IELTS score can add 40 additional points to your score. That should be good enough to propel you towards a safe score territory.

Getting a master’s degree is not a joke. It needs time, money and commitment. But you have a simpler option available. You can also get a one year diploma or a similar credential and you can still get an additional 33 points. That’s just 7 points lower than a full master’s degree, not a bad deal! That’s exactly what one of our friends who missed the low cut off score (mentioned in point #1) did to improve his score. The cut offs never dropped that low again but he got an extra 33 points a year later and cleared the cut off right away in the next draw.

4. Build your work experience

If you have just started working in a professional job then you may not be able to get enough points to meet the cut off scores. It might be better for you to wait for a couple of years. Once you accumulate 3 years of professional work experience, you can get as many as 50 extra points. The 3 year period does not have to be in a single role and it can be spread over multiple jobs. There are no additional points after 3 years.

Additionally, if you also have Canadian work experience, you will score even more points. So if your company is planning to relocate you to Canada for a couple of years, grab that opportunity with both hands!

5. Learn French

Let me be very honest here. Learning a new language takes time, a lot of it. However, if you have exhausted most of your options and still aren’t able to get a good score, this option can be quite useful. You can get as many as 50 additional points by learning French as your second (or third) language.

Keeping the points aside for a minute, learning French will also increase your job opportunities in Canada because English and French are the two official languages of the country. The province of Quebec is heavily Francophone and knowing French will make your resume shine better than others. Even in other parts of Canada, especially in the federal government, being bilingual can be a mandatory requirement. Isn’t it great to improve your chances to get a job even before you land!

6. Get a provincial nomination

Each province has a quota of nominations under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) that they give out to the applicants with certain knowledge and skills. These quotas are very limited and only a few lucky applicants end up getting them. But these nominations give you an additional 600 points and then you can forget everything else. Just go home and sleep because that’s more than enough to clear any cut off. Some of the provinces ask you to apply while some others will contact you directly. As an applicant, it will be very important for you to be aware of the dates when these nominations open and you need to apply before the deadline.

7. Arrange a job

This option could be useful for people in certain industries that are highly standardized globally. If an employer offers you a valid job then you can get up to 200 extra points. Not many applicants can get a job like that but if you can manage one, go for it!

8. Study in Canada

A huge number of people who become Canadian permanent residents, take this route. Studying in Canada offers multiple benefits. First, you can get up to 30 additional points for having a Canadian education. Second, under many such education programs, you can get a 3 year work permit which will help you build Canadian work experience, and therefore even more points. Last, having Canadian work experience is significantly more beneficial to get jobs in Canada. You won’t have any break in your career if you go through this route. You can apply for PR while you are employed on the work permit. Meanwhile, your PR application will be under process and one fine day you will get your PR while you are still working in that job.

This option is usually exercised by young people who just completed their Bachelor’s or Master’s in their home country and want to continue their education in Canada and become a permanent resident afterwards. However, people with work experience can also try this route. If you only have a Bachelor’s degree, it makes good sense to get your Master’s degree or a diploma in Canada on a study permit. You can then apply for PR one or two years later while working under a work permit. By the time you get your PR, you will already be well settled with a good job.

9. Switch the primary applicant

If you are a couple and you haven’t tried this already, then you must make the other partner the primary applicant and see what that does to your score. The CRS score is heavily dependent on the primary applicant’s age, education, language results, etc. Spouse’s contribution is quite limited. Let’s say you earn big bucks and you are the bread winner of the house. But if you are 5 years older than your spouse, then your spouse may get a better score than you.

Try this CRS calculator and calculate your score with you as the primary applicant and your spouse as the dependent. Then switch the roles and make your spouse as the primary applicant and see which scenario gives you a better score. IRCC doesn’t care about who amongst you is the primary applicant as long as you get a good enough score and fulfil all the conditions.

10. Brother or sister who lives in Canada

This is not for everyone but if you have a sibling who is a Canadian PR or a citizen, you can get an additional 15 points. Even if he or she is not a PR yet, and if they can become one in near future, that will help you get those extra points when that happens. Sometimes, 15 points are more than enough to send you across to the other side of the cut off line.