How Moving Out of Canada Can Help Your CRS Score

March 19, 2025

Ishita Soni

How Moving Back Home Could Help You Get PR in Canada

If you want to live permanently in Canada (that’s called permanent residence or PR), and you’re applying through a program called Express Entry. Here’s a cool thing: if you move back to your home country, you might actually boost your chances of getting PR. How? By gaining extra points for your work experience abroad!

What’s This About 50 Extra Points?

In Express Entry, your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score helps decide if you get an invitation to apply (ITA) for PR. If you have foreign work experience (work outside Canada), you can earn up to 50 extra points. This could be just what you need to reach the cutoff score and get that ITA!

So, if you’ve worked abroad in a skilled job, you might want to consider going back home to rack up those points and boost your chances.

How Foreign Work Experience Can Boost Your CRS Score

When you work in another country in a skilled job, it can help your CRS score in a big way. The CRS gives points for foreign work experience, and depending on how long you worked abroad, you can get up to 50 points. More points = a better chance of getting that ITA!

How Does Foreign Work Experience Actually Work?

You’re probably wondering, how does this foreign work experience thing really work? Well, here’s the breakdown:

• If you have 1 or 2 years of foreign work experience, you can earn up to 25 points.
• If you have 3 years or more of foreign work experience, you can earn the maximum 50 points.

Plus, if you combine your foreign experience with good language skills (like CLB 9), you can maximize your score even more.

Can You Still Be Eligible for CEC if You Leave Canada?

Even if you leave Canada, you can still qualify for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), which is another way to get PR. To qualify, you need at least 1 year of work experience in Canada within the last 3 years.

So, if you leave Canada but have that work experience, you’re still in the game!

Other Ways to Boost Your CRS Score While Abroad

Moving abroad isn’t the only way to boost your CRS score. There are a few other things you can do to improve your chances:

• Improve your language skills: You can get up to 160 points for language proficiency. So, if you speak English or French well, you’re in a great position. Plus, if you learn French, you can earn 50 extra points!
• Get a higher degree: If you study while abroad and get a higher degree (like a master’s), you can earn more points! Just get a credential assessment to prove it’s as good as a Canadian degree.
• Get a Provincial Nomination: If a Canadian province nominates you, you get 600 points, which pretty much guarantees you an ITA.

What Happens if You Leave Canada After Applying?

Good news: If you’ve already submitted your Express Entry profile, leaving Canada won’t hurt your chances. Your profile stays active for 12 months, and if you don’t get an ITA, you can reapply after that. So, even if you leave the country, your application is still in play!

Can You Update Your Profile After You Submit It?

Yes! You can update your profile with new info, like a better language test score or more work experience. Keep it up-to-date, because sometimes the tie-breaking rule might come into play. This rule helps decide who gets invited when people have the same CRS score. So, getting into the Express Entry pool early could give you an edge!

Conclusion

Moving back to your home country might seem like a setback, but it could actually be the key to getting permanent residence in Canada. By gaining foreign work experience, improving your language skills, or earning more education, you can boost your CRS score and get a better chance of receiving an ITA.

So, if you’re planning to move, think about how you can use that time to make your application stronger, it might just help you land your dream of living in Canada!

Get in touch with SPS Global

Receive professional advice on any of your questions regarding Canadian immigration. get in touch with us, experienced immigration consultants from SPS Canada. For additional information, contact support@spscanada.com (Canada) or support.amd@spscanada.com (Ahmedabad), or by phone at (1) 905-362-9393 (Canada) or +919586226232 (Ahmedabad).

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