• Federal Skilled Worker Class (FSWC; formerly the Federal Skilled Worker Program)
• Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC; formerly the Federal Skilled Trades Program)
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
• A portion of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNPs)

The selection of the candidates who take part in these economic Canadian immigration programs is based solely on their comprehensive ranking system score. That is, their CRS score. The total CRS score available for any candidate in the Express Entry selection system is 1200. Out of this 1200 points, 600 points are reserved for Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) alone, leaving another 600 points.

The CRS score of each candidate is based on 2 factors:

• Circumstances: these would be your age, marital status, medical condition, number of children (dependents), etc.
• Credentials: these would be your educational qualification(s), language test score(s), total years of work experience, etc.

When a candidate’s CRS score is established, there are a total of 4 factors that contribute to it. These contributing factors have been elucidated in detail below:

1. Core/Human Capital Factors: These are factors under which a score is defined for the applicant’s circumstances and credentials alone. The score you receive in this section is based on your Age, Level of Education, Study in Canada, Language (English and/or French) proficiency, and Canadian work experience.
2. Spouse Factors: These are factors under which a score is defined for the applicant’s spouse’s circumstances and credentials. The score you receive in this section is based on your spouse’s or common-law partner’s Level of Education, Language proficiency, and Canadian work experience.
3. Skill transferability factors: These are factors under which a score is defined for the applicant’s one or more circumstance(s) or credential(s) considered in unison. For the ease of understanding, this has been summarized in the table below:

4. Additional factors (Combos): These are factors under which a score is defined for the applicant from an adaptability perspective, as well as a high-demand contributing credential. Here, the candidate is awarded points for having a Provincial Nomination, a job offer from a Canadian employer, for having studied in Canada, for having a sibling in Canada, as well as for French language skills.

The relevancy of the Comprehensive Ranking System comes into picture only once the candidate is eligible to apply under any one (or more) of the Canadian immigration programs that are managed through the Express Entry selection system, except for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). To be eligible for Express Entry, a candidate must score a minimum of 67 points out of the total 100 in the Express Entry Selection Grid.