How does my spouse or partner affect my CRS score?
Many new immigrants who apply through Canada’s immigration system want to bring their spouse or partner with them. Canada’s immigration system is attuned to these requirements.
The presence of a relative on your immigration application may affect your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score. Although some subcategory scores are negatively affected by having a spouse or common-law partner, there are other factors that often impact a newcomer’s immigration application.
Below we will look at Bands A and B of the CRS (these two sets of scores are affected by the inclusion of a significant other) and whether a spouse or partner is included on your form How does this affect your CRS score
Note: Resident persons (such as spouses or common-law partners) must be included on the Canadian immigration application even if they are not with you (the main applicant) (in which case they are “unaccompanied spouses” or common-law partners). Additionally, all persons involved in the application must follow the necessary procedures regarding proof of funds, medical treatment and criminal record. However, if your spouse or partner does not come to Canada with you, it will not affect your CRS score and you will be considered as a sole applicant.
Category A: Human Capital Attributes
This section of the CRS takes into account the following: age, education, English language proficiency (English and French), and employment in Canada.
Candidates with a spouse or common-law partner can get a maximum of 460 points in each category.
Candidates can receive up to 500 points if they have a single spouse or a common-law partner.
Years.
Age
In Canada, the highest scores are given to people between the ages of 20 and 29. When it comes to scores, having a spouse or partner will generally have a negative impact on an applicant’s score.
Candidates who have a spouse or partner can receive up to 100 points depending on their age, while candidates who do not have any other important criteria can receive up to 110 points.
Age | With Spouse/Common-Law Partner (Max 100 points) | Without Spouse/Common-Law Partner (Max 110 points) |
17 years of age or less | 0 | 0 |
18 years of age | 90 | 99 |
19 years of age | 95 | 105 |
20 to 29 years of age | 100 | 110 |
30 years of age | 95 | 105 |
31 years of age | 90 | 99 |
32 years of age | 85 | 94 |
33 years of age | 80 | 88 |
34 years of age | 75 | 83 |
35 years of age | 70 | 77 |
36 years of age | 65 | 72 |
37 years of age | 60 | 66 |
38 years of age | 55 | 61 |
39 years of age | 50 | 55 |
40 years of age | 45 | 50 |
41 years of age | 35 | 39 |
42 years of age | 25 | 28 |
43 years of age | 15 | 17 |
44 years of age | 5 | 6 |
45 years of age or more | 0 | 0 |
Education level
CRS values a high level of education and candidates receive higher scores as education progresses. Here too, having a spouse or common-law partner may reduce the distribution of points you (the main applicant) receive.
Candidates with a spouse or common-law partner can receive up to 140 points towards graduation, while candidates with a single spouse or common-law partner will receive up to 150 points.
Education Level | With Spouse/Common-Law Partner (Max 140 points) | Without Spouse/Common-Law Partner (Max 150 points) |
Less than secondary school (high school) | 0 | 0 |
Secondary diploma (high school graduation) | 28 | 30 |
One-year degree, diploma or certificate | 84 | 90 |
Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 91 | 98 |
Bachelor’s degree OR a three or more year program | 112 | 120 |
Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years | 119 | 128 |
Master’s degree, OR professional degree | 126 | 135 |
Doctoral level university degree (Ph.D.) | 140 | 150 |
English Language (First and Second Language)
Proficiency in Canada’s native languages (English and French) is required for CRS. Therefore, the greater the candidate’s ability to teach in two languages, the more points will be received, while those who speak French and English will receive additional points.
Having your spouse or partner with you (main applicant) will reduce your CRS score. Candidates with a partner can score a maximum of 32 points in each language (reading, writing, speaking and listening) in their native language, while candidates without a partner can score a maximum of 34 points in each skill.
In second language skills, applicants can receive 6 points for each skill even if they are a spouse or common-law partner, but the total of 22 points will not be granted to candidates accompanied by a spouse or common-law partner. A partner can win up to 24 points.
Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) Level | With Spouse/Common-Law Partner (Max 128 points) | Without Spouse/Common-Law Partner (Max 136 points) |
Less than CLB 4 | 0 | 0 |
CLB 4 or 5 | 6 | 6 |
CLB 6 | 8 | 9 |
CLB 7 | 16 | 17 |
CLB 8 | 22 | 23 |
CLB 9 | 29 | 31 |
CLB 10 or more | 32 | 34 |
Each ability (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) has a maximum of 32 points with a spouse or common-law partner and 34 points without a spouse or common-law partner.
Canadian jobs
The CRS rewards up to five years of Canadian employment as one of the most important factors in determining an applicant’s future success in the Canadian market.
As with other human resources, having other important items with you in your application may lower the applicant’s score. A person with a traveling spouse or common-law partner can receive up to 70 points for business, and a person with a traveling spouse or common-law partner can receive up to 80 points for business.
Canadian Work Experience | With Spouse/Common-Law Partner (Max 70 points) | Without Spouse/Common-Law Partner (Max 80 points) |
None or less than a year | 0 | 0 |
1 year | 35 | 40 |
2 years | 46 | 53 |
3 years | 56 | 64 |
4 years | 63 | 72 |
5 years or more | 70 | 80 |
So, does having a spouse or common-law partner on your immigration application always make your CRS score negative?
No! As we will see, applicants who include a spouse or common-law partner in their application may receive another category of content that will not be available to those without other important factors – Category B, Spouse/Partnership Policy.
Therefore, applicants with a spouse or common-law partner receive fewer points to balance the score in the human resources scoring category.
Simply put, the maximum CRS score an immigrant applicant can receive is between Category A (human resources) and Category B (spouse/intimate partner), with the score being 500 points – they apply regardless of whether they are married or partnered.
However, you can earn this maximum score with or without your spouse or common-law partner, but you cannot earn the full 500 points if you or your relative does not have a good credit score. Here’s how the applicant’s spouse or partner scores according to human resources.
Category B: Spouse or common-law partner
This section of the CRS covers the same section as Category A, but applies to the spouse or common-law partner named in the immigration petition.
Education of spouse or common-law partner
A maximum of 10 points can be given for the graduation of a candidate with a spouse or partner. Note that candidates with a spouse or common-law partner in CRS Category A receive only 140 points in category A for their educational qualifications, while candidates with no other alerts receive a maximum of 150 points. This makes a difference of 10 points.
Spouse/Common-Law Partner’s Education Level | Points |
Less than secondary school (high school) | 0 |
Secondary school (high school graduation) | 2 |
One-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 6 |
Two-year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 7 |
Bachelor’s degree OR a three or more year program at a university, college, trade or technical school, or other institute | 8 |
Two or more certificates, diplomas, or degrees. One must be for a program of three or more years | 9 |
Master’s degree, or professional degree needed to practice in a licensed profession | 10 |
Doctoral level university degree (PhD) | 10 |
Spouse or intimate partner’s language skills
Up to 20 additional points may be awarded for good language proficiency (in one language) together with the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner (second language proficiency of the spouse or common-law partner is not considered under the CRS). In Category
A, candidates with a spouse or partner can get a maximum of 128 points in native language knowledge and a maximum of 22 points in second language knowledge (150 points in total). Candidates who do not have a spouse or common-law partner can get 136 points in their native language and 24 points in their second language (160 content in total).
However, with an additional 20 points, candidates whose spouse or partner has language proficiency in their applications will be able to receive up to 170 points, prioritizing their second place. Comments will not be taken into consideration.
Employment of spouse or common-law partner in Canada
Finally, up to 10 additional points may be awarded if the applicant is employed in Canada, along with other relevant factors.
As with the points allocated to the applicant’s primary education, these 10 points differentiate Canadian work experience scores for those with or without a spouse or common-law partner on their application and fall into category A of the CRS.
Canadian Work Experience (Years) | CRS Points |
0 | 0 |
1 | 5 |
2 | 7 |
3 | 8 |
4 | 9 |
5 or more | 10 |
Bottom Line
While the maximum points received by those with or without a spouse or common-law partner in their applications within the scope of CRS Category A + Category B (including selection involving one or the other) do not change, their accompanying values do not change either. . During their time in Canada, they pursued a better life, which is often not discussed.
As in life, loved ones can find unique ways to help each other during their immigration journey to Canada. One suggestion in this context is for the principal applicant and his or her spouse or legal partner to work together to improve and refine each other’s scores by accessing their personal information in the IRCC repository.
