Express Entry job-offer points are coming back — advise for it now

Points for arranged employment were removed from Express Entry in 2025 after evidence of LMIA fraud and paid job offers. The 2026–27 Departmental Plan signals IRCC intends to bring some version back, with safeguards. No rule text yet, no date — but clients are already asking, and some are being sold "guaranteed LMIA job offers" on the strength of the rumour.

What to tell a client today

• Do not pay for a job offer. Whatever the new rules look like, a purchased or arranged-for-points-only offer is misrepresentation risk and the exact abuse the safeguards will target. This is the single most important message right now.
• A genuine job offer is worth pursuing on its own merits — it can support a provincial nomination, an LMIA-exempt work permit, or a temporary-to-permanent route regardless of whether federal points return.
• Do not delay a strong application waiting for points that may never materialise for that client's occupation or that may come with conditions they cannot meet.

Position the file for either outcome

For a client whose CRS is close to recent cut-offs, model both scenarios: current rules, and current rules plus a plausible job-offer boost. If the job-offer scenario is the only one that gets them selected, the honest advice is to treat a real offer (with a real employer, real duties, real need) as the priority — and to expect verification. If they are competitive without it, file now.

Watch for

The likely safeguards — employer vetting, wage and genuineness checks, possibly excluding certain occupations or capping the points — will determine who actually benefits. Do not commit a client to a job-offer strategy until the conditions are published; commit them to a genuine-employment strategy that pays off several ways.