Boosting Your Express Entry Score as a Couple: What You Need to Know

There are multiple pathways to permanent residency for a couple, and the Canada Immigration Levels Plan 2026-2028 gives high priority to family reunification.

What many don’t understand is that applying together can boost your Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score by up to 40 points (through the Express Entry spouse points), increasing your chance of receiving an ITA. On the other hand, failing to declare the accompanying status of your spouse can result in refusal and even an immigration ban for five years.

Apply Canada PR with spouse

Canada’s Express Entry system is the main pathway for permanent residency for skilled workers. It includes programs like the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and the Canadian Experience Class. On the basis of the different factors such as age, education, language ability, and work experience, the candidates are given scores and ranked using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS).

Applying as a couple requires one applicant to apply as the Principal Applicant (PA), while the other is the Secondary Applicant or accompanying spouse. The important thing to consider if you and your spouse are moving to Canada is 

• if you are immigrating together, designate the spouse as accompanying, or
• if the spouse is immigrating later through spousal sponsorship, designate the spouse as non-accompanying.

Accompanying or Non-Accompanying Spouse: Choosing the Right Spouse Option

An accompanying spouse means both partners get permanent residency together. If the spouse is accompanying, then the factors such as education, language scores, and work experience of the spouse are also taken into consideration for the CRS calculation, which thus can raise or lower the score depending on the profile of the spouse. Applying together also means more requirements for the settlement funds.

If the spouse is non-accompanying, then the principal applicant is only scored, and the applicant gets the PR first. Later the spouse can follow through with the spousal sponsorship.

If your intention is moving together, then listing a spouse as non-accompanying just to boost CRS can be considered misrepresentation and may lead to refusal.

Canada PR with spouse or without: Spouse Factors That Influence CRS Points 

Listing your spouse as an accompanying partner can earn you a maximum of 40 CRS bonus points, which increases your chances of receiving an ITA.

Points your spouse can contribute:

• Language skills: up to 20 points (CLB 9+ in English/French)
• Education: up to 10 points (master's degree or higher, with ECA for foreign credentials)
• Canadian work experience: up to 10 points (1+ year in eligible NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 within the past 10 years).

The principal applicant’s core human capital score is capped at 460 instead of 500 when the spouse is accompanying.

Who Must Apply as the Principal Applicant?

To apply Canada PR with spouse, the partner with stronger language scores, higher education, and more relevant work experience is recommended to be kept as the Principal Applicant (PA) since it impacts CRS score greatly. 

In an instance where the profiles of both the partners are strong, it is recommended to calculate the Canada PR spouse CRS score with each person as the PA and select the person with the higher score as the principal applicant and include the other as the accompanying spouse to add the bonus points. Also improving the spouse’s qualifications, like the language scores, before adding them to the profile can help in maximizing the CRS scores.

Dual Express Entry Profile Strategy for Couples

Submitting separate express entry profiles is a strategy that the couples can use to effectively increase the chance of receiving an ITA. In the dual profile strategy, each partner creates the profile and then lists the other partner as an accompanying spouse. The profiles of both will stay active, and the partner who has the higher CRS score will receive the ITA, including the other in the PR application.

How PNPs Can Help Couples Secure PR

A Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) offers an alternative route to PR for couples who are unable to get an ITA by having competitive combined CRS scores in the federal draws. If one partner has a strong connection to a province, such as work, studies, or a job offer, then PNP is the best strategy. A provincial nomination for one partner adds 600 CRS points, making an ITA almost certain in the subsequent Express Entry draw. The partner with the provincial ties should be the principal applicant, and the other partner must be listed as a dependent.

Conclusion

The right strategy while applying for PR can make all the difference and improve the Canada PR spouse CRS score and increase the chance of receiving an ITA. The immigration system in Canada is supportive for couples, and family reunification is given importance; hence, couples who are well prepared with a proper strategy can settle in Canada easily. Things like misrepresentation of spouse status, errors, missing documents, late updates of data, etc., can lead to refusal and delays in processing. ImmiLaw Immigration, the best immigration experts, can help you through timely profile updates, exploring the different PR (Permanent Residency) options, calculating the CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) scores of both the partners, and strategic and accurate processes.

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