Skip to content

Can An Owner/Operator Obtain Additional 200 points On CRS Under Express Entry System?

Canada flag with Canadian rocky mountain at the background

Share This Post

The Scenario

A foreign investor bought a Canadian company, successfully got the O/O LMIA approved, and currently working in Canada.  Then after working for 1 year in Canada, can this experience account for Canadian experience and award the owner additional 200 points in Express Entry System or even be eligible for applying PNP?

Answer from IRCC

In cases where a candidate is the owner and employee of the business for which they have a qualifying job offer as per paragraph 29 (2) (a) of the Express Entry Ministerial Instructions (MIs), it is possible that the candidate may receive 200 additional Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points for arranged employment in a NOC 00 or 50 points in NOC O, A or B.

However, work in Canada by the owner of the company may be considered “self-employed” work. Should the candidate be considered self-employed, it would not necessarily preclude them from claiming arranged employment in Express Entry, it will however disqualify them from the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). Pursuant to paragraph 15(7)(b) of the MIs and paragraph 87.1(3)(b) of the Regulations, periods of self-employment do not count for purposes of CRS points for “Canadian work experience” or meeting the work experience requirement under the CEC.

Canadian Embassy London with many Canadian flags

The candidate might, as per paragraph 75(2)(a) of the Regulations, qualify under Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program if the candidate has one year of continuous work as a self-employed person to meet the minimum requirements for FSW, but will not obtain any CRS points as no points are awarded for self-employment, as per paragraph 19(8)(b)of the MIs.

Simply put, how much can the applicant award is based on his/her occupation under the National Occupation Classification. And in general, most owners fall under NOC 00, which award them additional 200 points for sure. However, it doesn’t guarantee that the applicants can apply under Canadian Experience Class. They still need to meet the requirements from one of the Economic Immigrate Program.

Finally, there is one thing worth mentioning. Even though working as an owner is not qualifying under Canadian Experience Class. But if the owner meets the requirement under Ministerial Instructions, the owner still eligible to obtain the additional points under Express Entry System.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Subscribe to get curated updates delivered to your inbox every month!

More To Explore

Canada flag with Canadian rocky mountain at the background
Canada

Canadian Immigration: Avoiding Common Mistakes in the Canadian Experience Class

In July, after posting an article about Owner/Operator LMIA, our team received lots of feedback. Among all feedback, there was one particular question stands out from others. We have the response from IRCC answering this particular question. So, today’s article will explain the scenario and reveal the pressure answer from IRCC.

Canada flag with Canadian rocky mountain at the background
Express Entry

Can An Owner/Operator Obtain Additional 200 points On CRS Under Express Entry System?

In July, after posting an article about Owner/Operator LMIA, our team received lots of feedback. Among all feedback, there was one particular question stands out from others. We have the response from IRCC answering this particular question. So, today’s article will explain the scenario and reveal the pressure answer from IRCC.

Request a Callback from Our Consultants!

Please provide your details below and we will contact you within 24 hours to schedule your free appointment