How to immigrate to Canada when you’re over 40

Skilled workers in their 40s and older have several viable pathways to Canadian permanent residency.

It’s true that older skilled workers face a disadvantage in Express Entry, the Canadian federal government’s flagship application management system for immigration outside Quebec, in which the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) awards the most points to candidates aged 20-29.

Older workers can still achieve success in Express Entry, however, especially if they qualify for a category-based draw, or obtain a provincial nomination.

Other pathways, such as the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) and various federal pilots, do not consider age at all.

Some Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams have age limit requirements, but most don’t.

This article will cover

• Getting selected for a category-based draw or securing a provincial nomination through Express Entry;
• Qualifying for a base PNP stream;
• Applying to the AIP; and
• Immigrating through a federal pilot program, including the Home Care Worker pilots and the newly announced rural and francophone pilots.

Express Entry

The primary way in which the federal government welcomes economic class immigrants settling in Canada outside Quebec is through Express Entry.

Under Express Entry, you cannot apply for permanent residence directly; you must first receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA).

When you create an Express Entry profile, you are given a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, you enter the candidate pool, and you are ranked against other candidate profiles.

The Canadian immigration department periodically holds draws in which they invite the highest-ranking candidates to apply for permanent residency.

The higher your CRS score, the greater your likelihood of meeting or exceeding the cut-off score for a round of invitations, and receiving an ITA for PR.

In addition to factors such as work experience, language proficiency, and level of education, you are awarded CRS points for your age.

Under the CRS system, the highest number of points (110) is awarded to candidates between 20 to 29 years of age. Once you hit age 30, however, IRCC starts awards fewer points incrementally for each passing year.

At 45 years of age, you no longer receive age-related points.

The table below details the CRS points awarded by IRCC according to the applicant’s age.

You need not write off your chance with Express Entry simply for being 40+ years old. You can still find success immigrating to Canada through the Express Entry system by

• Qualifying for a category-based draw; or
• Getting a provincial nomination.

Get selected in a category-based draw

Pursuing an ITA for permanent residence (PR) through IRCC’s category-based draws may be one of your best bets if you are worried about having a low CRS score due to age.

This is because you can be invited in a category-based draw with a significantly lower CRS score than other draw types, such as Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draws.

To date, there have been six category-based draws in 2025. The CRS score of the lowest-ranked candidate invited through these draws was 379—and the highest score was 510.

See the table below to gain an understanding of how these scores compare to the highest and lowest CRS scores across PNP and CEC draws that have taken place this year.

The current six categories established by IRCC include

• French-language proficiency;
• Healthcare and social services occupations;
• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) occupations;
• Trade occupations;
• Agriculture and agri-food occupations; and
• Education occupations.

IRCC regularly holds category-based draws to supplement other round types, inviting candidates to apply for permanent residence based on criteria such as their French-language proficiency, education, and occupation-specific work experience.

If you were to, for example, improve your French-language proficiency and meet a NCLC level 7 in all four language abilities, you would qualify for IRCC’s category-based draw targeting French speakers and would have a good shot at receiving an ITA in an upcoming draw even if your CRS score were in the high 300s or low 400s.

Similarly, if you have at least six months of work experience in one of the qualifying National Occupational Classification (NOC) codes for the occupation based-based draws within the past three years, you have a chance of receiving an ITA through an upcoming category-based draw.

Secure a provincial nomination

All provinces and territories, except Quebec and Nunavut, participate in the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). There are over 80 PNP pathways that may lead to permanent residence.

If you receive a provincial nomination through an Express Entry-aligned (enhanced) stream, you will be awarded an additional 600 CRS points.

You must update your Express Entry profile to indicate you’ve received a provincial nomination, and this will grant you the maximum of 600 additional CRS points, greatly increasing your rank in the candidate pool.

Receiving this boost in points significantly increases your chance of receiving an ITA in an upcoming Express Entry draw, and will qualify you for PNP draws.

Once you receive an ITA, you can then apply to the federal government for Canadian permanent residency.

To be considered for nomination under an enhanced PNP stream, you will need to ensure you meet both the federal Express Entry requirements and the province’s requirements.

Enhanced streams may follow either an active or passive consideration process.

An active consideration process can require either submitting an application to a PNP or entering the PNP’s Expression of Interest (EOI) pool, while a passive consideration process means you will be automatically considered by the PNP on the basis of your Express Entry profile.

Further, enhanced stream consideration processes for provincial nomination typically fall into one of three categories, which you can view in the table below.

When you submit an application or EOI for an Express Entry-aligned stream, you will typically be expected to include your Express Entry profile number as well as your job seeker validation code.

Qualify for a base PNP stream

Each province participating in the PNP has base streams, meaning they are not aligned with the Express Entry system.

If you pursue PR through a base PNP stream, you need not qualify for Express Entry.

The majority of base PNP streams do not have eligibility criteria pertaining to age, and instead require prospective candidates to qualify based solely on factors such as work experience, education, language proficiency, provincial connections, and having a job offer (if it is a job-offer stream).

Some PNPs may have additional requirements such as settlement funds, exploratory visits, training credentials, or employer support.

Notably, certain base PNP streams do impose age as an eligibility requirement, though this isn’t commonplace. The streams that do consider age typically necessitate that you

• Be at least 19 to 21 years of age to be considered; and
• Be under a certain age (usually between 55 to 59 years of age) at the time you apply.

For example, to be considered for Nova Scotia’s Skilled Worker stream, you must be between the ages of 21 and 55.

Similarly, only those aged 21-59 can apply to Newfoundland and Labrador’s Skilled Worker category (non-Express Entry).

Further, certain streams require you to obtain a certain number of points (typically 60) to be considered—in such cases, you may be scored based on factors such as age, language proficiency, work experience, education, and adaptability.

If the stream you are interested in is points-based, you can often benefit from being below a certain age. However, being over a certain age will not (if age is not a primary eligibility requirement) automatically disqualify you if you obtain enough points through other factors.

Base streams generally follow one of two consideration processes— which will be outlined by the province—including

• Submitting an application directly to the province; or
• Entering the province’s EOI pool.

If you are nominated through a base stream, you will receive a provincial nomination certificate. At this point, you can apply to IRCC for permanent residence.

Applying to the Atlantic Immigration Program

The Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) offers a pathway to permanent residence for skilled workers who plan to work and settle in one of Canada’s four Atlantic provinces—Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, or Prince Edward Island.

There is no age limit for the AIP. Unlike Express Entry, the AIP is not points-based and you do not receive more or less points for being of a certain age.

To qualify, you must obtain a job offer from a designated employer in an Atlantic province, and the employer must have the job offer endorsed by the province. You must also meet certain eligibility requirements to be considered, including

• Having a one-year post-secondary credential (minimum) for NOC TEER 0 or 1 occupations or a high school diploma for NOC TEER 2, 3, or 4 occupations.
• Having at least one year of work experience in the last five years, falling under any TEER 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 occupations (TEER 5 occupations do not qualify)*;
• Meeting a Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 5 for TEER 0, 1, 2 or 3 occupations or a CLB 4 for TEER 4 occupations; and
• Demonstrating you have enough settlement funds, based on the size of your family.

*You do not need to meet the work experience requirement if you completed a two-year, full-time post-secondary program in one of the four Atlantic provinces within two years of applying for PR through the AIP. During your time as a full-time student, you must have also lived in an Atlantic province for at least 16 months during the last two years before graduating.

If you meet the requirements listed above, and have obtained a job offer and had it endorsed by the province (which is the responsibility of your employer), you must

• Get a settlement plan; and
• Apply to IRCC for permanent residence through the AIP.

AIP applicants can also apply for a work permit which can be issued for up to two years, allowing them to have authorization to work in Canada while their PR application is being processed.

Some provinces have established occupation and/or sector-based eligibility criteria for their AIP endorsements. For example, PEI is only accepting applications for individuals working in healthcare, construction, or manufacturing. Nova Scotia is not presently considering those in certain sectors, such as the Accommodation and Food Services sector.

Federal pilot programs

Several pilot programs in Canada provide pathways to permanent residency for those who fulfill eligibility requirements—and being over the age of 40 does not adversely affect one’s chances of success.

Such pilots include

• The Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP);
• The Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP);
• The Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Child Care (HCWP:CC); and
• The Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Home Support (HCWP:HS).

The Rural Community Immigration Pilot 

This RCIP is a pathway to permanent residence for those who

• Have a job offer from a designated employer; and
• Wish to settle within one of the 14 designated rural communities in Canada.

Beyond the above requirements, to qualify for this pilot, you must also meet certain eligibility criteria, such as work experience, language proficiency, education, settlement funds, and having a certificate of recommendation from an economic development organization.

The table below features the 14 communities that will be participating in this pilot.

The Francophone Community Immigration Pilot 

You may be able to obtain permanent residence through the FCIP if you

• Are able to demonstrate that you have intermediate French-language proficiency (NCLC level 5) and plan to settle outside Quebec; and
• Have an offer of employment for a priority occupation from a designated employer in one of six participating communities.

Additionally, you must also meet other eligibility requirements relevant to work experience, education, settlement funds, and having a certificate of recommendation from an economic development organization.

Below are the six regions welcoming French-language speakers with an offer of employment from a designated employer.

The Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Child Care

The home care worker pilots have hit their caps for 2025, but they are expected to re-open to applications in 2026.

Eligible foreign nationals with a job offer from a private household or an organization directly hiring full-time home care workers may be eligible to obtain permanent residency through the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Child Care (HCWP: CC).

The HCWP:CC pilot features two stream intakes, including the workers in Canada stream and the applicants not working in Canada stream.

You must have at least six months of work experience which aligns with the following occupations/NOC codes:

• Home child care providers (NOC 44100); and/or
• Early childhood educators and assistants (NOC 42202).

You must also meet other eligibility criteria to qualify, such as language proficiency (CLB 4) and education. Proof of funds is required for the applicants not working in Canada stream.

If you do not have the required work experience, you must have a relevant professional training credential—which must be at least six months in length.

The Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Home Support

Foreign nationals with work experience aligning with certain occupations/NOC codes may be eligible for permanent residency through the Home Care Worker Immigration Pilot: Home Support (HCWP: HS).

Like the HCWP:CC, there are two intake streams for this pilot and you must have a job offer from a private household or organization directly hiring full-time home care workers.

You must have work experience in aligning with the occupations/NOC codes below, or the required training if not.

• Home support workers, caregivers, and related occupations (NOC 44101); and/or
• Nurse aides, orderlies, and patient service associates (NOC 33102).

Other eligibility requirements (language proficiency, education, etc.) must also be met in order to qualify for this pilot.