An Express Entry candidate with CRS 475 was weighing whether to mark their spouse as 'not accompanying' to hit a lower CRS threshold for a PNP nomination (463), intending to add the spouse back for a higher final score after the ITA — versus removing the spouse from the application entirely.
What group members advised:- PNP-based ITAs work differently from direct (general) Express Entry ITAs. The eligibility mechanics and what you can change afterward aren't the same as a standard draw, so assumptions from general EE rules may not directly apply here.
- Spousal status may need to be updated before the ITA, not after. One member's understanding (flagged as unconfirmed and worth double-checking) was that a spouse can be added back after a Notification of Interest (NOI) but must be reflected in your EE profile before the ITA itself is issued — not changed afterward.
The practical takeaway: if you're using a 'spouse not accompanying' status to hit a lower CRS nomination cutoff, update your EE profile to reflect your true spousal accompaniment status before the ITA is issued rather than assuming you can adjust it afterward — and verify this directly with IRCC or a professional given the uncertainty in the responses.