This is a commonly confused point, and the thread shows two different opinions worth being aware of:
- One view: age does NOT lock when you create your Express Entry profile — your CRS points recalculate automatically as your birthday passes, right up until you're invited.
- The other, more widely cited view among immigration practitioners: your age score locks at the point you receive your Invitation to Apply (ITA), not when you first create the profile. That means if you're close to a birthday that would drop your age points, creating the profile early does NOT protect you — your CRS score still updates in the pool and you'd lose those points on your birthday if the ITA hasn't been issued yet.
Practical implication: if you're close to an age-related points cutoff (e.g., turning 30, which lowers age points for the primary applicant), don't assume simply having a profile created 'freezes' your age-related score. The safer working assumption — since it's the one repeated by more experienced members — is that your CRS age points keep updating live in the pool until you actually receive an ITA. Time your test scores and profile creation with the expectation that you need to clear the cutoff and get invited before your birthday, not just create the profile before it.