Am I Too Old to Migrate? What the Visa Systems Actually Say (And What People Get Wrong)

You are 38. Or 42. Or 47. You have been thinking about migrating for years, maybe a decade. And every year that passes, the same thought gets louder:

Have I left it too late?

You have read somewhere that immigration systems favour young people. You have seen the points tables that give maximum scores to 25-year-olds. You have watched your younger colleagues start visa applications while you convinced yourself the window had closed.

This article is for you. Not to tell you what you want to hear, but to tell you what is actually true. Because what most people believe about age and migration is wrong — not entirely wrong, but wrong enough to make people give up when they should not.

What the Points Systems Actually Say About Age

Let us start with the hard data. The four most popular skilled migration destinations — Canada, Australia, the UK, and Germany — each treat age differently.

Canada: Express Entry (Federal Skilled Worker)

Canada's Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) awards age points as follows:

Age	CRS Points (without spouse)	CRS Points (with spouse)
20-29	110	100
30	105	95
31	99	90
32	94	85
33	88	80
34	83	75
35	77	70
36	72	65
37	66	60
38	61	55
39	55	50
40	50	45
41	39	35
42	28	25
43	17	15
44	6	5
45+	0	0

Yes, you lose points as you age. At 45, you get zero age points. This is the number that terrifies people.

But here is what people miss: age is only one of seven scoring categories. The maximum CRS score is 1,200. Age accounts for a maximum of 110 points. That means 91% of your score comes from factors other than age.

Here is what actually matters more:

Language scores (IELTS/CELPIP/TEF): Up to 160 points. A CLB 10 in all bands versus a CLB 7 is a difference of 80+ points — far more than the age penalty.
Education: Up to 150 points. A master's degree adds significantly more than the points you lose between 30 and 40.
Canadian work experience or study: Up to 200 additional points through the Canadian Experience Class.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nomination: 600 points. This single factor makes age almost irrelevant. If a province nominates you, you are virtually guaranteed an invitation.
Job offer from a Canadian employer: 50-200 points depending on the NOC category.

The real picture: In 2024, the average CRS cut-off for general Express Entry draws was 530-560. A 40-year-old with a master's degree, CLB 9 across all IELTS bands, and 5+ years of skilled work experience can score 470-490 without any bonuses. Add a PNP nomination and you are at 1,070+. Add a valid job offer and you are well above the cut-off even without a PNP.

Percentage of successful applicants aged 35+: IRCC data from 2023-2024 shows that approximately 38% of Express Entry invitations went to applicants aged 30-39, and roughly 12% went to applicants aged 40+. That is half of all successful applicants being over 30.

Australia: SkillSelect (Subclass 189/190)

Australia's points system is more age-restrictive:

Age	Points
25-32	30
33-39	25
40-44	15
45+	0 (and ineligible for 189/190)

Australia has a hard age cap: you cannot apply for the Subclass 189 or 190 visa if you are 45 or older at the time of invitation. This is a real barrier.

However, the 40-44 bracket still gets 15 points, and the pass mark is 65. A 42-year-old with a bachelor's degree (15 points), 8+ years of experience (15 points), competent English (0 points, but proficient English gives 10 and superior gives 20), and an occupation on the MLTSSL can reach 65+ with a state nomination.

The doors that remain open after 45 in Australia:

Subclass 482 (Temporary Skill Shortage visa): No age limit. Your employer sponsors you.
Subclass 494 (Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional): Age limit is 45, but exemptions exist for certain occupations and university researchers.
Subclass 858 (Global Talent visa): No age limit. For highly skilled professionals in target sectors (tech, health, fintech, agritech, etc.).
Business visas (Subclass 188/888): Age limits vary, but some streams have no age cap.

United Kingdom: Skilled Worker Visa

Here is the fact that changes everything for older migrants: the UK Skilled Worker Visa has no age limit and no age-based points system.

Read that again. There are no age points. There is no age cap. A 50-year-old with a valid Certificate of Sponsorship from a UK employer, a salary that meets the threshold (currently GBP 38,700 or the going rate for the occupation, whichever is higher, with exceptions for shortage occupations), and English language ability at B1 level can apply on exactly the same terms as a 25-year-old.

The UK system is employer-led, not points-led (for work visas). If an employer wants to hire you and is willing to sponsor you, your age is irrelevant to the visa decision.

What this means practically: For professionals aged 40+, the UK is often the most accessible destination. The combination of no age restriction, a large number of shortage occupations, and an employer-sponsored pathway makes it the most realistic option for older migrants.

In 2024, approximately 22% of Skilled Worker Visa grants went to applicants aged 40-49, and 8% went to applicants aged 50+. The UK is not just technically open to older migrants — it is actively granting visas to them.

Germany: Skilled Immigration Act

Germany's Chancenkarte (Opportunity Card), introduced in June 2024, does include age as a factor in its points system:

Age	Points
Under 35	2
35-40	1
Over 40	0

But the Chancenkarte requires only 6 points to qualify, and there are many ways to reach 6: language skills (up to 3 points for German, 1 for English), qualifications (up to 4 points), work experience (up to 3 points). A 42-year-old with a recognised degree, 5 years of experience, and B1 German can qualify without any age points.

More importantly, Germany's standard work visa and EU Blue Card have no age limits at all. If you have a job offer from a German employer that meets the salary threshold (EUR 45,300 for the Blue Card, or EUR 41,042 for shortage occupations), age does not factor into the decision.

What People Get Wrong

Wrong belief 1: "I need to be under 35 to migrate"

There is no major destination country where 35 is a hard cut-off. Even in Australia, which is the most age-restrictive, you can apply for points-based visas until 44 and employer-sponsored visas without age limits.

Wrong belief 2: "The points I lose for age cannot be made up"

They can. In Canada, the difference between a 30-year-old and a 40-year-old is 55 CRS points. That is exactly the difference between IELTS 7.0 and IELTS 8.0 in each band. One IELTS retake with better preparation can offset a decade of age.

Wrong belief 3: "Employers don't want to sponsor older workers"

The opposite is often true. Employers sponsoring visas are making a significant financial investment (GBP 2,000-5,000+ in UK sponsorship costs alone). They want candidates who will stay, who have deep experience, and who can contribute immediately. A 42-year-old engineering manager with 18 years of experience is often a more attractive sponsorship candidate than a 27-year-old with 3 years.

Wrong belief 4: "My age means I'll never get permanent residency"

Permanent residency timelines vary, but in the UK, you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain after 5 years on a Skilled Worker Visa regardless of age. In Canada, Express Entry leads to PR directly. In Germany, the path from work visa to permanent settlement permit takes 2-4 years. Starting at 42 means you could have permanent residency by 47 — with potentially 20+ years of career ahead of you.

The Pathways That Actually Favour Experienced Professionals

Some immigration pathways are better for older professionals:

Intra-company transfers. If you work for a multinational, the ICT visa (UK) or equivalent allows companies to transfer experienced employees. These visas favour seniority.
Senior or specialist worker visas. The UK's Scale-up Visa and the Global Talent Visa both value demonstrated expertise and career achievement — qualities that come with age.
Provincial/state nomination. Canadian provinces and Australian states nominate based on labour market needs, not age. A 44-year-old nurse in demand in Saskatchewan will get nominated over a 28-year-old marketer who is not needed.
Employer-sponsored routes. In every country, employer sponsorship either has no age component or a minimal one. Your value to an employer is your experience, not your birth year.

The Honest Part: Where Age IS a Factor

I would be doing you a disservice if I did not acknowledge where age creates real challenges:

Australia's 189/190 hard cap at 45 is real and cannot be worked around for those specific visa subclasses.
Canada's CRS score does become harder to reach after 44 without a PNP or job offer.
Settlement and adaptation can be harder when you are older. You may have children in school, a spouse whose career is established, ageing parents. These are real considerations, not just bureaucratic ones.
Career restarting can mean a temporary step backward. A senior manager in Lagos may start as a mid-level professional in London. This is easier to accept at 30 than at 45.

But "harder" is not "impossible." And "harder" should be weighed against "what happens if I stay?"

The Question Behind the Question

When people ask "Am I too old to migrate?" they are often really asking: "Is it still worth it? Will I have enough time to build something meaningful?"

If you migrate at 40, you have 25-27 years of working life ahead. That is longer than many people's entire careers. It is enough time to establish yourself, earn well, save for retirement, and give your children opportunities they would not otherwise have.

If you migrate at 45, you have 20-22 years. Still enough. If you migrate at 50, you have 15-17 years and fewer visa options, but they exist.

The real risk is not that you are too old to migrate. The real risk is that you spend the next five years thinking about it and then ask the same question at 47.

If you want to know exactly which pathways are open to you at your age and with your qualifications, NextMigrate can assess your profile and tell you where you stand — honestly, with no false promises.