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The Federal Skilled Worker program assists foreign workers to immigrate to Canada for Permanent Residency based on their work experience, education, knowledge of English/French and other skills. Since January 1, 2015 foreign workers that are interested in the Federal Skilled Worker Program need to apply through the Express Entry System. If you have submitted an application under the FSW prior to January 1, 2015 then you application will be reviewed under the previous system. Once you complete your Express Entry Profile, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will send you an Invitation to Apply (ITA) based on the information you have provided.
To be able to apply under the Federal Skilled Worker Program the first step is having a job offer with an employer in Canada. Without job offer you cannot apply under this category. Also, you need show that you have sufficient money to support yourself and family members even if they are not coming with you. The amount of money you need to show depends on your size of family, CIC updates this every year. Please refer to CIC website and look up the latest financial requirements. If you have Arranged Employment in Canada and currently working or authorized to work in Canada then you do not need to show funds.
As the foreign worker you need to have at least 1 year of full-time skilled work experience, meeting the minimum English/French language requirement, have a post-secondary education or higher and plan to live outside of the province of Quebec.
The work experience you need to have must be either Skill Type 0, Skill Level A or Skill Level B on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC). Your work experience must be full-time meaning at least 30 hours per week or the equivalent hours in part-time. This work experience must be during the last 10 years. If you have permanent job offer than the rules do no apply to you.
You need to have minimum of 67 points to be eligible to apply as a Federal Skilled Worker. The points granted based on your education, your language ability (English/French), work experience, your age, if you have arranged employment in Canada and how well you can adapt in Canada. Do not confuse the points you score as Federal Skilled Worker with the Express Entry Application as they are two different things and assessed differently.
In order to even qualify under the Federal Skilled Worker stream under Express Entry, an applicant needs to show that they can score a minimum of 67 points in the six selection factors. To assess how well you could score, you may refer to the following summary of each section according to criteria and points value:
For the education category, you will receive points based on how your academic qualifications would translate to the Canadian education system. As mentioned previously, this will require getting an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) done.
For points earned in this category, the minimum amount of points received would be for having the equivalent of a Canadian high school diploma (5 points). The maximum amount of points received would be for having the equivalent of a Canadian university degree at the Doctoral (PhD) level (25 points).
For the official languages category, you will receive points based on your language capabilities in either English or French. This is measured with the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) system and is determined by the results of a language test such as IELTS.
For points earned in this category, the minimum amount of points received would be for having CLB 7 in each skill (speaking, listening, reading, writing) in either English or French (16 points). Any skill scoring below CLB 7 makes an applicant non-eligible for the FSW stream. 24 points received would be for having CLB 9 or higher in all skills in either English or French. To get the full 28 points, you would have to be able to score a CLB 5 in each skill for a second official language. For example, you have CLB 9 in all English skills and at least CLB 5 in all French skills.
For the work experience category, you will receive points based on how many years of work experience you have in your chosen occupation.
For points earned in this category, the minimum amount of points would be for having 1 year of full-time work experience (9 points). The maximum amount of points would be for having 6 or more years of full-time work experience (15 points).
For the age category, you will receive points based on how old you are at the time of your application.
For points earned in this category, the minimum amount of points goes to those applicants either under age 18 or 47 or older (0 points). The maximum amount of points goes to applicants between the ages of 18 to 35 (12 points).
This is a more complex category and requires a detailed breakdown of the criteria along with points values:
Your spouse or partner’s language level: If you are including your spouse or common-law partner in your Federal Skilled Worker application, he or she can score you points as long as he or she has CLB 4 in all skills in either English or French (5 points).
Your past study in Canada: If you finished a 2 year full-time academic program in Canada (full-time is at least 15 hours of class per week) and stayed in good academic standing the whole time, you apply for this criteria. This can be at the secondary or post-secondary level (5 points).
Your spouse or partner’s past study in Canada: Same conditions as above (5 points).
Your past work in Canada: If you completed at least 1 year of full-time work (NOC 0, A, or B) in Canada with a valid work permit or proper authorization, you apply for this criteria (10 points).
Your spouse or partner’s past work in Canada: Same conditions as above, except it does not have to be NOC 0, A, or B (5 points).
Arranged employment in Canada: If you have arranged employment in Canada as described in the next section (5 points).
Relatives in Canada: If you or your spouse / common-law partner have a relative who is 18 or older and is residing in Canada as a citizen or permanent resident, you can score points. Possible relatives are: parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, child of a parent, child of a grandparent, or grandchild of a parent (5 points).
This is the most complex category and details all of the conditions for arranged employment in Canada. If you qualify for one of these conditions, it will give you 10 points on the Federal Skilled Worker point grid. To find out if you qualify for these points, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada web page and look at “Arranged employment in Canada.”
Applying as a Federal Skilled Worker under Express Entry is a great way to potentially receive permanent residency in Canada. It is a complex process to apply, but if you feel that you could meet the qualifications, contact our team of Canadian immigration lawyers and consultants today so that we can help you assess your chances and prepare the best possible application. Contact us today!
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