Federal Skilled Workers

Federal Skilled Workers are individuals who are chosen as permanent residents based on their ability to prosper in Canada.

On January 1, 2015 the new Express Entry System came into effect to manage the  Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP).

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will assess a Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) application only if it meets the applicant minimum requirements, scores the minimum passing mark for the six selection factors, and plan to live outside the province of Quebec.

Skilled Workers Minimum Requirements

Skilled Work experience

If your application is eligible to be processed under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), CIC will then assess it to see if your work experience is valid. Your work experience must be:

    • At least one year (1560 hours total = 30 per week), full-time or an equal amount in part-time,
    • Paid work only. Volunteer work, unpaid internships, etc. do not count,
    • The eligible minimum work experience must in the same occupation in the same Canadian National Occupation Classification (NOC) skill type (0, A, or B) , and
    • The work experience must have been obtained within the last 10 years, and
    • The work experience must be at skill type 0, or skill levels A or B of the 2011 edition of the Canadian National Occupation Classification (NOC)

You must show that you did the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC, including all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed. If you do not show that your experience meets the description in the NOC, CIC will refuse your application.

Language ability

You must meet minimum language level of the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 7, and include the results of a language test from an agency approved by CIC when you apply that shows you meet the minimum language requirements.

Your language test results must not be more than two years old on the day you apply for permanent residence (Express Entry Step 1).

Education

You must have:

  • A Canadian diploma, certificate, or educational credential, or
  • A foreign educational credential and an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) by an agency approved by CIC to show it is equal to a completed Canadian secondary or post-secondary educational credential and to verify the authenticity of the foreign educational institution.

Skilled Workers Six Selection Factors

If you meet all the conditions set out in minimum requirements above, CIC will process your application based on the six selection factors in the skilled worker points grid. These factors are part of a 100-point grid (The current pass mark is 67 points) used to assess federal skilled workers. This means you earn points for how well you do in each of the six factors. The total points will show if you qualify for the Express Entry pool. The current pass mark is 67 points.

The six selection factors are:

  • Your skills in English and/or French, Canada’s two official languages (28 maximum points),
  • Your education (25 maximum points),
  • Your work experience (15 maximum points),
  • Your age (12 maximum points),
  • Whether you have arranged employment in Canada (10 maximum points), and
  • Your adaptability or how well you are likely to settle well in Canada (10 maximum points).

Proof of funds

You must also show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada unless you:

  • You are currently able to legally work in Canada, or
  • You have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada

Principal Applicant

If you are married or live with a common-law foreign national partner in Canada, and that person also meets the above conditions, you can decide which one of you will apply under Express Entry as a principal applicant

Inadmissibility

Some people are inadmissible—they are not allowed to come to Canada. Several things can make you inadmissible, including being involved in:

  • crime, or
  • human rights violations.

You can also be inadmissible for:

  • security,
  • health,
  • financial reasons, or
  • other reasons.

Please Contact Us for more information on this program.

Global Immigration Consulting Services