Federal Skilled Worker Program
IRCC selects skilled workers interested in migrating to Canada on the basis of their skills and adaptability towards Canada’s Skilled Labour Market Vacuum and out of all, FSWP is one of the most popular immigration streams for almost two decades with over two million people successfully settling in Canada through this program.
The program has been revitalized by many procedural changes in order to tailor Canada’s Labour Market Need; however Express Entry is the closest aligned system towards efficiency and responsiveness than ever before.
The first step in pursuing permanent residence in Canada as a Federal Skilled Worker is to make an expression of interest in immigrating to Canada by creating an online Express Entry profile. Based on the information provided in their profile, Federal Skilled Worker candidates obtain a score under Express Entry’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) that determines their ranking in the pool of eligible candidates.
Eligibility Criteria
Foreign nationals may begin the process of immigration under the Federal Skilled Worker Program by determining whether or not they meet the minimum requirements of the program. The minimum requirements are:
- One year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in the past 10 years in a skilled occupation classified under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level 0, A or B;
- Validated language ability equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 in English or French across all abilities (reading, writing, listening, and speaking); and
- A completed Canadian educational credential (secondary [high School] or post-secondary) or foreign credential equivalent to the same with an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report.
IRCC determines candidates’ eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker Program based on its unique points grid. However, only the highest-ranked candidates in the Express Entry pool are issued invitations to apply for Canadian permanent residence. Candidate profiles in the Express Entry pool, which also includes Federal Skilled Trades and Canadian Experience Class candidates, are ranked based on the CRS.
In order to be eligible to apply under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, potential candidates must meet the minimum requirements for work, language ability, education and obtain at least 67 points under the program’s 100-point grid. The program’s selection factors grid assesses candidates based on factors that include age, education, work experience, arranged employment, language ability and adaptability.