The Federal Skilled Worker Program (also known as the Federal Skilled Worker Class) is Canada’s flagship immigration program for workers, allowing the country to welcome tens of thousands of newcomers every year based on their ability to become established in Canada’s workforce.

Who is it for?

Professionals and skilled workers around the world who want to immigrate to Canada permanently can do so through the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Candidates can apply with their spouse/partner and dependent children.

What is the processing time for Federal Skilled Worker Program?

80 percent of complete applications are processed within six months or less.

What is Express Entry?

Express Entry allows Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to invite eligible candidates to make an application for permanent residence.

These candidates have all made a formal ‘Expression of Interest’ to settle in Canada by creating an online Express Entry profile. Eligible candidates have their profiles accepted to the Express Entry pool where they are given a score and ranked under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) based on the personal information they provided.

In addition to the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the pool contains candidates under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) and Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC). IRCC then invites candidates to apply during its Express Entry draws from the pool.

What is Express Entry?

In order to be eligible to submit an Express Entry profile under the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Class, you must meet several minimum eligibility criteria:

• Work Experience: You must have a minimum of 12-months of full-time, skilled work experience, or an equivalent amount in part-time experience. This experience must be continuous and in a single occupation. To be considered “skilled” experience, you must have been working in an occupation at National Occupation Classification (NOC) Skill Level 0, A, or B.
• Language Proficiency: You must take an approved language test showing you are proficient in either English or French. The minimum score for FSWC is equal to the Canadian Language Benchmark of Level 7 (CLB 7), although the higher you score, the better your chances of success.
• Education: You must have completed a minimum education equal to the completion of a Canadian high school diploma. If your education was completed outside of Canada, you will need an Educational Credentials Assessment (ECA) attesting to the value of your education by Canadian standards.
• Federal Skilled Worker Points Grid: All FSWC candidates must score a minimum of 67 out of 100 points on the FSWP points grid. Details are below.
• Settlement Funds: You must have enough funds to support your settlement in Canada. Details are below.

How To Proceed

IRCC officers have discretionary powers to accommodate those applicants who receive scores only slightly below the pass mark only if they can demonstrate to the visa officer that they will successfully establish themselves economically in Canada and have sufficient fund, skill and experience.

Qualifying for the Federal Skill Worker is only the first step in immigrating to Canada. After qualifying the applicant must create a candidate profile in Express Entry and should wait till an Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence is received and then finally submitting their application for Permanent Residency.