Federal Skilled Worker
Canada allows skilled workers with professional experience abroad to immigrate to the country permanently. The Federal Skilled Worker program is one of the streams available to individuals under Express Entry. Once you create an Express Entry profile, your application is ranked among all the other applications based on skills, experience, language and education. High-ranking applicants then receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residency.
To apply, you must have a minimum of 1560 hours (equivalent to one year full-time) of skilled work experience within 3 years of the application date. This can be obtained through one full-time job, multiple full-time jobs, or part-time work. “Skilled work” is defined as managerial jobs, professional jobs, technical jobs, skilled trades or a combination of these. It does not include student placements, volunteer work, or self-employment.
The other main qualification is the language ability. You will be required to take approved language tests in one of the two Canadian official languages to assess your writing, reading, listening and speaking ability.
The Canadian government uses a points system (out of 100) to assess your eligibility for this program, and the current passing score is 67. Points are assessed within the following 6 categories:
- Age
- Level of Education
- Language Skills (English or French)
- Skilled Work Experience (in certain fields)
- Adaptability to Canada
- Job Offer in Canada
Each of these categories are very specifically defined by the Government of Canada. In addition, you need to have sufficient settlement funds to support you and your family. The amount is determined by the Government and starts at about $13,000 CAD for one person and goes up approximately $3500 for each additional family member. Exemptions can apply, such as if you are already authorized to work in Canada and have a valid job offer.
Processing times for these applications can vary significantly, but you can obtain an estimate from the Government of Canada here. Some cases are more complex than others and need more time or information to process, especially if anything changes during your application, such as medical status, new dependents, or a marriage.
If you’re looking for more information on coming to Canada, you can schedule a professional consultation with one of our licensed consultants here. They’ll be able to provide you with all of the information you need to get your application started.
