Federal Skilled Worker Program:

Federal skilled worker class (FSWC) are those applicants who are selected by the Canadian government as permanent residents based on their education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French, and a few other criteria that have been shown to help them become economically established in Canada. In 2016, CIC/IRCC admitted 59,999 FSWC applicants as permanent residents in Canada, which makes the FSWC the largest source of economic immigration.

Canada admits skilled immigrants with the experience needed to contribute to the Canadian economy. The selection is based on a points system that evaluates an applicant’s education, work experience, official language proficiency, age, pre-arranged employment in Canada and adaptability. In order to qualify, the applicant must score a minimum of 67 points out of the possible 100 points.

An applicant must meet the minimum criteria required to apply as skilled worker:

• You must have at least one year of continuous full-time, paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time continuous employment
• You must have had this experience within the last 10 years
• Your work experience must be Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or Skill Level A (professional occupations) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades) on the Canadian National Occupation Classification (NOC)
• You must meet the minimum language threshold under FSW for each of the four language skill areas.

For Applicants who meet the minimum criteria above, their application is further assessed against a point system, in which points are allocate based on the following six selection factor below:

Below is a detailed description of all factors that are to be assessed.

Factor 1 – Education (maximum of 25 points)

Factor 2 – Ability in English and/or French(maximum of 28 points)

Proficiency in Canada’s official languages is considered to be the single most important factor in predicting successful economic integration into Canadian life. As a result, the federal government decided to establish a minimum threshold that all FSWC applicants must meet.

The current minimum threshold established by the Minister for the first official language is being set at the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) of 7 in all four abilities: listening, speaking, reading and writing. An applicant meeting that threshold and no higher would obtain 16 points (4 for each ability).

Factor 3 – Work experience (maximum of 15 points)

Work experience is important in successful economic establishment in Canada because experienced workers have more to offer Canadian employers than inexperienced workers and they will become more quickly established. Regardless of their score in the other factors on the grid, all FSWC applicants must have a minimum of one year of skilled work experience

Factor 4 – Age (maximum of 12 points)

Points are given for your age on the date that your complete application is received.

Factor 5 – Arranged employment (maximum of 10 points)

In some cases, you can get points if you have a permanent, full-time job offer from a Canadian employer. The job must be arranged before you apply to come to Canada as a federal skilled worker.

A valid job offer has to be:

• for full-time, permanent and not seasonal work, and
• in an occupation listed as Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B of the National Occupational Classification (NOC).

Factor 6 – Adaptability (maximum of 10 points)

Our licensed Canadian immigration consultants can speak with you in person, by email or through the phone about your unique immigration situation and give you the best option/route that suites your situation.