Federal Skilled Worker
The Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Program is Canada’s economic immigration pathway that allows foreign skilled workers with no Canadian work experience to immigrate permanently to Canada with their loved ones. FSW is one of the three programs offered by Express Entry System that allow a candidate to live and work in Canada. This program is for those who don’t have Canadian experience (live or work) and have not being invited through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
Operating under Express Entry System which uses Comprehensive Ranking System to rank candidates against each other for Canadian permanent residency, FSW candidates are expected to enter the Entry Entry pool to be considered. With Canadian work experience no longer being a factor, FSW candidates will receive a CRS Score based on factors such as education, work experience, age and language proficiency. Candidates with the highest CRS score within the pool will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence
Eligibility Under Federal Skilled Worker Program
To qualify for the FSW program candidates must meet certain eligibility requirements:
- Have at least 1 year of continuous full-time skilled employment in the last 10 years or a part-time equivalent. A skill employment refers to work classified under National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level 0, A or B.
- Score a minimum of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 across all abilities on an approved English or French language proficiency test
- Have a minimum of Canadian high school diploma or a foreign equivalent
- Have enough funds to support themselves and accompanying family to Canada.
- Intend to live outside the province of Quebec
- The candidate and the accompanying and non accompanying dependants must meet Canadian healthy and security/criminal requirements.
A candidate must score at least 67 points out of the 100 point grid to qualify for the FSW program.
How do i calculate Federal Skilled Worker points?
For the FSW program a minimum score of 67 points to required. To calculate your Federal Skilled Worker score, you can check your points against the grids below.
| Factors | Points |
|---|---|
| Language Proficiency | 28 |
| Education | 25 |
| Work Experience | 15 |
| Age | 12 |
| Arranged Employment | 10 |
| Adaptability | 10 |
| Maximum Points | 10 |
How to Apply for the FSWP
When a candidate meets FSWP eligibility requirements, they must create and submit an Express Entry Profile to be considered for Canadian permanent residence. According the applicants CRS score, they will be ranked to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence.
An FSW candidate will need to provide the following documents for their Express Entry Profile:
- Educational Credentials Assessment (ECA): The ECA report helps a candidate to gain Educational points. An ECA report attests to the value of your foreign education by Canadian standards. There are only 5 organizations in Canada authorized to issue an ECA report.
- Language Proficiency Test Results: You must provide proof of language proficiency in English or French to be eligible for Express Entry. The approved test results are the ones from a language test taken in the previous 2 years. For English proficiency, you can provide results from ILETS and CELPIP exams. For French proficiency, you can provide results from the Test d’Évaluation de Français (TEF) and the Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada (TCF Canada)
- Identification Documents such as passports will be required.
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Question about FSWP? You're covered.
The Federal Skilled Worker is Canada's immigration program which allows foreign skilled workers with no Canadian work experience to immigrate permanently to Canada with their loved ones.
FSW points are only awarded to candidates who want to immigrate to Canada through FSW program. In order to submit a profile as a Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), you must meet the minimum of 67 eligibility points. CRS score is given to any candidate entering the Express Entry pool.
Yes, if a candidate has only part-time work experience then it must amount to at least 15 hours a week for 24 months. All part-time roles must be in NOC skill type A, B, or O.
No, a job offer is not required for the Federal Skilled Worker program. However, it will increase you eligibility with up to 15 additional points and improve your CRS score by 50-200 points. The job offer will likely require a Labour Market Assessment Impact(LMIA)
The Federal Skilled Worker Program is for permanent residency and the Express Entry is a system through which a pool is created of potential applicants for permanent residency.
No, to apply for permanent residence an individual need to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) which is only issued through Express Entry.
Individuals can include spouse or common-law partner and dependent children or dependents of your dependent children in the application. They can also include dependent children of their accompanying spouse.
No, a federal skilled worker must intend to live outside of Quebec. To immigrate to Quebec as a skilled worker, an individual must apply through Quebec Skilled Worker (QSW) Program
No, your work experience does not have to be related as long as you are performing duties of the occupation for which you are claiming points for.