FEDERAL SKILLED WORKERS PROGRAM

The Federal Skilled Workers Program is for people who want to become permanent residents based on their education, work experience, knowledge of English and or French and their ability to prosper in Canada.

A) Basic eligibility

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will only process your application if you have:

At least one year of continuous and paid (full time or an equal amount in part time) work experience in the field of your education within the last 10 years,

OR

You have a valid offer of arranged employment,

OR

You are an international student who is enrolled in a Ph D program in Canada (or who graduated from a Canadian Ph D program within the past 12 months) and meet the criteria.

B) Minimum requirements

Work experience

If your application is eligible to be processed, the IRCC will then assess it to see if your work experience, as described above, is valid.

Your work experience must be:

• at least one year (1560 hours), full-time or an equal amount in part-time,
• paid work (volunteer work, unpaid internships, etc. do not count),
• in the same occupation, and
• within the last 10 years,
• at skill type 0, or skill levels A or B of the 2011 edition of the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC).

You must show that you did the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC, including all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed. If you do not show that your experience meets the description in the NOC, the IRCC will refuse your application.

Language ability.

You must meet minimum language levels and include the results of a language test from an agency approved by the IRCC. Please note that the minimum language requirement of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7.

Canadian Language Benchmark

Test results for each ability

CLB Level	Listening	Reading	Writing	Speaking
9	8.0 +	7.0 +	7.0 +	7.0 +
8	7.5	6.5	6.5	6.5
7	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
6	5.5	5.0	5.5	5.5
5	5.0	4.0	5.0	5.0
4	4.5	3.5	4.0	4.0

Education

You must have:

a Canadian diploma, certificate, or credential OR
a foreign educational credential, and an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) by an agency approved by IRCC to show it is equal to a completed Canadian secondary or post-secondary educational credential.

C) Six selection factors

If you meet all the conditions set out in sections A and B above, the IRCC will process your application based on the six selection factors in the federal points grid.

They are:

• your skills in English and or French, Canada's two official languages,
• your education,
• your work experience,
• your age,
• whether you have arranged employment in Canada, and
• your adaptability (how well you are likely to settle here).

No	Selection Factor	Maximum Points
1	English and/or French skills	28
2	Education	25
3	Experience	15
4	Age	12
5	Arranged employment in Canada	10
6	Adaptability	10
Total		100
Pass mark: 67 out of 100 points

Factor 1: English and or French Skills

Maximum 28 points

Being able to communicate and work in one or both of Canadas official languages is very important. Knowing English, French or both helps you in the Canadian job market.
You can get up to 28 points for your skills in English and French. You will be given points based on your ability to

• listen
• speak
• read and
• write

Language testing

You must prove the language levels you claim on your application with a language test from an agency approved by the IRCC.
The IRCC will not assess your application if you do not include language test results for either English or French that show you meet the required level.
If you want to get points for your skills in both English and French, you must provide your language test results for each language at the same time.
Once you take this test, you can use it to see exactly how many points you will get for the language selection factor.

Calculate your language points

You must meet the minimum level of CLB 7 for your first official language in all four language areas.

To get points for your second official language, you must meet the minimum level of CLB 5 in all four language areas.

Please Note: You can only get points for your second official language if you meet the threshold of CLB 5 in all four language abilities (speaking, listening, reading and writing). You can score four points for your second official language skills.

First Official Language	Speaking	Listening	Reading	WritingWriting
CLB level 9 or higher	6	6	6	6
CLB level 8	5	5	5	5
CLB level 7	4	4	4	4
Below CLB level 7	Not eligible to apply

Note: You can only get four points in total for basic-level skills in your second official language, and only if you have a score of at least CLB 5 in each of the four language abilities.

Second Official Languagec	Points
At least CLB5 in all of the four abilities	4
CLB 4 or less in any of the four abilities	0

Factor 2: Education

Maximum 25 points

you can earn selection points for your education.
To get points, you must:
prove that you earned a Canadian diploma or certificate,

OR

have your foreign education assessed by an agency approved by IRCC to show it is valid and equal to a completed Canadian credential.
You must include your Canadian credential or your foreign credential and Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report when you apply.

Education	Points
University degree at the Doctoral (PhD) level or equal	25
University degree at the Master's level or equal OR University level entry-to-practice professional degree (or equal). Occupation related to the degree must be: NOC 2011 Skill Level A and licensed by a provincial regulatory body. Note: Degree program must be in one of these fields of study: Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry, Podiatry, Optometry, Law, Chiropractic Medicine, or Pharmacy.	23
Two or more Canadian post-secondary degrees or diplomas or equal (at least one must be for a program of at least three years)	22
Canadian post-secondary degree or diploma for a program of three years or longer, or equal	21
Canadian post-secondary degree or diploma for a two-year program, or equal	19
Canadian post-secondary degree or diploma for a one-year program, or equal	15
Canadian high school diploma, or equal	5

Note: Having your foreign education assessed.

If you do not have a Canadian degree or diploma (in some cases, a "certificate"), you must get your foreign education verified and assessed to prove it is equal to a completed Canadian credential.

You must send an original Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report with proof of your foreign credential (diploma or certificate, and transcripts) or the IRCC will not process your application. The ECA report must be done by an agency approved by the IRCC.

Please also note that if you get an ECA, it does not guarantee you a job in your field or that you will be able to get a license in Canada. If you plan to work in an occupation that is regulated in Canada, you should contact the regulatory authority in the province where you plan to live. They can give you important information about getting your license, including any steps you can take before you leave your home country.

Factor 3: Experience

Maximum 15 points

you can get points for the number of years you have spent in full-time paid work (at least 30 hours per week, or an equal amount of part-time).

Use this chart to find the number of points based on your number of years of experience.

Experience	Points
1 year	9
2-3 years	11
4-5 years	13
6 or more years	15

Factor 4: Age

Maximum 12 points you will get points based on your age on the day when the Centralized Intake Office gets your application.

Age	Points
Under 18	0
18 to 35	12
36	11
37	10
38	9
39	8
40	7
41	6
42	5
43	4
44	3
45	2
46	1
47 and older	0

Factor 5: Arranged employment in Canada

Maximum 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 .

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).

Find your points based on the chart below.

If	And	Points
You are currently working in Canada on a temporary work permit.	Your work permit is valid both when you apply and when the visa is issued (or you are authorized to work in Canada without a work permit when your visa is issued). and IRCC issued your work permit based on a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Your employer would have applied for the LMIA, which you then had to attach to your application to IRCC. and You are working for an employer named on your work permit who has made a permanent job offer based on you being accepted as a Federal.	10
You are currently working in Canada in a job that is exempt from the LMIA requirement under: an international agreement (such as, the North America Free Trade Agreement) or a federal-provincial agreement.	Your work permit is valid both when you apply and when the visa is issued (or you are authorized to work in Canada without a permit when your visa is issued). and Your current employer has made a permanent job offer based on you being accepted as a Federal.	10
You currently do not:	An employer has made you a permanent job offer based on you being accepted as	10
have a work permit, or plan to work in Canada before you get a permanent resident visa. OR You are currently working in Canada and a different employer has offered to give you a permanent full-time job. OR You are currently working in Canada in a job that is exempt from a Labour Market Impact Assessment, but not under an international or federal-provincial agreement.	a Federal. and The employer has a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment from ESDC.

Factor 6: Adaptability

Maximum 10 points

If you have a spouse or common law partner who will immigrate with you to Canada, they can earn points for adaptability too. You can only get points for each item once.

The maximum number of points in this section is 10.

Adaptability	Maximum 10 points
Your spouse or partner's language level Your spouse or common-law partner has a language level in either English or French at CLB 4 level or higher in all four language abilities (speaking, listening, reading and writing). To get these points, you must submit test results from an approved agency when you apply. Results can not be more than two years old on the day you apply.	5
Your past study in Canada You finished at least two academic years of full-time study (in a program at least two years long) at a secondary or post-secondary school in Canada. Full-time study means at least 15 hours of classes per week, and you must have stayed in good academic standing (as set out by the school) during that time.	5
Your spouse or partner's past study in Canada Your spouse or common-law partner finished at least two academic years of full-time study (in a program at least two years long) at a secondary or post-secondary school in Canada. Full-time study means at least 15 hours of classes per week, and your spouse or partner must have stayed in good academic standing (as set out by the school) during that time.	5
Your past work in Canada You did at least one year of full-time work in Canada: 1.in a occupation listed in Skill Type O or Skill Levels A or B of the National Occupational Classification (NOC), and 2. with a valid work permit or while authorized to work in Canada.	10
Your spouse or common-law partner's past work in Canada Your spouse / partner did at least one year of full-time work in Canada on a valid work permit or while authorized to work in Canada.	5
Arranged Employment in Canada You earned points under Factor 5: Arranged Employment.	5
Arranged Employment in Canada You earned points under Factor 5: Arranged Employment.	5
You, or, if it applies, your spouse or common-law partner, have a relative, either a parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, child of a parent (sibling), child of a grandparent (aunt or uncle), or grandchild of a parent (niece or nephew), who is living in Canada 18 years or older and a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.	5

If your score is 67 points or higher, you may qualify to immigrate to Canada as a Federal Skilled Worker.

If your score is lower than the pass mark of 67 points, you will not qualify to immigrate to Canada as a Federal Federal.

D) Proof of funds

You must also show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada.

The amount of money that you need to support yourself and your family is determined by the size of your family.

Number of Family Members	Funds Required (in Canadian dollars)
1	$ 12,475
2	$ 15,531
3	$ 19,093
4	$ 23,181
5	$ 26,292
6	$ 29,652
7	$ 33,014
For each additional family member	$ 3,361

Note: Please note the above Federal Points Grid has been replaced by the new Entry Criteria and Comprehensive Ranking System. For details of new Entry Criteria, please visit Information Section.

For further information, please contact us.