Federal Skilled Worker Visa


Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has set specific basic requirements that all applicants must meet in order to apply for a Federal Skilled Worker visa.

Federal Skilled Worker Visa
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has set specific basic requirements that all applicants must meet in order to apply for a Federal Skilled Worker visa.
To qualify for skilled migration, applicants must be able to satisfy the basic visa requirements related to an applicant's health and character.
In addition to meeting the basic visa requirements, applicants must also pass a points-based assessment. Points can be claimed in areas related to an applicant's age, English or French language ability, work experience, qualifications and ability to adapt to life in Canada. The current pass mark for the Federal Skilled Worker visa is 67 points.

As of January 1, 2015, applicants for the Federal Skilled Worker Program will have to apply using the new Express Entry System and complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile. Applicants will be placed in a pool of candidates. Applicants with the highest score and ranking in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) may be invited to apply for permanent residence to Canada ) and will have 60 days to complete and submit an electronic application for permanent residence. Expression of Interest profiles will be valid for 12 months.

Canada Express Entry

Express Entry Canada is a new electronic systems aimed at making immigration much simpler and easier for aspiring applicants. Express entry is a system introduced by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for processing immigration applications under the following economic immigration programs:
  • Federal Skilled Worker Class
  • Federal Skilled Trades Class
  • Canadian Experience Class
  • Some of the Provincial Nominee Programs
If you are eligible under any of the economic immigration programs, then you can get entry into the Express Entry Pool. Take our free online assessment now and know if you are eligible for Canada Express Entry or not. Our Canada Immigration experts will review your profile and then let you know about your potential chances into Express Entry.

Creating an Express Entry Profile

If you aspire to attain Canadian permanent residence and are eligible under one of the economic immigration programs, then you will first have to make create an express entry profile. Here you will need to provide information about your skills, language ability, work experience, education, and some essential other information.
If you meet the criteria, then you will be given entry into the express entry pool, where candidates are ranked according to a Comprehensive Ranking System.
If you do not have a provincial nomination or valid job offer from a Canadian employer, then you must register with Canada’s Job Bank.
Note: It is very important to provide correct information to avoid being disqualified from re-entering the pool.

Improving your profile and ranking

You will be ranked in the Express Entry pool according to the Comprehensive Ranking System, which ranks candidates based on the following factors:
  • Core human capital
  • Accompanying spouse or common-law partner
  • Skill transferability
  • Provincial nomination or a qualifying job offer of arranged employment
The Comprehensive Ranking System awards points out of a total of 1,200. Candidates with higher points are placed higher in the pool and have more chances of getting picked from the pool.
In order to improve your chances to get an Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence, you should try to improve your Express Entry Profile.

Invitation to apply for PR

The Express Entry Pool enables the Canadian government and other provincial Governments, and also Canadian employers to select eligible candidates.
Candidates with highest rank in the express entry pool or those with a valid job offer/provincial nomination are invited to apply for Canada Permanent Residency. Once you have received an ITA (Invitation to Apply) you generally have 60 days to submit your Permanent Residency application.

Federal Skilled Trades Class Visa

Federal Skilled Trades Class Visa Basic Requirements:
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has set specific basic requirements that all applicants must meet in order to apply for a Federal Skilled Trades Class visa. To qualify for the Federal Skilled Trades Class visa, applicants must be able to show that they meet the following requirements:
 
  • Have an offer of employment in Canada or a certificate of qualification from a province or territory;
  • Meet the official language requirements
  • Have at least 2 years of eligible experience in a designated trade; and
  • Have the skills and experience required to perform the occupation in Canada.
In addition to meeting the basic visa requirements, applicants must also meet the health and character requirements. There are no points granted to the applicants and applications are assessed on a pass/fail basis.
 

Experience Class (Foreign Worker/Foreign Student) Visa

Experience Class (Foreign Worker/Foreign Student) Visa Basic RequirementsThere are two main components of the Canadian Experience Class: foreign workers and foreign students.

Under the Foreign Worker component, applicants must have at least 1 year of full-time work experience in Canada in an eligible occupation and have gained the experience with proper work or study permit. In addition, successful candidates will be required to provide satisfactory language testing results and apply while working in Canada or within one year of leaving their job in Canada.

As for the Foreign Student component, graduates of a Canadian post-secondary educational institution must have one year of full-time (or equivalent) work experience in Canada, in an eligible occupation after their graduation.

The work experience must be gained within the two years preceding submission of the application under the Canadian Experience Class. In addition, graduates must have completed either a full-time Canadian post-secondary educational program of at least two years or a one-year Master's program and an additional year of education in Canada, within a private or public post-secondary educational institution such as a college or a university that is provincially recognized, or Private CEGEPs and provide satisfactory language testing results.

As of January 1, 2015, applicants for the Canadian Experience Class Program will have to apply using the new Express Entry System and complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) profile. Applicants will be placed in a pool of candidates. Applicants with the highest score and ranking in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) may be invited to apply for permanent residence to Canada and will have 60 days to complete and submit an electronic application for permanent residence. Expression of Interest profiles will be valid for 12 months.
 

International Graduates Visa

International Graduates Visa Basic RequirementsThe International Graduates visa is currently available through the provincial nominee programs for the following provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan. The requirements differ according to the respective program and as outlined below.

For AlbertaManitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan programs, the graduate must have completed a post-secondary educational program within the province (or within Canada for some programs) at an eligible institution, have obtained an offer of full-time employment related to their field of study and provide evidence of having been employed with the same employer for a minimum duration of between 3-6 months prior to the submission of the International Graduate application. Some of these requirements do not apply for certain provinces.

For Ontario, 3 streams of application are available for international graduates; applicants with a job offer, applicants who are PhD Graduates and applications who are Masters Graduates (offered currently as a pilot project).

For British Columbia, 2 streams of application are available for international graduates: applicants who have graduated from an eligible program at an approved institution, and applicants holding a Master's or PhD degree awarded for studies in the natural, applied or health sciences (currently offered as a pilot project).

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