Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) oversee the FSWP - Federal Skilled Workers Program for immigration to Canada through the Express Entry System. The FSWP extends invitations to apply for a Canada PR visa to the Express Entry pool candidates with the highest CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) scores. Candidates who are given an ITA are required to submit their full applications to the IRCC within the allotted time frame.

The Federal Skilled Workers Program features a point system based on a variety of variables. Its goal is to show whether the applicant, along with any dependents, can effectively migrate to Canada. Candidates should ideally have expertise and skills that are closely related to the jobs that are in demand.

The criteria for selection favor those who have received job offers from the Canadian government. On January 1st, 2015, it began implementing the Express Entry Immigration system under the Economic Class, which includes the FSWP and other programs.

What conditions must be met for FSWP?

The following are the prerequisites for applicants to the FSWP:

  • Professional job experience
  • Fluency in a language
  • Education

To qualify to apply for the program, you must meet all eligibility requirements.

What qualifications are there for FSWP?

After you meet the minimal requirements, the IRCC will evaluate your application based on:

  • Education
  • Age
  • Work background
  • If you have received a valid job offer
  • Knowledge of English and/or French languages
  • Adaptability - how well you should be able to integrate into the community

 See whether you meet all requirements for the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

The aforementioned elements are part of the 100-point grid used to determine your FSWP eligibility. Your performance in relation to each of the six factors is graded. Passing requires a score of at least 67.

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The points for selection factors are used by IRCC to determine if you qualify for the FSWP. Your profile is ranked using a different system once you've joined the Express Entry pool.

What professions fall under the Federal Skilled Worker Program?

Federal Skilled Workers are people who meet the required criteria for age, work experience, age, and English- or French-language ability. They are picked by Express Entry Immigration to submit an application for a visa to become a permanent resident of Canada.

Federal Skilled Workers who meet the minimum requirements for entrance in one of 347 approved occupations may submit an Expression of Interest - EOI profile through the Express Entry System. The Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) is then used to rank the candidate profiles.

An ITA for a Canada PR visa will be made available to the candidates with the highest ranking. Within three months, they must submit the entire application.

Important prerequisites for FSWP applicants

Candidates must meet the requirements below in order to be accepted into the Express Entry Pool as Federal Skilled Workers:

  • Have 1 year of paid full-time work experience or 10 years of part-time job equivalent in any of the 347 qualified occupations listed under the NOC - National Occupational Classification system.
  • The job experience must be categorized as one of the following Skill Types under the NOC system:
  • Managerial Jobs: Skill Level 0
  • A Skill Level for Professional Occupations
  • B Skill Level for Skilled Trades and Technical Occupations
  • Achieve sufficient scores on the 6-factor point grid for skilled workers, where the current passing score is 67 points.
  • Pass a test to demonstrate intermediate-level French or Spanish language proficiency administered by an authorized third party.
  • Level 7 of the Canadian Language Benchmark for English
  • Have sufficient cash to move to Canada.
  • Pass a successful medical and security background check

The Federal Skilled Workers Program seeks to choose applicants who have the best chance of settling down and bolstering the national economy. It does have criteria that are comparable to the previous immigration program, but it also adjusts the relative weighting and point structure for each of the selected variables.

FSW calculator at 67 points

To be accepted, FSWP applicants must meet the necessary language and work experience requirements. In order to qualify for FSWP, they must also receive at least 67 points overall. Language proficiency, education, age, occupation, adaptability, and a job offer from Canada are all given points.

Education - Maximum 25 points

For this factor, you can get up to 25 points, and the highest score is given for a doctoral degree. An authorized third party will evaluate overseas credentials to determine their Canadian equivalent. The distribution of points is depending on how equivalent the credentials are. International Credential Evaluation Service of Canada and the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto's Comparative Education Service are authorized organizations for assessment.

  • Canadian Medical Council
  • International Education Services

Language - Maximum 28 points

Only candidates with a high to intermediate level of French or English proficiency will be taken into consideration. Candidates who meet the minimum requirement will receive at least 16 points for the language element. A maximum of 24 points may be given for higher language competency.

The benefits of being bilingual are of negligible value for someone looking to establish themselves economically in Canada. The most recent point system caps the score for second official language competency at 4.

Work Experience: 15 points maximum

For qualification, the experience must be at least one year and no more than six years.

Maximum 12 points for Age

Candidates between the ages of 35 and 18 will receive a maximum of 12 points. The allocation is reduced by 1 point for every additional year over 35 years, and there is no allocation after 47 years.

Arranged Employment – Maximum 10 points

This qualifies those who have received a legitimate job offer from Canada. To simplify labor market procedures and shorten processing periods for prospective employees and their employers, the Arranged Employment Opinion process has been replaced with the Labour Market Opinion employment validation process. Processing applications for Canada Work Visas typically uses LMO.

To validate the job offer and receive points toward these criteria for selection, the candidate’s prospective employer must meet a number of requirements. Employers are required to demonstrate to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada that hiring foreign workers will have a favorable or no effect on the labor market. Candidates will receive 10 points for this factor if they have a legitimate employment offer. Additionally, they receive an additional 5 points under the adaptability selection criteria, bringing their total up to 15.

Adaptability: 10 points maximum

The maximum number of points will be awarded to candidates who have a minimum of one year of full-time work experience in Canada in a skilled trade, technical, professional, or managerial occupation. As previously indicated, a legitimate employment offer will result in an additional 5 points under adaptability.

In addition, the following factors give applicants additional points:

  • A close adult relative who lives abroad
  • Applicant or spouse holds Canadian educational credentials
  • The spouse has worked in Canada in the past.
  • The spouse is conversant in at least one of the nation's official languages.

How do I use the FSWP to apply for a PR visa?

Candidates who are interested must first submit an Express Entry profile to IRCC. The candidates' eligibility for a Canada PR visa is not guaranteed by the submission of their profiles. Upon submitting their profiles to Express Entry, they will receive CRS scores, and in following Express Entry drawings, they will be given consideration for ITAs for PR Visas.

When submitting a profile through FSWP for Express Entry, you must include the following documents:

Assessment of Educational Credentials (ECA)

You must provide a credit report to ECA proving the superiority of foreign degrees over Canadian equivalents. Five organizations in Canada are permitted to publish ECA reports. For certificates earned from Canadian educational institutions, this is not required.

Results of Language Proficiency Tests

Every applicant for the FSWP is expected to provide the results of a language test they have taken within the last two years. The IELTS and CELPIP have recognized assessments for English language proficiency. The TEF - Test d'évaluation de Franais and TCF Canada - Test de connaissance du franais pour le Canada - are recognized exams for the French language.

Identification-Providing Documents

When completing a profile in Express Entry through FSWP, you must include information from your identification documents. You should have a current passport, along with those of any member of your family who will be traveling with you.

You will go on to the next application stage once you are successful in acquiring the ITA for the PR visa. You have 60 days during this phase to prepare and submit an EPAR or electronic Permanent Resident Application. It involves the ongoing documenting process.