Can I apply for Permanent Residence under Federal Skilled Worker Program

Federal Skilled Worker Program through Express Entry

Under the Express Entry, Federal Skilled Workers can apply for permanent residency as long as they meet the minimum requirements set by government of Canada. So if you are skilled worker and your occupation falls under list of eligible occupations and you meet the minimum entry requirements you can create and Express Entry Profile and submit your profile for possible selection from the Express Entry Pool. Once you submit your profile online you are ranked under the Comprehensive Ranking System amongst other potential candidates in the pool. Candidates with the highest points receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence. Should you receive the invitation to apply you have 90 days to submit all your supporting documents. So whatever you claimed during the time you created your Express Entry Profile you now have 90 days to provide all the supporting documents. When creating an Express Entry Profile make sure you do not lie on your application because you will be asked to provide evidence once selected.

Federal Skilled Requirements

To qualify as a Federal Skilled Worker you need to meet certain requirements set by CIC. You have to remember CIC selects highly educated persons to ensure the foreign applicants that are selected can contribute to Canadian labour market. Below will discuss requirements you need to meet under Federal Skilled Worker Program.

Work Experience:

• Having one-year continuous full-time paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time employment within the past 10 years.
• Your work experience must fall under one of the 347 list of eligible occupations that is listed under the National Occupational Code (NOC).
• The work experience must be classified within Skill Type 0 which include managerial occupations, Skill Level A which include professional occupations or Skill Level B which include technical occupations and skilled trades

Language Ability:

• Meet minimum language levels in either English or French that corresponds to the Canadian Language Benchmark of 7.
• This is done by completing a language test which is approved by citizenship and immigration Canada (CIC).
• The language test much show you meet level for speaking, listening, reading and writing.
• Once you complete the test you include your test results with your Express Entry Profile. The test results cannot be older than two years on the day you apply for permanent residence.

Education:

• Have either high-school or college certificate, diploma or degree, if you do not have Canadian education then your foreign education must be equal to a completed Canadian secondary or post-secondary education. This is done by completing an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) approved by CIC.

Also, as the foreign applicant you must possess suitable settlement funding and go through a medical and police clearance checkups to ensure you have no inadmissibility issues.

Federal Skilled Worker Six Selection Factors

When meeting the minimum requirements then as the suitable candidate you are evaluated against six selection factors to determine your eligibility to immigrate to Canada. As the eligible candidate you must score at least 67 points out of a possible 100 points to qualify. The selection factors include the following below:

• Language ability in English or French
• Education
• Work Experience
• Age
• Arranged employment
• Adaptability

The purpose of the Express Entry is to pick out the best candidates that will have the high chance of settling in Canada and at the same time able to contribute to the Canadian economy.

Point Grid for each Selection Factor

Language: the minimum points you can get is 16 and maximum of 28 points. To be considered as the applicant you must demonstrate an intermediate to high level proficiency in either English or French. If you are bilingual you can get maximum of 4 points for bilingualism

The benefits of bilingualism are considered marginal to an individual’s successful economic establishment in Canada and the new point system limits points for a second official language to a maximum of 4.

Education: the maximum number of points you can get for education is 25 points usually awarded for applicants with doctoral degrees. The minimum points you can get for education is 5 points for high school graduates.

If you did not complete your education in Canada your foreign credentials will be evaluated by a designated third party to determine their Canadian equivalent and points will be awarded based on that equivalence. These organizations have to be approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Work Experience: You can get a minimum of 9 points and maximum of 15 points for work experience. You are required to have at least one year work experience to qualify and the maximum consideration is 6 years or more to get awarded 15 points.

Age: the applicant can get maximum of 12 points from ages 18 to 35 years of age. Each year above the age of 35 will reduce the points by 1, with no points being awarded as of age 47. For example for age of 36 you 11 points, age of 37 you get 10 points etc.

Arranged Employment: If you have an employer in Canada that has offered you full-time arranged employment you can get 10 points. If you do not have arranged employment then you simply do not get any points for that category. Points are only given to persons with validated offer of employment in Canada. To validate an employment offer and obtain points for arranged employment, the candidate’s employer must demonstrate to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada that hiring the foreign worker will have great economic benefits for the Canadian labour market. So if you have an employer that has validated employment offer for you, you can get 10 points under this category and an additional 5 points in the Adaptability selection factor for total of 15 points.

Adaptability: The applicant can get maximum of 10 points for adaptability. So if you have at least one year of full-time Canadian work experience in a managerial, professional, technical or skilled trade occupation you will be awarded maximum points of 10. If you have validated employment offer from an employer in Canada you get additional 5 points for adaptability. You also get points for relatives that live in Canada, if you or your spouse studied in Canada, your spouse has previous Canadian work experience, your spouse had knowledge in either English or French.

Federal Skilled Worker Selection Grid

Factor	Your Score	Final
EDUCATION		MAX POINT 25
(Canadian equivalence established by a designated third party)
Doctorate		25
Master’s or professional degree		23
Two or more post-secondary degrees, of which one is three years or longer		22
Two or more post-secondary degrees, of which one is three years or longer		21
A two-year post-secondary diploma, trade certificate or apprenticeship		19
A one-year post-secondary diploma, trade certificate or apprenticeship		15
Secondary School Educational Credential		5
LANGUAGE ABILITY (speak, read, write, listen)		MAX 2 POINTS 28
First Language	Very high proficiency (per ability) (CLB 9)	6
	High proficiency (per ability) (CLB 8)	5
	Intermediate proficiency (per ability) (CLB 7)* *Minimum threshold required to apply	4
	Basic or no proficiency	0
	Possible maximum (all four abilities)	24
Second Language	Basic proficiency or higher (per ability)	1
	No proficiency	0
	Possible maximum (all four abilities)	4
WORK EXPERIENCE (NOC Skill Level 0,A,B)		MAX POINTS 15
One year* *Minimum threshold required to apply		9
Two to three years		11
Four to five years		13
Six years or more		15
AGE		MAX POINTS 12
Under 18		0
18-35 Years		12
36		11
37		10
38		9
39		8
40		7
41		6
42		5
43		4
44		3
45		2
46		1
47		0
ARRANGED EMPLOYMENT IN CANADA		MAX POINTS 10
HRSDC-confirmed permanent offer of employment		10
Applicants from within Canada holding a temporary work permit that is:
Validated by HRSDC, including sectoral confirmations		10
Exempt from HRSDC validation under international agreements (e.g., NAFTA)		10
ADAPTABILITY		MAX POINTS 10
Applicant has a minimum of 1 year skilled Work experience in Canada		10
Applicant has previously studied in Canada		5
Spouse has previously studied in Canada		5
Spouse has previously worked in Canada		5
Family relation over the age of 18 in Canada		5
Arranged employment		5
Spouse is proficient in an official language		5
TOTAL POINTS		100

Contact Akrami & Associates

Submitting any permanent residence application through Express Entry can be very tedious and complicated. To ensure you have higher chance to get selected by Citizenship and Immigration for the Federal Skilled Worker Program under Express Entry then contact Akrami & Associates today at 416-477-2545. Our immigration experts have submitted many successful Express Entry applications and have helped foreign nationals obtain permanent residency in Canada. To avoid errors or delays in your application or to see which economic route will work best in your favour then contact us today!!

With Akrami & Associates there is always a way!!