FSW Minimum Requirements

The Federal Skilled Worker Program is geared towards filling job shortages through foreign skilled labour. The FSW program is a means for highly educated and skilled foreign professionals to obtain permanent residence status in Canada, provided their occupation falls on the list of valid occupations for the program.

There are a number of things an officer reviewing your application will be looking for. Making sure that you meet the criteria and demonstrate it to the officer’s satisfaction will ensure a positive outcome. Below is a list of minimum requirements:

• The applicant must have at least one year of continuous full-time paid work experience or the continuous part-time equivalent
• Experience will be in the category of Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B, according to the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC).

The work experience which will be assessed for all skilled worker applicants must:

• have occurred within the 10 years preceding the date of application;
• not be in an occupation that is considered a restricted occupation

Further, when considering your work experience, you will need to have:

• Performed the actions described in the lead statement for the occupation (or occupations) as set out in the occupational description of the NOC
• Performed a substantial number of the main duties, including all of the essential duties, of the occupation as set out in the occupational description of the NOC

Should you satisfy the officer that you meet these minimum requirements, your application will move to the second step of assessing the merits of your application against the selection criteria:

• Education
• Language proficiency
• Experience
• Age
• Arranged employment
• Adaptability

In addition to these selection factors, you will also need to demonstrate that you have sufficient funds available to adapt to life and settle in Canada successfully. The funds you demonstrate will need to be:

• Available and transferable
• Unencumbered by debts

The amount of funds that you will need to demonstrate for settlement in Canada changes each year. It is based on an assessment done by Statistics Canada.

Number of family members	Funds required
1	$11 115
2	$13 837
3	$17 011
4	$20 654
5	$23 425
6	$26 419
7 or more	$29 414

You do not have to show that you have these funds if:

• you have a valid offer of arranged employment in Canada AND
• you are currently working or authorized to work in Canada.

Further, it is a good idea to research how much it costs to live in the place where you plan to settle in Canada.