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Federal Skilled Worker Program

Federal Skilled Worker Program

FSWP - Federal Skilled Workers Program for Canada immigration is managed by IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) under the Express Entry System. The candidates in the Express Entry pool who secure the highest CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) scores are offered the ITA (Invitations to Apply) for Canada PR Visa through the FSWP. The candidates who receive the ITA must submit the complete application to the IRCC within the specified timeline.

The Federal Skilled Workers Program has its system of points based on diverse factors. It is designed to demonstrate if the applicant can successfully settle in Canada along with dependents if any. Ideally, applicants must have the experience and skills that are well-matched with the in-demand occupations.

The rules for selection favor applicants having job offers approved by the Government of Canada. It implemented the system of Express Entry Immigration from 1st January 2015 under the Economic Class consisting of the FSWP and other programs.

What are the requirements for FSWP?

The minimum requirements for applicants under FSWP are:

  • Skilled work experience
  • Ability in Language
  • Education

You must fulfill all the minimum requirements to become eligible to apply for the program.

What is the eligibility for FSWP?

Once you fulfill all the specified minimum requirements, IRCC will then assess your application based on:

Education
  • Age
  • Work experience
  • If you have a lawful offer of a job
  • Language skills in English and/or French
  • Adaptability - how good you are expected to settle in the country
  • The above factors are a part of the point grid having 100 points for assessing your eligibility for FSWP. You get scores for how well you perform under each of the six factors. The minimum mark for passing is IRCC makes use of the points for selection factors for assessing your eligibility for the FSWP. After you enter the pool of Express Entry, it uses a different system for ranking your profile.

    Eligible occupations under Federal Skilled Worker Program

    Federal Skilled Workers are individuals with suitable age, work experience, age, and language proficiency in English or French. They are chosen through the system of Express Entry Immigration to apply for a Canadian Permanent Resident Visa.

    Federal Skilled Workers in 347 eligible occupations who fulfill the minimum criteria for entry can submit an Expression of Interest - EOI profile under the Express Entry System. The profiles of candidates are then ranked through a CRS - Comprehensive Ranking System.

    The candidates who get the highest rank will be offered an ITA for Canada PR Visa. They must submit the complete application within 3 months.

    Essential Conditions for FSWP applicants

    Applicants who wish to enter the Express Entry Pool as Federal Skilled Workers are required to fulfill the following criteria:

    Have 1 year of paid full-time work experience or part-time equivalent continuous employment in the last 10 years in any of the 347 eligible occupations specified under the system of NOC - National Occupational Classification

    The work experience must be classified as a Skill Type within the system of NOC as any one of the below categories:

    • Managerial Occupations - 0 Skill Level
    • Professional Occupations - A Skill Level
    • Skilled Trades and Technical Occupations - B Skill Level
    • Secure adequate scores in the points grid for skilled workers that consists of 6 factors for selection and the current passing score is 67 points.
    • Take a language test from an authorised third party and prove language skills at an intermediate level in French or
      English corresponding to level 7 CLB - Canadian Language Benchmark
    • Have adequate funds for settling in Canada
    • Under go medical and security background examination successfully

    Federal Skilled Workers Program aims to choose the candidates with the maximum potential for successful economic settlement and supporting the economy of the nation. It does have criteria similar to the previous immigration program and modifies the comparative importance and structure of points for each of the factors for selection.

    67 points Calculator for FSW

    Applicants under the FSWP are required to possess adequate language proficiency and work experience for getting selected. They must also score at least 67 under the point's grid for FSWP. Points are allocated for language, education, age, employment, adaptability, and a job offer in Canada.

    Education - Maximum25 points

    You can score a maximum of 25 points for this factor and the maximum score is allocated for a Doctoral Degree. Overseas credentials will be assessed by an authorised third party for determining their Canadian equivalency. Points are allocated based on the equivalence of the credentials. Authorised organisations for assessment are:

    • International Credential Assessment Service of CanadaM
    • School of Continuing Studies, University of Toronto: Comparative Education ServiceM
    • Medical Council of CanadaM
    • World Education ServicesM
    Language - Maximum28 points

    Only those applicants who can demonstrate a high to intermediate level of proficiency in French or English will be considered. Applicants who fulfil the minimum threshold will secure a minimum of 16 points for the language factor. Higher proficiency in language can result in the allocation of a maximum of 24 points.

    The advantages of bilingualism are offered minimal importance for an individual to successfully settle economically in Canada. The latest points system restricts the score for proficiency in a second official language to a maximum of 4.

    Work Experience - Maximum 15 points

    A minimum of year experience is required for qualifying and a maximum of 6 years is considered. Age - Maximum12 points A maximum of 12 points will be offered for candidates in the age range of 35 to 18 years. Each increasing year above 35 years will decrease the allocation by 1 point and 0 are allocated from 47 years onwards.

federal-skilled-worker-program-1
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Arranged Employment - Maximum10 points

Individuals who have a lawful offer of a job in Canada can get points for this factor. The Arranged Employment Opinion process has been replaced with the employment validation process of Labor Market Opinion to streamline processes related to the labor market and reduce processing times for the potential employees and their employers. LMO is usually adopted in processing applications for Canada Work Visa.

The proposed employer of the candidate is required to fulfil certain conditions for validating the job offer and obtaining points under this factor for selection. The employer must prove to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada that the recruitment of overseas workers will have a positive or nil economic impact on the labor market.

Candidates with a valid job offer will obtain 10 points through this factor. They also incur extra 5 points under the selection factor of Adaptability taking the total to 15.

Adaptability - Maximum 10 points

Applicants with a minimum of 1 year of full-time work experience in Canada in a Skilled trade, Technical, Professional or Managerial occupation will be offered maximum points. As stated already, a valid job offer will incur extra 5 points under Adaptability.

Other considerations that incur points to applicants under his factor are:

  • A close adult relative residing in the country
  • Spouse or Applicant has Canadian education credentials
  • Spouse has past work experience in Canada
  • Spouse has acquaintance in one of the official languages of the country
Canada PR Visa Point grid

The first and foremost of the selection criteria is that applicants must clear the minimum pass mark of The following lists will give you an idea of how much you can score in this assessment according to your profile particulars.

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

The following list will acquaint you with the score you can obtain in each segment.

Listening Reading Writing Speaking Max Points
8 7 7 7 24
7.5 7 7 7 23
8 6.5 7 6.5 22
8 7 6 6 20
7.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 20
6 6 6 6 16

This is one of the most important factors in the candidate assessment and candidates can score highly to boost their chances. The following list will give you an idea of the scoring system:

Master's level or professional degree 23 Points
Qualification Points
Doctoral level 25 Points
Two or more post-secondary credentials, one of which is a three-year or longer post-secondary credential 22 Points
Three-year or longer post-secondary credential 21 Points
Two-year post-secondary credential 19 Points
One-year post-secondary credential 15 Points
Secondary school 5 Points
Secondary school not completed 0 Point
Experience in years Points
Six years or more 15 points
Four years 13 points
Two years 11 points
One year 9 points
Arranged Employment Points
You have a permanent job offer from a Canadian employer, approved by the HRSDC 10 points
You have a permanent job offer from a Canadian employer, without the necessity of HRSDC approval, if you are employed in Canada by the same employer Additional Points 10 points

If you are immigrating with your spouse, then your application can get extra points if your spouse scores above CLB 4. You will receive 5 additional adaptability points as a principle applicant.

  • Relative in Canada 18 years or over (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 residing in Canada and is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident - 5 Points
  • Accompanying spouse/partner's official language (CLB/NCLC 4) -5 Points