Federal Skilled Worker
Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Program
Significant changes have been made to the Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Program over the last few years. There are now two categories under which applicants may be eligible to apply for the Skilled Worker Program:
- Workers with at least one year of full-time experience in one of the 29 professions identified by The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration
- Workers who have an arranged employment offer with a Canadian employer
The Minister's new list of professions includes:
- Biologists and related scientists
- Dentists
- Pharmacists
- Physiotherapists
- Medical radiation technologists
To determine whether an individual's work experience over the last 10 years matches one of the professions above, CIC assesses his/her information against the National Occupational Classification (NOC) job descriptions. For more information, you may visit the website or contact one of our Advisors at Pace Law Firm.
Skilled Worker Application Requirements
In the past, applicants with a high level of proficiency in the English or French languages were able to provide written submissions requesting exemption from the requirement to take exams. Now it is mandatory for all applicants, even native speakers, to submit the results from an approved exam to demonstrate their language abilities. For English, applicants must write the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) general training exam.
Prior to June 26, 2010, the Canadian government's policy was to process all skilled worker applications. This policy resulted in an unmanageable inventory of applications and very long processing times. The wait had reached six or seven years at some visa offices. To reduce this problem, the Minister has introduced a cap — a limit of 10,000 skilled worker applications per year, a maximum of 500 applications per profession. Once the cap has been reached for the prescribed period, Immigration will return all supplementary applications. The cap does not apply to workers seeking employment-based immigration with an arranged employment offer.
Timing and Eligibility
The guidelines for high-demand skilled occupations are very precise, and we recommend checking the CIC web site to determine if your occupation is listed. The Provincial Nominee Program may be a more appropriate avenue in some cases. Interested employers or workers are encouraged to read our Provincial Nominee Program page.
If you would like a preliminary assessment of your case, contact Melanie Appelt at Pace Law Firm. We represent clients throughout Canada and internationally.
