The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) is Canada’s express entry program, which allows foreign skilled workers to settle in Canada with a permanent residency to fulfill the national workforce & economic needs of the province.
It uses a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to rank the candidates who wish to settle in Canada. Unlike the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates, Federal Skilled Workers are not required to have Canadian work experience to enter the Express Entry pool. Instead, candidates must meet a minimum points requirement based on factors such as work experience, language ability, and education. Once in the pool, candidates with the most CRS scores will receive ITA for Canadian PR.
FSWP Process:
- At the very first step candidate needs to find out if he meets the FSWP’s eligibility criteria.
- After that submit your Express Entry profile on the IRCC website.
- IRCC holds Express Entry draws every two weeks. So the candidate needs to wait for an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence.
- If you receive an ITA, you have to submit the completed PR application to IRCC. After IRCC completes the processing of the application, the candidate can migrate to Canada.
Eligibility Criteria:
To get eligible to apply for FSWP, candidates must meet the minimum requirements for work, language ability, education and should have at least 67 points under the program’s 100 point grid.
The minimum requirements are:
- One year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in the past 10 years in a skilled occupation classified under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level 0, A or B;
- Validated language ability equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 in English or French across all abilities (reading, writing, listening, and speaking); and
- Canadian educational credential (certificate, diploma, or degree) or foreign credential and Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report.
- Get at least 67 out of 100 points on the FSWP grid. The program’s grid assesses candidates based on factors that include age, education, work experience, arranged employment, language ability, and adaptability.
Once you are eligible, you can enter the Express Entry pool. Candidate profiles in the Express Entry pool, including Federal Skilled Trades and Canadian Experience Class candidates, ranked on the basis of CRS score.
FSWP selection factors:
Factors | Points |
Education | Up to 25 points |
Language Skills | Up to 28 points |
Work Experience | Up to 15 points |
Age | Up to 12 points |
Arranged Employment | Up to 10 points |
Adaptability | Up to 10 points |
If the candidate successfully receives an Express Entry invitation to apply for permanent residence, he will be asked to submit the following documents under the FSWP:
- appropriate application forms, signed and completed;
- appropriate Canadian government processing fees;
- identity and civil status documents;
- travel documents and passports;
- evidence of education training/professional qualifications;
- evidence of work experience;
- IELTS or CELPIP and/or TEF or TCF Canada results or;
- Canadian educational credential assessment;
- evidence of Arranged Employment, if applicable;
- evidence of points claimed, if any, under the adaptability factor;
- police certificates and clearances;
- proof of settlement funds.
All candidates who receive an invitation to apply are also required to submit the following supporting documents along with their e-application:
- Valid passport
- Language test results
- Documentation attesting to work experience
- Police clearance certificate(s)
- Upfront medical information tracking sheet
- Photographs of principal applicant and family members
It is important to note that many Canadian Immigration Visa Offices have specific document requirements that must be respected to avoid having an application returned, delayed, or even refused.
Under the FSWP, the following family members may include in the application:
- the principal applicant’s spouse or common-law partner;
- the principal applicant’s dependent children and the dependent children of the accompanying spouse or common-law partner, up to 22 years of age;
- the dependent children of the principal applicant’s dependent children, and the dependent children of the dependent children of the accompanying spouse or common-law partner.
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