Immigrate to Canada as a Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)

The Federal Skilled Worker (Express Entry) program is for skilled workers with foreign work experience who want to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents. This program has minimum requirements for skilled work experience, language ability, and education. However, you must meet all the requirements to be eligible for the program.

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In case you meet all the minimum requirements, they will assess your application based on age, education, work experience, a valid job offer, English and/or French language skills, and adaptability.

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Skilled work experience means working in one of the National Occupational Classification (NOC) job groups including Managerial jobs (skill type 0), Professional jobs (skill level A), and Technical jobs and skilled trades (skill level B).

 

Further, your skilled work experience must be:

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• in the same type of job (have the same NOC) as the job you want to use for your immigration application (called your primary occupation)

• within the last 10 years

• paid work (have been paid wages or earned commission—volunteer work or unpaid internships don’t count)

• at least 1 year of continuous work or 1,560 hours total (30 hours per week)—you can meet this in a few different ways:

  • full-time at 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full-time (1,560 hours)

  • equal amount in part-time work: for example, 15 hours/week for 24 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours). You can work as many part-time jobs as you need to meet this requirement

  • full-time at more than 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months at more than 1 job = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
     

For the requirements of language ability, you must take approved language tests in English or French for writing, reading, listening, and speaking. You must also get a minimum score of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 in all 4 abilities and enter the test results in your Express Entry profile.

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If you completed school in Canada, you must have a certificate, diploma, or degree from a Canadian secondary institution (high school) or post-secondary institution. If you also completed outside Canada, you must have a completed credential, and an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for immigration purposes from a designated organization showing that your education is equal to a completed certificate, diploma, or degree from a Canadian secondary institution (high school) or post-secondary institution.