Ferderal Skilled Workers

There are six selection factors for Federal Skilled Workers including:

• your skills in English and/or French (Canada’s two official languages),
• your education,
• your work experience,
• your age,
• whether you have a valid job offer, and
• your adaptability (how well you are likely to settle here).

Skilled work experience

Your work experience must be:

• at least one year (1,560 hours total / 30 hours per week), continuous full-time or an equal amount in part-time,
• paid work (volunteer work, unpaid internships do not count),
• in the same job,
• within the last 10 years, and
• at skill type 0, or skill levels A or B of the 2011 National Occupational Classification (NOC).

You must show that you did the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC, including all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.

Language ability

You must:

• meet the minimum language level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7, and
• take a language test approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) that shows you meet the level for speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Education

You must have:

• a Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree, Or
• a completed foreign credential, and
• an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from n agency approved by CIC. The report must show your foreign education is equal to a completed Canadian secondary (high school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree.

Proof of funds

You must show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada, unless you:

• are currently able to legally work in Canada, and
• have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada.

Principal applicant

If you are married or live with a common-law foreign national partner in Canada, and that person also meets the above conditions, you can decide which one of you will apply under Express Entry as a principal applicant.

Look at each selection factor and see which one of you is most likely to meet the eligibility requirements and earn the most points. That person should apply as the principal applicant.