If you are interested in immigrating and working in Canada, there are a few different ways to realize your dream depending on your situation. For skilled workers in certain occupations, the Canadian Federal Skilled Workers program may be the best option.
Federal Skilled Worker Program
The Federal Skilled Workers (FSW) program was introduced into the Canadian immigration system in 2002. This program was, and continues to be, intended to welcome workers who display sufficient skills to adapt to the dynamic labor market associated with the Canadian economy. global and local. Since 2002, the Canadian government has determined various occupations deemed eligible for immigration under this program based on current and long-term gaps in the Canadian labor market. About 240,000 immigrants per year were selected and admitted to Canada under this category between 2002 and 2008. In 2010, the Canadian government decided to review its immigration policies and reduced the number of eligible occupations to 29. To be eligible, applicants must have At least 1 year of continuous, paid work experience in one of the eligible occupations.
A point based system
The FSW program is a points-based system similar to those in place in countries like the UK or Australia. Skilled workers who have experience in an eligible occupation are selected based on their ability to become economically established in Canada. The following criteria are considered:
•Age
•Education
•Work experience
•Knowledge of English and/or French
•Other criteria such as previous studies or work in Canada
To be selected in this category, you must obtain a minimum of 67 points.
The whole process takes about a year, depending on the country you apply from, which is quite long compared to processing times in other countries for similar programs, but if you are selected, you will be granted permanent residency and you will be allowed to apply for Canadian citizenship afterwards. only 3 years of continuous residence in Canada.
Annual limits
In June 2010, the government introduced annual caps to prevent over-representation of any occupation on the list. They have determined that a maximum of 20,000 federal skilled worker applications would be considered for processing annually. Within this cap, a maximum of 1,000 federal skilled worker applications per eligible occupation would also be considered to be processed each year. As of June 21, 2011, 12,682 of the total limit of 20,000 applications have been received. Even if the overall limit has not been reached, some professions and occupations have reached the 1000 limit very quickly compared to others. The ones that reach the top the fastest are:
• Health care professions such as: nurses, dentists, pharmacists;
• Food and Restaurant Managers; Y
• Professional business and management occupations such as ISO consultants, advertising account executives, business management consultants, business method analysts, and promotion specialists.
June 30, 2011: a key date!
On June 30, 2011, the annual cap will reset to zero for all eligible occupancies, including those that have been closed for a while. If you are interested in immigrating to Canada under the Federal Skilled Worker program, now is more than ever the time to apply!
If your occupation is one of the fast disappearing occupations, applying as soon as June 30 will secure your place in the queue and therefore ensure your application is processed before your occupation closes for processing.
Our advice to you? Apply as soon as you’re sure you’re eligible, but only once you’ve gathered all of your supporting documents. Otherwise, your application may be delayed or worse, rejected and returned.
Exception
If you have a valid job offer from a prospective Canadian employer, the above limits will not apply to you, meaning you will be allowed to apply even if the limit for your occupation has been reached. You can even improve your chances of getting your application approved by earning extra points.
For more immigration advice and assistance
If you are looking to immigrate to Canada and think you may be eligible under this category, please contact VisaWise at [email protected] or +44 (0) 203 012 2312 for a free eligibility assessment and further information on the process.
