Immigration to Canada through the Federal Skilled Worker Program

The Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) is one of the three federal immigration programs to Canada that is operated through the Express Entry system. It is designed for people who want to move to Canada as skilled professionals.

Minimum requirements

To be eligible as a skilled candidate, you must meet the following requirements:

• at least 1 year of full-time work experience or 2 years of part-time work experience (a total of 1,560 hours) within the past 10 years in a skilled occupation of NOC TEER 0, 1, 2, or 3 jobs categories;
• English or French ability at the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) level 7 or higher;
• minimum high school education;
• intention to live outside the province of Quebec;
• enough money to support yourself and your family members (see below);
• at least 67 points out of 100 on the candidate evaluation scale (see below).

Selection factors

In order to pass the requirements of this program, you must score 67 points out of 100 on the following factors:

• English and/or French ability;
• education;
• work experience;
• age;
• adaptability in Canada;
• job offer in Canada.

Do not confuse these points with points in the Canadian Express Entry processing system. You must first meet the requirements of the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and only then apply for Express Entry.

Work experience (up to 15 points)

• 1 year of work experience — 9 points;
• 2-3 years — 11 points;
• 4-5 years — 13 points;
• 6 years — 15 points.

Language ability (up to 28 points)

Points for this factor are awarded for each skill, they need to be added up:

Education (up to 25 points)

• high school education — 5 points;
• one-year degree — 15 points;
• two-year degree — 19 points;
• bachelor's degree — 21 points;
• master's degree — 23 points;
• PhD — 25 points.

Age (up to 12 points)

The maximum number of points (12) can be obtained between the ages of 18-35. After that, the points drop. After the age of 47, no points are awarded.

Job offer in Canada (10 points)

If you receive a job offer from a Canadian employer, you receive 10 points. But you can immigrate without a job offer if you score high enough on other criteria.

Adaptability in Canada (up to 10 points)

You can get 5 points for the following factors:

• your spouse or common-in-law partner has a CLB 4 or higher language ability;
• you have studied in Canada for at least 2 years;
• your spouse or partner has studied in Canada for at least 2 years;
• your spouse or partner has worked in Canada for at least 1 year;
• you have a job offer in Canada;
• you have relatives in Canada.

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If you have 1 year of work experience in Canada, you will get 10 points.

Check out how many points you can score in the Federal Skilled Worker Program with our free score calculator.

Proof of funds

You must show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada. You don't need proof of funds if you have a work permit in Canada and a job offer from a Canadian employer.

How to apply

If you meet all of the above requirements, you should create a profile in Express Entry.