Federal Skilled Worker Program is one of the most significant sources of inviting skilled and qualified migrants to Canada. The program allows high Canada PR points holders to live and work in Canada with their families. FSW was running smoothly until the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic hit Canada and paused its application processing. Since December 2020, no FSW draws have been conducted by IRCC. But, Canada will resume Express Entry draws for FSW and CEC applicants in early July 2022.

What is a Federal Skilled Worker Program?

The FSW program is for skilled foreign workers who wish to immigrate to Canada based on their work experience and qualifications. It is one of the three programs run by Canada’s Express Entry system to process economic migration programs. The best part about the FSW program is that it permitsforeigners with no Canadianwork experience and no connections/or sponsorship to apply for permanent residency.

However, all FSW applicants must score Canada express entry minimum points, which is 67 out of 100, to enter the express entry pool. Apart from this, they must score well in age, work experience, language skills, and education. Once a candidate enters the pool, their profile is ranked against other applicants, where the highest-scoring ones will receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence in Canada.

Eligibility criteria for Federal Skilled Worker Program

To be eligible for the FSW program, a candidate must:

• Meet minimum requirements of years of experience, education, age, and English or French language proficiency
• Have at least one year of continuous, full-time, skilled work experience completed in the last ten years.
• Your work experience must be Skill Type 0, Skill Level A, or Level B.
• Have a minimum of a Canadian high school diploma or the equivalent in foreign education.
• Have sufficient funds to support yourself and your dependents when you move to Canada
• Meet Canada’s basic admissibility requirements

Steps to apply for the FSW program

Foreign nationals interested in Canada immigration must start by lodging an expression of interest to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Please note that it’s the first step towards attaining your PR in Canada. Submitting a profile does not guarantee your ITA as it depends on your CRS score and how well you meet other eligibility requirements.

You need the following documents for the federal skilled worker program:

• Educational credential assessment documents
• Language test results
• Identification related documents
• Medical examination and character certificate

If a candidate receives an Invitation to Apply, they can move on to the next step of submitting an official application for permanent residence. In this stage, they have 60 calendar days to submit their application that requires further documentation.

Processing time for an FSW application?

A federal skilled worker program application in the Express Entry pool remain valid for one year. The standard processing time for FSW applications is six months from the time the application is received by the Canadian authorities to the issuance of a permanent residence visa.