Skilled Workers and Professionals

Skilled workers are selected as permanent residents based on their education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French, and other criteria that have been shown to help them become economically established in Canada.

All the information and forms you need to apply as a federal skilled worker are in the web site of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

The rules for applying as a federal skilled worker can change from time to time without notice, so make sure you visit this site regularly if you are considering immigrating to Canada under this category.

Who can apply?

Skilled workers are people who are selected as permanent residents based on their ability to become economically established in Canada.

Federal skilled worker applications are assessed for eligibility according to the criteria set out below.

For your application to be eligible for processing, you must:

• include the results of your official language proficiency test, AND
• have a valid offer of arranged employment, OR
• have one year of continuous full-time paid work experience in at least one of the occupations listed below:

0631   Restaurant and Food Service Managers
0811   Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)
1122   Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
1233   Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
2121   Biologists and Related Scientists
2151   Architects
3111   Specialist Physicians
3112   General Practitioners and Family Physicians
3113   Dentists
3131   Pharmacists
3142   Physiotherapists
3152   Registered Nurses
3215   Medical Radiation Technologists
3222   Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
3233   Licensed Practical Nurses
4151   Psychologists
4152   Social Workers
6241   Chefs
6242   Cooks
7215   Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
7216   Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades
7241   Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System)
7242   Industrial Electricians
7251   Plumbers
7265   Welders & Related Machine Operators
7312   Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
7371   Crane Operators
7372   Drillers & Blasters - Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction
8222   Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service

Work experience requirements

Your work experience must be:

• for at least one year, continuous, and paid (full-time or the equivalent in part-time), AND
• Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or Skill Level A (professional occupations) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades) on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC) list, AND
• within the last 10 years.

If you meet the above minimum requirements, your application will be processed according to the six selection factors in the skilled worker points grid, which are:

• your education
• your abilities in English and/or French, Canada’s two official languages
• your work experience
• your age
• whether you have arranged employment in Canada, and
• your adaptability.

You must also show that you have enough money to support yourself and your dependants after you arrive in Canada.

Note: If you are applying under one of the 29 eligible occupations, as of July 1, 2011, a maximum of 10,000 Federal Skilled Worker applications will be considered for processing in the following 12 months. Within the 10,000 cap, a maximum of 500 federal skilled worker applications per eligible occupation will be considered for processing each year.

These limits do not apply to applications with an offer of arranged employment.

If you are not sure if you should apply as a skilled worker, you can:

• use the eligibility tool to get an idea of whether your application would be eligible for processing, then
• try a self-assessment test to see if you might earn enough points to qualify.