Check your eligibility for Canada PR through FSWP

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act [S.C. 2001, c. 27] defines a permanent resident of Canada as “a person who has acquired permanent resident status and has not subsequently lost that status under Section 46”.

Put simply, a permanent resident or PR of Canada is a person who despite having legally migrated to Canada, is not yet a citizen of Canada.

Skilled workers that wish to take up permanent residency in Canada will have to proceed through the Express Entry System. Launched on January 1, 2015, Express Entry is an online system used by the government of Canada for managing applications for permanent residence submitted by skilled workers.

An EE profile is valid for 12 months.

With a profile in the Express Entry pool, an applicant can migrate to Canada permanently as a skilled worker under 3 programs –

1. Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
2. Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
3. Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)

[Note. You cannot apply directly for any of these programs. Applications can be submitted only after receiving an invitation to apply from the Canadian government.]

Do keep in mind that if you are interested in migrating to Quebec as a skilled worker, you will have to apply under the separate category of Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP).

Eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) under the Express Entry system is determined on the basis of points that you score across 6 selection factors.

The 6 selection factors for checking eligibility for FSWP are –

After an assessment of the 6 individual factors, an overall score is assigned out of 100.

You can qualify for the FSWP if you score 67 or higher.

If you do not score 67 points on the eligibility calculator, you can improve your score by securing arranged employment in Canada. You can also work on your language skills.

Now, let us see each of the individual factors.

1. Language

English and French are the official languages in Canada. You can get a maximum of 28 points for your language skills in English and French based on your ability to – read, write, listen, and speak – the language.

Under the language criteria, you get points as per –

For availing marks under this criterion, you must take any of the approved language tests as a proof of your skills in the language.

The approved languages tests are –

IMPORTANT

• Language test results have to be entered into your EE profile.
• If invited to apply, the test results will have to be included with the application.
• Your application will not be processed if the language test results are not included with your application.
• Do not ask for your language test results to be sent directly. Include with your complete application.
• Original test results might be asked for later on in the processing. Keep the original test safely.
• Test results must not be more than 2 years old, both at the time of the creation of your EE profile as well as when applying for permanent residence.
• If your test results are due to expire soon, it is advisable to re-take the test and update your EE profile accordingly.

2. Education

You can get a maximum of 25 points for Education.

For skilled workers with foreign education, the points to be awarded will be determined by the Canadian equivalency according to the ECA. For example –

3. Work Experience

To claim points under this criterion, you should have spent a stipulated amount of time working, in a paid capacity – either full-time at least 30 hours in a week, or part-time 15 hours in a week (for 24 months) – at Skill Type 0, or Skill Levels A or B as per the National Occupational Classification (NOC), 2016 version.

The NOC is a compiled list of all occupations in the Canadian labour market. The main job groups under the NOC for immigration purposes are –

Based on your number of years of experience, you can claim the following points –

IMPORTANT

• Each job has a unique NOC Code.
• The NOC code describes the skills, work setting, duties and talents required.
• You can claim points for work experience if the general description and list of main duties associated with the particular NOC Code match what you previously did at your job/jobs.

4. Age

You will get the following points for your age –

IMPORTANT

• Points will be given based on your age on the day that your application is submitted to the EE pool.

5. Arranged employment in Canada

IMPORTANT

To claim points under this criterion, you must –

• Have a job offer for a minimum of 1 year from a Canadian employer.
• You should get the job offer before applying to migrate to Canada as a skilled worker.
• Job offer should be for full-time [minimum 30 hours in a week], paid, and continuous work.
• Should not be for seasonal work.
• Listed under NOC as Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B.

Do keep in mind that to get 10 points, there are certain other conditions that you must fulfil.

6. Adaptability

By ‘adaptability’ is implied the likelihood of you and your spouse successfully settling down in Canada.

You, along with your spouse or common-law partner immigrating with you to Canada, will get points for your adaptability as per –

With arranged employment in Canada, you will earn a total of 15 points – 10 for arranged employment on its own, and another 5 for adaptability.

While a job offer is not mandatory for submitting your profile to the Express Entry pool, a valid job offer in Canada can make a difference to your eligibility points calculation.

Do keep in mind that once your profile is in the EE pool, it will be ranked against other profiles on the basis of the Comprehensive Ranking System [CRS]. Eligibility points and CRS scores are entirely different and should not be confused with each other.

While you have to score 67 out of 100 to be eligible for applying for Canadian permanent residency through the FSWP, the higher you score on the CRS, the sooner you will be invited to apply for Canadian permanent residency.

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