Federal Skill Worker Program

Eligibility to apply as a Federal Skilled Worker (Express Entry)

The Federal Skilled Worker Program is for skilled workers who have work experience and want to
become permanent residents.

Minimum requirements

To be eligible, you must meet all the minimum requirements for:

skilled work experience
language ability
education

If you meet all the minimum requirements, we’ll assess your application based on additional selection
factors.

Skilled work experience

Skilled work experience means that you’ve worked in 1 of these National Occupational
Classification (NOC) TEER categories:

TEER 0
TEER 1
TEER 2
TEER 3

You must show that while working in your primary occupation, you performed the duties set out in
the lead statement of the occupational description in the NOC. This includes all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.

Your skilled work experience must

be in the same type of job (have the same NOC) as the job you want to use for your immigration application (called your primary occupation)
have been obtained within the last 10 years, in Canada or abroad
be paid work (you must have been paid wages or earned commission—volunteer work or unpaid internships don’t count)
be at least 1 year of continuous work or 1,560 hours total (30 hours per week)
- You can meet this in a few different ways:
  - full time at 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
  - equal amount in part-time work: for example 15 hours/week for 24 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
    - You can work as many part-time jobs as you need to meet this requirement.
  - full time at more than 1 job: 30 hours/week for 12 months at more than 1 job = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)

Part-time work experience

Your skilled work experience must be paid work including paid wages or earned commission. We don’t
count volunteer work or unpaid internships.

For part-time work, you can work more or less than 15 hours/week as long as it adds up to 1,560 hours.
You can work more than 1 part-time job to get the hours you need to apply.

We don’t count any hours you work above 30 hours/week.

Student work experience

Work experience gained while you were studying may count towards your minimum requirements if the work:

was paid by wages or commissions
was continuous (no gaps in employment), and
meets all the other requirements of the Program

Language ability

You must

take approved language tests in English or French for
- writing
- reading
- listening
- speaking
meet the minimum score required in all 4 abilities
enter the test results in your Express Entry profile

Your language tests are valid for 2 years after the date of the test result. They must be valid on the day
you apply for permanent residence.

Education

If you went to school in Canada, you must have a certificate, diploma or degree from a Canadian

secondary institution (high school) or
post-secondary institution

If you have foreign education, you must have

a completed educational credential and
an Educational Credential Assessment for immigration purposes that
- is from a designated organization and
- shows your education is equal to a completed certificate, diploma or degree from a Canadian secondary institution (high school) or post-secondary institution
work experience
whether you have a valid job offer
English and/or French language skills
adaptability (how well you’re likely to settle here)

Selection factors

If you meet all the minimum requirements, we’ll assess your eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker
Program based on:

age
education
work experience
whether you have a valid job offer
English or French language skills
adaptability (how well you’re likely to settle here)

Based on how well you do in each of the 6 factors, we’ll assign you an overall score out of 100.
The current pass mark is 67 points.

Review how the selection factor points are calculated for federal skilled workers

These points are different from the points we use to rank your profile in the Express Entry pool.

How we use selection factor points

We use selection factor points to assess if you’re eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker Program.
Once you’re in the Express Entry pool, we use a different system to rank your profile. We select the
highest-ranking candidates from the pool and invite them to apply for permanent residence.

Proof of funds

You must show that you have enough money for you and your family to settle in Canada, unless you

are currently able to legally work in Canada
have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada

Admissibility

You must be admissible to Canada.

Where you can live in Canada

You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec. The province of Quebec selects its own skilled
workers. If you plan on living in Quebec, see Quebec-selected skilled workers for more information.

When you fill out your profile, we’ll ask you where you plan to live in Canada. You don’t have to settle in that province or territory.

If you’re a Provincial Nominee, you must settle in the province or territory that nominated you.

Next steps

get your documents ready
submit your profile