What is the FSW program?
The FSW program is abbreviated from the Federal Skilled Worker program and is typically a stream under the Express entry system. It is a pathway skilled workers use to gain access to Canada and become permanent residents. The general method used for ranking candidates is the comprehensive ranking system (CRS). This ranking system will be based on education, language proficiency, and work experience. The applicant with a higher CRS score stands a better chance of being invited to start their permanent residency application.
Who can apply for the FSW program?
Anybody who meets the following criteria, such a person will be considered qualified for the FSWP:
Who can be eligible for the
Canadian Experience Class?
The only set of people that will be considered eligible for the Canadian experience Class is those that have relevant work experience from Canada before obtaining a Canada PR.
Work Experience
You must have obtained a full-time skilled work experience of 12 months or an equivalent part-time. All the experience gained must be within ten years before application. The professional work experience must fall under any of the NOC skill levels (i.e. A, B or C).
Language Proficiency
The minimum language proficiency level for the FSW eligibility is Canadian Language Benchmark 7 in any Canadian-approved languages.
Education
To be eligible, the educational requirement to attain is at least a Canadian high school diploma or a degree equivalent to this.
Financial Support
The applicant must have proofs of sufficient funds to take care of themselves and every family member coming with them.
Residence in Canada
The candidate must be prepared to live outside of the Quebec province.
For all these requirements, the candidate must score at least 67 points out of the total 100 points when graded using the CRS score. Note that if you have certain health conditions or are charged with criminal offences, your profile might be unacceptable; hence, you will be unable to come into Canada.
How can I apply for the FSW program?
The first step every applicant will take is to submit an Express Entry profile to the government body that receives it, which is Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. Once they have done that, their CRS score will determine if they will be called to apply for permanent residency or not.
Note that some of the documents you will provide alongside the submission of your Express entry profile are:
Educational Credentials Assessment (ECA)
This assessment must show that the foreign certification or degree is valid. The ECA report will not be needed if you attained your educational credential from a Canadian institution.
Language Proficiency Test Results
The approved test for English language is IELTS while if you are in Canada, you can do the CELPIP exam instead. For French test, the two approved tests are Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada and Test d’Évaluation de Français (TEF) and the Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada (TCF Canada).
Identification Documents
You must also provide documents identifying you and any family member accompanying you to Canada.
Once you provide all these and get an Invitation to Apply (ITA), you can send the permanent residency application under 60 days from the day the ITA was received. You need at least 413 points to receive ITA, and if you need to improve your points, there are some ways to do it.
How long does it take to
process my FSW application?
Your FSW profile will be valid for 12 months, after which it will no longer be in the express entry pool. When you receive an ITA, the processing for permanent residency will take not more than six months.
However, the processing time might take longer if the following happens:
Your application is incomplete or complex
Your information is not confirmed on time
Updating your info by adding a new family member to the submitted application
Note that the language test will become invalid after two years. It will be denied if it is invalid on the day, you start your permanent residency application.
Am I expected to show
settlement funds for FSW?
You need to show that you can cater to the family members you are taking with you to reside in Canada.
Below is the breakdown of the amount of money per family size
| Number of Family Members | Funds Required |
|---|---|
|
1 |
$13,310 |
|
2 |
$16,570 |
|
3 |
$20,371 |
|
4 |
$24,733 |
|
5 |
$28,052 |
|
6 |
$31,638 |
|
7 |
$35,224 |
If you add another family member, you will pay another $3,586 for each.
If this looks like something you can’t afford, the best alternative to show proof of funds is to secure job employment from a Canadian employer.
FAQ.
One of the requirements for the Federal Skilled Worker program is language proficiency. You must meet at least CLB 7 to qualify in the language area.
The FSWP is one of the three programs operated under the Express Entry system. It is different from the Express Entry system as the system is the one that organizes such programs, of which one of them is FSWP.
You must have obtained foreign work experience before submitting an express entry profile under the Federal skilled worker program. The foreign work experience is acquired outside Canada and would be considered valid if the job was paid within the past ten years. Note also that the work experience must be classified under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill which could be type A, B, or 0.