Federal Skilled Worker (Express Entry)

If you meet the criteria to get into the Express Entry pool: Yes. If you are 47 or over, you will not get any points under the Age factor of the Comprehensive Ranking System, but you may get points for other factors such as a job offer, your skills, your language abilities, etc. You may still be invited to apply based on your CRS score and your rank in the pool. If you receive an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence through the Express Entry system under the FSW program: Yes. If you are over 47, you will not get any points under the Age factor of the FSW selection grid, but you can still apply. The applicant's age is worth 12 percent of the overall selection criteria on the FSW selection grid.

No, there are no exceptions to this rule. Each of the programs under Express Entry requires the submission of third-party language results. You will include the results of your test(s) in your Express Entry profile. Canada wants to assess all applicants against the same standards, no matter their language of origin, nationality or ethnicity. Even someone from an English-speaking country, who speaks English as a first language, would need to take the test. Similarly, someone from a French-speaking country, who speaks French as a first language, needs to take a test.

To get points for your education under the Comprehensive Ranking System, you must either:

• have been educated in Canada, or
• have a valid Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) for immigration purposes for your completed foreign education.

Student work experience gained while you were studying in Canada or abroad counts towards the minimum requirements for the Federal Skilled Worker Program if the work:

• was paid by wages or commissions
• was continuous (no gaps in employment), and
• meets all the other requirements of the Program
This includes co-op terms and apprenticeships.

Express Entry allows you to include your spouse (or common-law partner, or conjugal partner) and your dependent children on your application. If you are successful with your application, you and all of your accompanying family members will receive permanent resident status. For Canadian immigration, a dependent child is defined as the following:

• under 22 years of age and not a spouse or common-law partner, or
• 22 years of age or older and unable to support themselves financially due to a physical or mental condition.

Yes. You may choose to immigrate without your spouse and/or children and then sponsor them through a family sponsorship immigration program later on. But having said that, you must include your spouse and dependents in your application, even if they don't plan to come with you. Once you become a permanent resident and meet the desired income and other qualifying obligations, you may sponsor your parents and grandparents to Canada. It should be noted that this is an extremely high-demand program and is frequently undergoing changes to the eligibility requirements and application procedure.

The CRS scores of all profiles in the pool will be updated automatically before the next invitation round after the updates. This could take up to two weeks.

Changes as of October 20, 2020:

You can get additional points for good French skills

If you score NCLC 7 or higher on all four French language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing), you will get

• 25 additional points if you scored CLB 4 or lower in English (or you have not had an English test); or
• 50 additional points if you scored CLB 5 or higher on all four English skills

This is in addition to points you get for official languages.

Under the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Program, arranged employment means you have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer.
Having a valid job offer affects you in two different ways: for eligibility under the FSWP, and later, for points towards your total score.
Arranged employment is worth 15 points on the FSW selection factors.
Under Express Entry, if you have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer, you can earn between 50 and 200 points under the Comprehensive Ranking System. This depends on the type of job. It will give you a better chance of being invited to apply at the next round of invitation.
For either, a job offer must be in writing, and must set out details of the job they are offering you, such as:

• your pay and deductions
• your job duties
• conditions of employment, like your hours of work.

A work permit on its own is not a job offer, even if it is an open work permit.

Yes, provided that it is still valid and that it’s an ECA for immigration purposes. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will accept ECA reports for five years from the date they are issued.

In most cases, your current employer does not need to re-apply if they already got a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to hire you. For example, they do not need to re-apply if:

• your work permit is still valid
• you still work for the same employer (in a skilled job) as listed on your work permit
• you work in a job listed as Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A or B in the 2016 National Occupational Classification, and
• that employer already got an LMIA to hire you before.

If you are working in Canada on a work permit that does not need an LMIA, your employer doesn’t need to get one to make your job offer valid.
But, if you plan to work for a different employer and want job offer points (or a valid job offer for the Federal Skilled Worker or the Federal Skilled Trades programs), your new employer will usually need to apply for a new LMIA (unless the job is exempt).

Under the FSWP, the following family members may be included in an application:

• the principal applicant's spouse or common-law partner;
• the principal applicant's dependent children and the dependent children of the accompanying spouse or common-law partner, up to 22 years of age;
• the dependent children of the principal applicant's dependent children, and the dependent children of the dependent children of the accompanying spouse or common-law partner.

Work experience does not have to be related to the candidate's education, as long as he or she is performing or has performed the duties of the occupation for which he or she is claiming points.

Ways to improve your score include:

• Obtain all the CRS points you are eligible for
• If your spouse or partner (if applicable) has a higher CRS score than you, list them as the principal applicant
• Study hard for your language test. Retake the test if necessary to get a score you are satisfied with
• Try to secure an eligible job offer or try to secure a provincial nomination

Yes, a candidate will be awarded points under the Adaptability Factor if he or she, or his or her accompanying spouse or common-law partner, has a close relative who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and who is currently residing in Canada. To qualify as a close relative, the Canadian citizen or permanent resident must be a child, mother or father, brother or sister, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew, grandchild or grandparent.

There is no eligible occupations list in place. Applicants need to have at least one year of work experience in the past 10 years in an occupation classified under Canada's National Occupational Classification (NOC) as skill level A or B or skill type 0.

Applicants for a Canada Immigration Visa under the Skilled Worker category may be required to attend a personal interview with a Canadian Immigration Visa Officer. Such interviews are held to ensure the information in the application is accurate, to clear-up any uncertainties and to verify. Canadian Immigration Visa Officers may, under all categories of immigration, grant an interview waiver, depending on the qualifications of the applicant, the quality of the supporting documentation, and the overall credibility of the applicant. The likelihood of an interview waiver varies from one Canadian Immigration Visa Office to another.

Applications which are complete in every detail increase the chances of an interview waiver. However, interview waivers are granted at the discretion of the Canadian Immigration Visa Officer in charge of your file. It is not possible to apply specifically for a waiver. Even if an interview is waived, the Canadian Immigration Visa Officer reserves the right to call you to an interview at a later date.