The Federal Skilled Worker program is the most popular way of applying for migration to Canada for people who have education, work experience, knowledge of English or French, and other abilities that will help them to establish themselves successfully as permanent residents in Canada. The Federal Skilled Worker program allows migration to Canada as a Permanent Resident and full access to the domestic job market without the need for a sponsoring employer and without the work permit process after the issuance of visa.


  The applicant must meet the following minimum requirements to apply as a skilled worker:

  • have at least one continuous year of full-time, paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time continuous employment in one of the eligible occupations.
  • must have had this experience within the last 10 years.
  • You must meet minimum language levels and include the results of a language test from an agency approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) when you apply that shows you meet the minimum language requirement of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7.
  • must have: a Canadian diploma, certificate, or credential OR a foreign educational credential, and an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) by an agency approved by CIC to show it is equal to a completed Canadian secondary or post-secondary educational credential.

The Federal Skilled Worker immigration application is assessed on six main factors, which are age, education, work experience, language ability and adaptability as follows;


Education Maximum 25 points
Official Languages Maximum 28 points
Experience Maximum 15 points
Arranged Employment** Maximum 10 points
Age Maximum 12 points
Adaptability Maximum 10 points
TOTAL POINTS Maximum 100 points
REQUIRED PASS MARK 67 points


The rules for applying as a skilled worker can change from time to time, so, before applying, make sure you refer to updated selection criteria, and are familiar with the current application procedures.

If you do not qualify for this program, you may be able to apply for an alternative Canadian immigration program. Canadian Gateway Immigration Consultants can help you to determine which of the range of Canadian immigration classes available is the right option for you.