Skilled Workers

Skilled workers and professionals: Who can apply

Skilled workers are people who are selected as permanent residents based on their ability to become economically established in Canada.

Federal skilled worker applications are assessed for eligibility according to the criteria set out below.

For your application to be eligible for processing, you must:

include the results of your official language proficiency test, AND have a valid offer of arranged employment, OR have one year of continuous full-time paid work experience in at least one of the 29 occupations listed here.

Work experience requirements

Your work experience must be:

for at least one year, continuous, and paid (full-time or the equivalent in part-time), AND

Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or Skill Level A (professional occupations) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades) on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC) list, AND

within the last 10 years.

If you meet the above minimum requirements, your application will be processed according to the six selection factors in the skilled worker points grid , which are:

your education

your abilities in English and/or French, Canada’s two official languages

your work experience

your age

whether you have arranged employment in Canada, and

your adaptability.

You must also show that you have enough money to support yourself and your dependants after you arrive in Canada.