Breaking News: Federal Skilled Worker Details Revealed Today
APRIL, 2013 (Source: Attorney David Cohen's newsletter)
On April 18, 2013, Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced final details about Federal Skilled Worker Program, scheduled to begin accepting applications on May 4, 2013.
Eligibility Requirements
In order to be considered for processing, eligible applicants must meet one the following eligibility criteria:
Have at least one year of continuous, full-time (or equivalent) paid work experience in the past decade in one of the 24 eligible occupations and attain at least 67 points based on Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s (CIC) immigration selection factors; or
Qualify for Arranged Employment with a Labour Market Opinion and a full-time permanent job offer from a Canadian employer; or
Have completed a PhD in Canada, or have completed two years of study in Canada towards a PhD, in both cases at a recognized institution.
All applicants applying under the Federal Skilled Worker Program will also be required to undergo language testing in order to demonstrate their ability in English and French and have their foreign educational credentials assessed for equivalency against Canadian standards.
Designated Educational Credential Assessment Organizations
On April 17, 2013, four organizations have been designated by Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney to conduct the educational credential assessments. The designated organizations are:
Comparative Education Service;
International Credential Assessment Service of Canada;
World Education Services; and
Medical Council of Canada
Applicants who have completed their studies in Canada will not be required to undergo an educational credential assessment, unless they are also including a foreign credential in support of their application. In addition, any educational credential assessment report issued after April 17, 2013, will be valid for immigration purposes for a period of five years from the date that it was issued by a designated organization.
Program Caps and Limitations
With respect to the 24 eligible occupations, the government has placed an overall cap/limit of 5,000 applications that will be accepted for processing. Within the 5,000 limit, a maximum of 300 applications will be accepted for processing per eligible occupation.
For applicants under the PhD stream, the government will accept a total of 1,000 applications from May 4, 2013 to April 30, 2014.
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Qualifying Occupations for Federal Skilled Worker
NOTE: Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program. These changes will take effect on May 4th, 2013, at which time the Skilled Worker category will begin accepting applications.
One way to qualify for Canadian immigration as a Federal Skilled Worker is to have at least one year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in the past 10 years in one of the following 24 qualifying occupations.
The qualifying occupations are listed by NOC (National Occupational Classification) and are based on the main duties performed. This list of open occupations was updated to reflect ministerial instructions issued on April 18th, 2013. Check on the occupation title below to see if your occupation is among the qualifying occupations for the Federal Skilled Worker Category.
0211- Engineering Managers
1112 - Financial and Investment Analysts
2113 - Geoscientists and Oceanographers
2131 - Civil Engineers
2132 - Mechanical Engineers
2134 - Chemical Engineers
2143 - Mining Engineers
2144 - Geological Engineers
2145 - Petroleum Engineers
2146 - Aerospace Engineers
2147 - Computer Engineers (except Software Engineers/Designers)
2154 - Land Surveyors
2174 - Computer Programmers and Interactive Media Developers
2243 - Industrial Instrument Technicians and Mechanics
2263 – Inspectors in Public and Environmental Health and Occupational Health and Safety
3141 - Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists
3142 - Physiotherapists
3143 - Occupational Therapists
3211 - Medical laboratory Technologists
3212 - Medical laboratory Technicians and Pathologists' Assistants
3214 - Respiratory Therapists, Clinical Perfusionists and Cardiopulmonary Technologists
3215 - Medical Radiation Technologists
3216 - Medical Sonographers
3217 - Cardiology Technicians and Electrophysiological Diagnostic Technologists, n.e.c. (not elsewhere classified)
