As of yesterday, May 8, 2012, the maximum number of 10,000 Federal Skilled Worker applications has been reached. This cap on applications has been put in place for individuals applying under one of the 29 eligible occupations being targeted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Unless new Ministerial instructions are received, the cap will re-open on July 1, 2012.
This limit does not apply to all applicants to the Federal Skilled Worker program. Those with an offer of arranged employment are still welcome to apply. Individuals who are pursuing or have completed a PhD program in Canada may still apply as well. The cap for PhD applicants is 1,000, and currently 657 applications to this stream have been received.