Eligibility for Express Entry programs: Who can apply as a Federal Skilled Worker

Minimum requirements

To be eligible, you must meet all the minimum requirements for:

If you meet all the minimum requirements, we’ll assess your application based on additional selection factors.

Skilled work experience

Skilled work experience means that you’ve worked in 1 of these National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER categories:

You must show that while working in your primary occupation, you performed:

Your “primary occupation” means the job you:

  • have experience in
  • want to base your immigration application on, if you’re invited to apply

Your primary occupation may not be your most recent work experience. If you don’t have the minimum work experience in the primary NOC you choose, you won’t be found eligible.

Your skilled work experience must

Part-time work experience

Your skilled work experience must be paid work including paid wages or earned commission. We don’t count volunteer work or unpaid internships.

For part-time work, you can work more or less than 15 hours/week as long as it adds up to 1,560 hours. You can work more than 1 part-time job to get the hours you need to apply.

We don’t count any hours you work above 30 hours/week.

Student work experience

Work experience gained while you were studying may count towards your minimum requirements if the work:

Language ability

You must

Your language tests are valid for 2 years after the date of the test result. They must be valid on the day you apply for permanent residence.

Education

If you went to school in Canada, you must have a certificate, diploma or degree from a Canadian

If you have foreign education, you must have

Selection factors

If you meet all the minimum requirements, we’ll assess your eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker Program based on:

Based on how well you do in each of the 6 factors, we’ll assign you an overall score out of 100.

The current pass mark is 67 points.

These points are different from the points we use to rank your profile in the Express Entry pool.

How we use selection factor points

We use selection factor points to assess if you’re eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

Once you’re in the Express Entry pool, we use a different system to rank your profile. We select the highest-ranking candidates from the pool and invite them to apply for permanent residence.

Proof of funds

You must show that you have enough money for you and your family to settle in Canada, unless you

Admissibility

You must be admissible to Canada.

Where you can live in Canada

You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec. The province of Quebec selects its own skilled workers. If you plan on living in Quebec, see Quebec-selected skilled workers for more information.

When you fill out your profile, we’ll ask you where you plan to live in Canada. You don’t have to settle in that province or territory.

If you’re a Provincial Nominee, you must settle in the province or territory that nominated you.

Next steps

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