Frequently asked questions: Skilled workers and professionals

What does “federal skilled worker” mean?

Skilled workers are selected as permanent residents based on their education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French, and other criteria that have been shown to help them become economically established in Canada.

The term “federal skilled worker” refers to the category under which skilled workers apply if they want to live in any Canadian province or territory except Quebec.

Skilled workers who want to live in Quebec apply under a separate category. The province of Quebec selects its own skilled workers and therefore applicants going to Quebec through that program are known as “Quebec-selected” skilled workers.

What if I have already applied and want to withdraw my application? Can I get my money back?

You can contact your local visa office and withdraw your application. Your fee will be refunded as long as the office has not begun processing your application.

Will my fee be refunded if my application is returned or refused?

If you applied before February 27, 2008, the date the changes to the immigration law took effect, your application will be processed. You will not get a refund unless you choose to withdraw your application before it is processed.

If you applied on or after February 27, 2008, and your application is not eligible for processing, you will get a full refund. If your application is processed and it is refused, you will not get a refund.

What is “arranged employment”?

Arranged employment is where a skilled worker applicant has a certain kind of job offer in place before applying to immigrate to Canada.

Is the simplified application process still being used for skilled workers?

No. Changes have been made to the way skilled worker applications are processed. As a result, applicants are now asked to submit a completed regular application (IMM 0008).

Who are federal skilled workers and why do we need them?

Federal skilled worker immigrants are selected based on their ability to become economically established in Canada. Canada needs federal skilled workers because they have the right mix of skills, education, and experience to meet the current and long term demands of the economy. They also have the transferable skills to adapt to a changing labour market.

Why are you introducing a cap?

Temporary foreign workers and international students are still eligible to apply under the federal skilled worker category if they have an offer of arranged employment or experience in one of the 29 in-demand occupations.

However, we’ve removed the eligibility criterion that applied to temporary foreign workers and students specifically to avoid overlap with the now-established Canadian Experience Class and the Provincial Nominee Program, both of which target the same pool of applicants.

Is the annual cap by calendar year, fiscal year or from the date the instructions are published?

We are now receiving more federal skilled worker applications than we can process and accept each year. We have more than enough applications on hand now to fill many of our needs. A cap is the only guaranteed way to limit the number of applications we receive. Without the cap on applications, processing times will get longer and a new backlog could be created.

We will continue to admit the same number of federal skilled workers as in previous years, and in fact we believe that there will be higher economic admissions this year in support of the recovery and further reductions in the backlog.

What is meant by a cap? Does that limit refer to the total number of applications received or the total number of applications processed, or the total number of applications that are successful?

The cap is a limit on the number of complete applications considered for processing. In this case, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will only consider a maximum of 10,000 complete applications under the occupation list. There is no limit to the number of applicants with a job offer.  Within the 10,000 cap, a maximum of 500 federal skilled worker applications per occupation will be considered for processing each year.

Why are you imposing a limit per occupation?

We’re introducing a limit of 500 applications per occupation to better manage the supply of applications on the occupation list. The limit will allow us prevent an over-representation of any one occupation on the list.

What will happen with applications received after the cap is reached?  How will applicants know their application isn’t being processed?

These applicants will be informed, in writing, that their application will not continue for processing and that their processing fees will be returned.

What are ministerial instructions, and have they helped improve labour market responsiveness and reduce the backlog?

Ministerial instructions are a flexible tool that allows the government to align intake of applications to priorities for immigration, as well as reduce application backlogs and improve processing times. The authority for ministerial instructions comes from amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act approved by Parliament in 2008 as part of the Action Plan for Faster Immigration.

Ministerial instructions have been effective in improving labour market responsiveness and reducing the backlog.

The pre-2008 federal skilled worker backlog has been reduced by 50% two years earlier than anticipated.  This means that a backlog that had reached over 640,000 people at the time these changes were made has been cut down to approximately 316,000 persons. Additionally, wait times for new federal skilled worker applications have been reduced from years to months – wait times for new applications are currently six to 12 months.

How can applicants find out if CIC is approaching or has reached the annual cap for federal skilled workers?  What about the sub-caps per occupation?

Every week, CIC staff update the website to show the total number of federal skilled worker applications received, as well as the number in each sub-category.

Tweets are also sent out when sub-category applications reach the following milestones:

• halfway point
• 100 spaces left
• cap reached

Has the list of eligible occupations changed?

No. Workers from the same 29 occupations introduced in June 2010, and applicants with a qualifying job offer from a Canadian employer, are eligible to apply to immigrate under the federal skilled worker program as long as they meet the point system criteria.

The list of eligible occupations is available on the CIC website.

What changes are you making to the language requirements?

Under the changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class, all new applicants are required to include the results of an English or French language test as part of their application.

Previously, applicants also had the option of proving their language ability via a written submission. The written submission was intended for people whose first language was English or French. However, non-native English and French speakers frequently used this option, making it difficult for visa officers to perform an accurate assessment of the applicant’s true language ability. As a result CIC now only accepts designated third-party language tests as proof of language ability.

Are any applicants exempt from the mandatory language test? What about applicants from English or French speaking countries? Why would someone from England need to take an English test, for example?

There are no exceptions to this rule. We want to ensure that all applicants are evaluated against the same standards, no matter what their language of origin, nationality or ethnicity.

When did this change come into effect?

The change applies to all federal skilled worker and Canadian Experience Class applications received on or after June 26^th, 2010.

What improvements in processing times do you anticipate with this change?

Visa officers will now only spend minutes evaluating language proficiency as they will simply assign points based on the language test results. This compares to the months it takes to process an application when written evidence is provided and found insufficient.

What are the advantages for applicants of submitting the results of a third-party language assessment to demonstrate ability in English and/or French?

The biggest advantage for the applicant is that they will know ahead of time how their language proficiency will be evaluated. Federal skilled worker applicants will know exactly how many points they will be awarded. In addition, applicants get an objective, realistic assessment of their language ability and areas for possible improvement.

Submitting a language test is also the most efficient way to evaluate language proficiency; it speeds up application processing. Finally, many regulatory bodies and industry sectors require language testing or other proof of language assessment, so in taking the test applicants are one step further on the path to integration into the Canadian labour market.

Where can applicants get tested for language proficiency?

Language tests for FSW and CEC applicants are available internationally through the International English Language Testing Service and the Test d’évaluation du français. FSW applicants can also obtain a language test in Canada through the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program. More information and details on the language test requirements.

What is the cost of third-party language testing for applicants?

The cost of the International English Language Testing Service, the standard test for English language proficiency, ranges from a low of C $123 in Pakistan to a high of C$265 in Canada. The average price is under C$200. The costs for the Test d’évaluation du français, the standard test for French language proficiency, are similar to those of International English Language Testing Service.