The most asked question ever when it comes to immigration to Canada is this:

How do I qualify for Canadian immigration?

Let’s first start by explaining that Canada has a robust immigration system that accommodates numerous categories and enables an average of 300,000 new Canadians to join our community each year. In fact, the government of Canada has recently announced its intention to accommodate 1 million immigrants between the years 2018 and 2020. The largest portion of that number is dedicated to the Skilled Workers.

Canada’s economy is strong and steadily growing. Therefore, if you have a certain profession or specialty that enables you to contribute to Canada’s economy, you might have a good opportunity to immigrate to Canada as a skilled worker. The Skilled Worker immigration program is the Federal Government’s main immigration program. Provinces of Canada has its own Provincial Nomination Programs (known as PNPs), but each of them has its own eligibility criteria, which is more or less close to the Federal Program and eventually links with it at some point.

Therefore, it is useful to focus in the answer to this question on the main eligibility for the Federal Skilled Worker program, so let’s get down to it.

Each applicant is usually evaluated on many factors, on a total score of 100. You need to score a minimum of 67 points on that scale to be eligible to apply. The 6 main factors you are normally evaluated when calculating your eligibility score are explained here:

Language Skills:

Your ability to write, read, listen and speak English, French or Both can give you up to 28 points. You will need to provide current results of a recognized language proficiency test in either languages (or both if you can), Needless to say, the higher your score is, the more points you collect under the language proficiency factor. It is therefore always the one factor that is basically controllable as you can always redo a language proficiency exam and score higher results, to increase your eligibility score.

Education:

The level of education you have achieved in life counts for up to 25 points of the scoring scale. The higher your educational credentials are, the more points you will score. Your Educational Credentials will need to be assessed by a Canad recognized agencies (There’s a hand-full of them) before you can be granted the points for education. This process is called ECA (Educational Credentials Assessent).

Professional Experience:

Your past work experience can grant you up to 15 points out of the total 100 points. The experience that counts is any paid and full time work experience during the last 10 years. If you have worked 6 years or more during the last 10 years prior to applying to immigrate, you will be eligible for the entire 15 points. You will also be required to prove this experience by obtaining a Canada recognized proof of professional experience when the time comes for you to submit your actual documents

Age:

Your age is also a determining factor in your eligibility and it counts for a maximum of 12 points on the eligibility scale. The minimum age of application to immigration to Canada is 18 years old. The age that receives 12 points is between 18 and 35 years old. Once you pass the age of 35, you lose 1 point for each year until the age of 47, where you receive 0 for this element.

Arranged employment in Canada:

If you have a valid job offer in Canada, you can gain up to 10 points on the eligibility score. A valid job offer has its own criteria. It should be for at least 1 year and represents a full-time work “minimum 30 hours/week”. It must not also be for a seasonal job and must be issued from an employer who is not on the banned list

Adaptability:

The government of Canada gives weight to your possible ability to integrate quickly and easily with the Canadian community. You can therefore gain up to 10 points on the eligibility score if you demonstrate one or more of the following adaptability factors:

• Your spouse or common-law partner has a good language level in English or French (Your spouse will have to prove their language proficiency in the same way you do)
• You have previously finished an academic study program in Canada that is at least two academic years of full-time study.
• Your spouse or common-law partner has finished an academic study program in Canada that is at least two academic years of full-time study.
• You have worked before in Canada for at least 1-year, full-time work in one of the approved positions referred to above
• Your spouse or common-law partner has worked for at least 1-year, a full-time work in one of the approved positions.
• You earned points under factor no. 5 above (Arranged employment in Canada)
• You or your spouse or common-law partner has blood relatives who live in Canada, 18 years or older and are either Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Blood relatives are:
  • A parent
  • A grandparent
  • A child
  • A grandchild
  • A child of a parent (sibling)
  • A child or a grandparent (aunt or uncle)
  • A grandchild of a parent (niece or nephew)

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