Federal Skilled Worker Visa Canada

Canada still receives many more applications than can be processed in a timely way. As a result, the department is limiting the number of new applications it will consider in the federal skilled worker category every year.

“Canada will continue to welcome historically high numbers of immigrants, but we need to manage the number of new applications or risk creating new backlogs and longer processing times,” Minister Kenney said. “We have more than enough applications on hand now to fill many of our needs, and we want to be fair to those people who have been waiting the longest.”

Our Free Work Visa Eligibility Assessment is designed to instantly determine if you are eligible to apply for a Work/Skilled visa to Canada. This assessment uses the criteria set by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). It is the most comprehensive and technologically advanced online Migration Assessment tool available.

Effective immediately, to be eligible to apply as a federal skilled worker, applicants must either have a job offer, or they must have experience in one of 29 in-demand occupations. These occupations were identified through analysis of updated labour market information and consultations with provinces, territories, stakeholders and the public.
For those applying under the occupation list, the government will limit the number of applications considered for processing to 20,000 per year as a way to better manage the supply of applications with labour market demand. Within the 20,000 limit, a maximum of 1,000 applications per occupation will be considered. The limit does not apply to applicants with a job offer.
In addition, all federal skilled worker and Canadian Experience Class applicants must submit the results of an independent language test before they will be considered.
Other than the language test result requirement, these changes apply only to the federal skilled worker immigration category. The authority for the changes, known as 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.

New List of 29 In-Demand Occupations in Canada:

0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
0811 Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists
2151 Architects
3111 Specialist Physicians
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians
3113 Dentists
3131 Pharmacists
3142 Physiotherapists
3152 Registered Nurses
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists
3222 Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses
4151 Psychologists
4152 Social Workers
6241 Chefs
6242 Cooks
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades
7241 Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System)
7242 Industrial Electricians
7251 Plumbers
7265 Welders & Related Machine Operators
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
7371 Crane Operators
7372 Drillers & Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service

Occupations No Longer On the List:
0111: Financial Managers
0213: Computer and Information Systems Managers
0311: Managers in Health Care
0632: Accommodation Service Managers
0711: Construction Managers
1111: Financial Auditors and Accountants
2113: Geologists, Geochemists and Geophysicists
2143: Mining Engineers
2144: Geological Engineers
2145: Petroleum Engineers
3141: Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists
3143: Occupational Therapists
3151: Head Nurses and Supervisors
4121: University Professors
4131: College and Other Vocational Instructors
7213: Contractors and Supervisors, Pipefitting Trades
7217: Contractors and Supervisors, Heavy Construction Equipment Crews
7252: Steamfitters, Pipe fitters and Sprinkler System Installers
8221: Supervisors, Mining and Quarrying
9212: Supervisors, Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Processing and Utilities