NOTICE: On November 28, 2008, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (the "Minister") issued Ministerial Instructions regarding the processing of federal skilled worker cases filed on or after February 27, 2008. Federal skilled worker applications submitted on or after this date must meet the following criteria before they will be placed into processing immediately upon receipt:

1. Applications submitted with an offer of arranged employment; or
2. Applications submitted by foreign nationals who have been residing legally in Canada for at least one year as temporary foreign workers or international students; or
3. Applications from skilled workers with evidence of experience (at least one year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in the last 10 years) under one or more of the following National Occupational Classification ("NOC") [See our web links page for a link to the NOC] categories:
1. NOC Code 0111 Financial Managers
2. NOC Code 0213 Computer and Information Systems Managers
3. NOC Code 0311 Managers in Health Care
4. NOC Code 0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers
5. NOC Code 0632 Accommodation Service Managers
6. NOC Code 0711 Construction Managers
7. NOC Code 1111 Financial Auditors and Accountants
8. NOC Code 2113 Geologists, Geochemists and Geophysicists
9. NOC Code 2143 Mining Engineers
10. NOC Code 2144 Geological Engineers
11. NOC Code 2145 Petroleum Engineers
12. NOC Code 3111 Specialist Physicians
13. NOC Code 3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians
14. NOC Code 3141 Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists
15. NOC Code 3143 Occupational Therapists
16. NOC Code 3142 Physiotherapists
17. NOC Code 3151 Head Nurses and Supervisors
18. NOC Code 3152 Registered Nurses
19. NOC Code 3215 Medical Radiation Technologists
20. NOC Code 3233 Licensed Practical Nurses
21. NOC Code 4121 University Professors
22. NOC Code 4131 College and Other Vocational Instructors
23. NOC Code 6241 Chefs
24. NOC Code 6242 Cooks
25. NOC Code 7213 Contractors and Supervisors, Pipefitting Trades
26. NOC Code 7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
27. NOC Code 7217 Contractors and Supervisors, Heavy Construction Equipment Crews
28. NOC Code 7241 Electricians (Except Industrial and Power System)
29. NOC Code 7242 Industrial Electricians
30. NOC Code 7251 Plumbers
31. NOC Code 7252 Steamfitters, Pipefitters and Sprinkler System Installers
32. NOC Code 7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators
33. NOC Code 7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
34. NOC Code 7371 Crane Operators
35. NOC Code 7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction
36. NOC Code 8221 Supervisors, Mining and Quarrying
37. NOC Code 8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service
38. NOC Code 9212 Supervisors, Petroleum, Gas and Chemical Processing and Utilities

Unless the Minister otherwise instructs that applications be retained, federal skilled worker applications (received on or after February 27, 2008) that do not meet the assessment criteria described above shall not be processed and the processing fee shall be returned.

In other words, any federal skilled worker application that does not meet the above criteria will be rejected. Even if the Minister does later instruct that other types of applications to be retained, they will likely be processed with a much lower priority than the above cases.

General

In the United States, there are only a few opportunities for potential immigrants to petition themselves for permanent residence. In Canada, all immigrant categories (except family immigration) permit potential immigrants to sponsor themselves as landed immigrants.

The most common category immigrant category is the independent category. Independent applicant cases are processed on the basis of the applicant's individual skills and the likelihood that they will contribute to the Canadian economy.

It should be mentioned that the Quebec government has exclusive control over the selection of independent applicants who seek to settle in the Province of Quebec. Such applicants should file their applications with immigrations officials for the Province of Quebec. Quebec has established its own selection criteria and place a greater emphasis on French speaking ability. Once Quebec has determined that the applicant meets is provincial selection standards, the case is referred to the Federal government for assessment of any other grounds of inadmissibility. Quebec immigration is not discussed at this site.

Independent applications applying for residence in Canada (other than in Quebec) are processed using the "points system". Under this system, the applicant is awarded points based on various factors which assess his or her ability to make a positive contribution to Canada.

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations ("IRPR") [SOR/2002-227] permit a person who is being sponsored for landing in Canada to bring his or her accompanying dependents. Dependents would include the spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, or dependent children of the principal applicant. [These terms are defined in the family class article.]

Minimum Points Required for Eligibility

The Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act ("IRPA") [S.C. 2001, c. 27] became law on June 28, 2002. The new law replaces the 25 year old Canadian Immigration Act. The IRPA applies to all applications and proceedings that are pending or in progress before June 28, 2002. The new law substantially changed the Canadian immigration laws. During the transitional period, the following criteria were supposed to apply:

1. Applicants who have applied before January 1, 2002 and have not received a selection decision by March 31, 2003, would be evaluated under the new criteria with a pass mark of 70 points; and

2. Applicants who have applied on or after January 1, 2002 and did not receive a selection decision by June 28, 2002 would be evaluated under the new criteria with a pass mark of 75 points.

On September 18, 2003, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced that all new skilled worker applicants and those currently in the system who had not yet received a selection decision would be assessed with a pass mark of 67. This new pass mark became effective on the date of the announcement.

Selection Criteria

The following selection criteria are considered in an independent case:

1. Education;

2. Experience;

3. Arranged Employment;

4. Age;

5. Language; and

6. Adaptability.

Each of these selection criteria are discussed in greater detail below.

Education

A maximum of 25 points can be awarded for education. Points are awarded for education in the following manner:

1. Applicants with a university educational credential at the master's or doctoral level AND a total of at least 17 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies would obtain 25 points;

2. Applicants with two or more university educational credentials at the bachelor's level AND a total of at least 15 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies would obtain 22 points;

3. Applicants with a three-year post-secondary educational credential, other than a university educational credential, AND a total of at least 15 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies would obtain 22 points;

4. Applicants with a two-year university educational credential at the bachelor's level AND a total of at least 14 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies would obtain 20 points;

5. Applicants with a two-year post-secondary educational credential, other than a university educational credential, AND a total of at least 14 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies would obtain 20 points;

6. Applicants with a one-year university educational credential at the bachelor's level AND a total of at least 13 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies would obtain 15 points;

7. Applicants with a one-year post-secondary educational credential, other than a university educational credential, AND a total of at least 13 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies would obtain 15 points;

8. Applicants with a one-year post-secondary educational credential, other than a university educational credential, AND a total of at least 12 years of completed full-time or full-time equivalent studies will obtain 12 points;

9. Applicants with a completed secondary school educational credentials will obtain 5 points.

The term "full-time" means, in relation to a program of study leading to an educational credential, at least 15 hours of instruction per week during the academic year, including any period of training in the workplace that forms part of the course of instruction. The term "full-time equivalent" means, in respect of part-time or accelerated studies, the period that would have been required to complete those studies on a full-time basis.

Experience

The points given for experience are calculated after considering the number of years of experience (up to a maximum of 4 years) the applicant has worked. The maximum points which can be awarded for experience is 21.

Applicants with one year of working experience will obtain 15 points.

Applicants with two years of working experience will obtain 17 points.

Applicants with three years of working experience will obtain 19 points.

Applicants with four years of working experience will obtain 21 points.

Applicants are awarded selection points for the number of years they have spent in full-time, paid work. Each job must be listed in the Skill Type 0 or Skill Levels A or B in the NOC. [See our web links page for a link to the NOC]

In addition, in order to be awarded selection points, the job must not be in a restricted occupation. The term "restricted occupation" is defined as "an occupation designated as a restricted occupation by the Minister, taking into account labor market activity on both an area and a national basis, following consultation with the Department of Human Resources Development, provincial governments, and any other relevant organizations or institutions." However, there are currently no designated restricted occupations.

Arranged Employment

Applicants who have a confirmed offer of permanent employment from Human Resources Development Canada ("HRDC") will receive 10 points. However, in order to receive these 10 points, the following must apply:

1. The applicant must have a full-time job offer that has been confirmed by HRDC [HRDC will confirm job offers in occupations listed in Skill Type 0, Skill Level A or B of the NOC];
2. The employer must have made an offer to give the applicant a permanent job; and
3. The applicant must meet any Canadian licensing or regulatory standards required for the job.

Applicants who are applying from within Canada and have a temporary work permit that is either:

1. Confirmed by the HRDC, including sectoral confirmations; or
2. Exempt from HRDC-confirmation requirements under NAFTA, GATS, CCFTA, significant economic benefit (i.e. intra-company transferee);

will receive 10 points. However, in order to receive these 10 points, the work permit must be valid for 12 or more months after the applicant applies for a permanent resident visa and the employer must have made an offer to give the applicant a permanent job.

Age

If a person is between the ages of 21 and 49, the applicant receives 10 points. Two units are deducted for each year under 21 or over 49.

Language

A maximum of 24 points are awarded based on fluency in either or both of the official languages (English and French). Points are first given based on the ability to listen, speak, read and write in either official languages.

For the first language, an applicant is given 4 points for their ability to listen, read, write and speak at a high proficiency level in each of the ability areas. If the applicant reads, listens, writes and speaks at a moderate proficiency, 2 points are awarded in each ability category. If the applicant reads, listens, writes and speaks with a basic proficiency 1 to 2 points are awarded. A maximum of 16 points are awarded for the applicants first language category. This is demonstrated on the following chart:

High Proficiency (per ability)	4
Moderate Proficiency (per ability)	2
Basic Proficiency (per ability)	1 to maximum of 2
No Proficiency	0
Maximum Possible (all 4 abilities)	16

If the applicant is knowledgeable of the second official language, points are given using the same analysis except that only 2 credits each are given for reading, listening, writing and speaking at a high to moderate proficiency level and 1 to 2 points is given for reading, listening, writing and speaking at a basic proficiency level. No credits are given where the applicant reads, listens, writes or speaks the second language with no proficiency. A maximum of 8 points will be awarded for the applicant's ability to speak, listen, read and write in their second official language. This is demonstrated on the following chart:

High Proficiency (per ability)	2
Moderate Proficiency (per ability)	2
Basic Proficiency (per ability)	1 to maximum of 2
No Proficiency	0
Maximum Possible (all 4 abilities)	8

Applicants must provide conclusive proof of their language skills:

1. Take an official language test by an approved organization; or

2. Provide other written documentation.

Approved English language testing organizations include: (a) IELTS: International English Language Testing System, and CELPIP: Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program. The TEF: Test d'Evaluation de Francais is an approved French language testing organization.

If an applicant chooses not to take an approved language test, he or she must prove the ability to speak, listen, read and write Canada's official languages through other written evidence. The applicant must provide written proof and an explanation that clearly shows he or she meets the benchmark criteria in each of the four skills. An immigration officer will review the written evidence included with the application. However, this is generally a less desirable method since the the immigration officer will only award points for language ability based on the written material included with the application and the applicant will not know in advance how many points the officer is awarding for language skill.

Adaptability

Adaptability selection points are awarded if the applicant show that the applicant or his/her dependants will adapt easily to living in Canada. Applicants may receive a maximum of 10 points under the adaptability category.

An applicant, his or her spouse, or common-law partner may only count points from each category once. In other words, if both the applicant and his or her spouse are eligible for selection points under a particular category, selection points will only be awarded for one of them. The breakdown of the adaptability categories is shown by the following chart:

Spouse or common-law partner's level of education: Secondary school (high school) diploma or less: 0 points A one-year diploma, trade certificate, apprenticeship, or university degree and at least 12 years of full-time or full-time equivalent studies: 3 points A two or three-year diploma, trade certificate, apprenticeship, or university degree and at least 14 years of full-time or full-time equivalent studies: 4 points A Master's Degree or PhD and at least 17 years of full-time or full-time equivalent studies: 5 points	3-5
Previous study in Canada: The applicant, or accompanying spouse or common-law partner, must have completed a program of full-time study of at least two year's duration at a post-secondary institution in Canada. This must have been done after the person reached 17 years or age old and with a valid student authorization. There is no need to have obtained an educational credential for these two years of study to earn these selection points.	5
Previous work in Canada: The applicant, or accompanying spouse or common-law partner, must have completed a minimum of one year of full-time work in Canada on a valid work permit.	5
Arranged employment: The applicant, or accompanying spouse or common-law partner, can claim five additional points if he or she has arranged employment.	5
Relatives in Canada: If the applicant, or accompanying spouse or common-law partner, has a relative (parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, child of a parent, sibling, child of a grandparent, aunt or uncle, or grandchild of a parent, niece or nephew) who is residing in Canada and is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, five additional points are awarded.	5