Skilled Worker Immigration

Canadian Service Centre

Skilled Worker Visa

Why wait??? Canada needs you more than ever before!!! More and more jobs are offered and the unemployment rate is at its lowest since December 2000.

Confronted to an aging labor force and to a competitive world economy, the immigration of skilled workers to Canada is a vital component of its economy. A total of 262,236 people immigrated to Canada in 2005, a seven percent increase over the previous year.

Between 1991 and 2001, almost one million new immigrants joined Canada's labor force thus representing 70% of the total labor force growth during that decade. At such rate, immigration could account all labor force growth in Canada by 2011.

'In the knowledge-based economy, Canada's performance relies on the skills and innovation of its people. CIC's work is integral to the government's strategies for fostering these attributes. The Government of Canada is looking to immigration to help sustain growth and economic development, particularly in areas of Canada where recent immigrants have seldom settled'.

Report by Citizenship and Immigration Canada on plans and priorities 2003-2006

To overcome Canadian's workforce shortages, the skilled worker program is an integral part of an official Government initiative to attract skilled individuals who can make a valuable contribution to Canada's thriving economy.

What qualifications are required?

In order to qualify as a skilled worker, a combination of factors such as age, academic background, work experience, language skills, family ties in Canada and/or previous work experience or studies in Canada are taken into consideration.

Selection is usually made out of a point system which takes into consideration the basic selection factors above mentioned as well as other factors for which you can obtain extra points to increase your final score. To be successful, you must achieve the pass mark set by the immigration regulations.

What are the benefits of Skilled Worker Visa?

If your application is successful, you will be issued a visa of permanent residency in Canada. This visa will allow you to indefinitely live in Canada and work for any employer in any occupation. You will also have the right to study in any Canadian university under the same conditions as a Canadian citizen. In a nutshell, this visa gives you the same rights as those of a Canadian citizen, with the exception of the right to vote and obtain a Canadian passport. After 3 years of permanent residency in Canada, you will be entitled to claim the Canadian citizenship. In addition to having free access to one of the best health care systems in the world, as a permanent resident or Canadian citizen, you will also be given access to one of the world's most renown education systems, which is free for all students in public schools at the primary and secondary level. You will also benefit from family allowance to assist large families, employment insurance in the event of unemployment, and social services for destitute persons

What are the processing costs?

For each adult, governmental processing fees may vary between CAD$ 1 040 and CAD$ 1 430 depending on the province in Canada you will choose as your destination. For each child, processing fees may range between $CAD 150 and $CAD 300 depending again on the destination in Canada.

Note that additional costs may be associated with the processing of your visa application, such as English or French proficiency language testing, medical examination, police clearance certificates and mailing / courier costs.

How long will it take?

The time required to obtain a permanent residency visa can vary between 12 and 48 months, depending on the country where your application was filed and the visa subclass in which you are applying for. Processing times may be hindered by the number of applications received and the capacity of each visa post to deal with them. Although some variations exist from one office to another, the system requires that all the necessary documentation be submitted at the time the file is opened.