The Canadian Federal Skilled Trades program allows skilled workers with experience in a selected number of trades to gain legal permanent residence in Canada.
Eligibility requirements
Applicants for the Canadian Federal Skilled Trades program must meet the following eligibility requirements:
Must have at least 24 months of skilled work experience in Canada which was gained in the 5 years leading up to the application, and which must have been gained under a valid work permit/visa (unless exempt)
Must have experience which meets the specific job requirements of the trade, as set out in Canada's National Occupation Classification List
Must meet the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) requirements detailed below
Must have a Canadian full time job offer for a period of at least 12 months, OR a qualification certificate in their trade issued by a provincial or territorial authority in Canada
Must plan to live outside of Quebec
Work experience
Applicants must have at least 24 months of full time work experience – meaning 30 hours per week or more, for a total of 3120 hours – or the equivalent amount in part time work experience, which must have been gained in the last 5 years.
The experience must have been gained in one of the following major groups on Canada's National Occupation Classification List. The first 2 or 3 numbers of each occupation's NOC code indicates its major group.
72: industrial, electrical and construction trades
73: maintenance and equipment operation trades
82: supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture and related production,
92: processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators,
632: chefs and cooks, and
633: butchers and bakers.
English and/or French language skills
Applicants must have reasonable proficiency in English, French, or both languages. To prove this applicants must provide test results from the following language test providers on their Express Entry profile BEFORE they can apply for a visa:
The Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP), OR;
The International English Language Testing System (IELTS), OR;
The Test d’evaluation de francais (TEF)
Applicants must score at least CLB level 5 for the speaking and listening components, and CLB level 4 for the reading and writing components.
Further information, help, and advice
Workpermit.com's team of specialists has over 25 years of experience in immigration services, and have helped thousands of people to study, work, and invest in Canada. All applications for Canadian visas are dealt with in-house by a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada.
For more information and advice on Canadian immigration law and Canadian visa applications please contact us on 0344 991 9222 or at london@workpermit.com
