3/26/2018 Determine your eligibility — Skilled trades - Canada.

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 Immigrate as a skilled worker through Express Entry
 Become a candidate – Skilled immigrants (Express Entry)
 Who can apply as a skilled immigrant

Determine your eligibility — Skilled trades

 On October 24, 2017, the age limit for dependants changed from “under 19” to “under 22.”
Check if your child qualifies as a dependant to see if you can add them to your application.

As of January 2015, we have a new system for people to apply to this program. It is called Express
Entry.

The Federal Skilled Trades Program is for people who want to become permanent residents based
on being qualified in a skilled trade.

Minimum requirements
To be eligible, you must:

plan to live outside the province of Quebec (Note: The province of Quebec selects its own
skilled workers. If you plan on living in Quebec, see Quebec-selected skilled workers for more
information),
meet the required levels in English or French for each language ability (speaking, reading,
writing and listening),
have at least two years of full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work
experience) * in a skilled trade within the five years before you apply,
meet the job requirements for that skilled trade as set out in the National Occupational
Classification (NOC), except for needing a certificate of qualification, and
have an offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least one year ** or a certificate of
qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial or territorial authority. ***

Footnotes

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* This means you have to work a total of at least 30 hours over a period of one week for
two years in your skilled trade within the five years before you apply. For example:

Full Time
30 hours/week for 12 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)

Part time
15 hours/week for 24 months = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)
OR
30 hours/week for 12 months at more than one job = 1 year full time (1,560 hours)

** Up to two employers can commit to employing you for at least one year of continuous full-
time work, meaning a total of at least 30 hours of work per week.

*** In Canada, provinces and territories issue certificates of qualification in the skilled trades.
To get a certificate, the provincial or territorial trades authority must assess your training,
trade experience and skills to decide if you are eligible to write an exam to be certified.

Skilled work experience

Skilled Trades currently eligible for the Federal Skilled Trades Program are organized under these
major and minor groups of the NOC:

Major Group 72, industrial, electrical and construction trades,

Major Group 73, maintenance and equipment operation trades,
Major Group 82, supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture and related
production,
Major Group 92, processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control
operators,
Minor Group 632, chefs and cooks, and
Minor Group 633, butchers and bakers.

These major NOC groups are subdivided into different occupations. (All are NOC skill type B.)

You must show that you did the duties set out in the lead statement of the occupational description
in the NOC, including all the essential duties and most of the main duties listed.

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If you do not show that your experience meets the description in the NOC, we will not accept your
application.

Find out the NOC code, title and skill type or level for your job.

Federal Skilled Trades Program applications must be made based on the 2016 version of the NOC.
However, if the application includes a Labour Market Impact Assessment (previously Labour Market
Opinion or LMO) from Employment and Social Development Canada based on the 2011 version of
the NOC, we will accept it as long as your occupation corresponds to a 2016 NOC code that is
eligible for the program.

Education
There is no education requirement for the Federal Skilled Trades Program. But, if you want to earn
points for your education under Express Entry, you either need:

a Canadian post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree

OR

a completed foreign credential, and

an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report from an agency approved by CIC. [The
report must show your foreign education is equal to a completed Canadian secondary (high
school) or post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree.]

 Note: You will only benefit from getting an ECA if your foreign education is equal to a
completed Canadian high school diploma or greater.

Language ability
You must:

meet the minimum language level of Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 5 for speaking
and listening, and Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 4 for reading and writing, and

take a language test approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) that shows you
meet the level for speaking, listening, reading and writing.

You must show that you meet the requirements in English or French by including the test results
when you complete your Express Entry profile. Your test results must not be more than two years
old on the day you apply for permanent residence.

Principal applicant

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If you are married or live with a common-law partner who also meets the above conditions, you can
decide which one of you will apply under Express Entry as the principal (main) applicant.

A common-law partner is a person who has lived with you in a conjugal relationship for at least one
year. Common-law partner refers to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

Check to see which one of you is most likely to be found eligible. That person should apply as the
principal applicant.

Other requirements
You must be admissible to Canada. Find out more about inadmissibility.
You must plan to live outside the province of Quebec.

Be assessed by the province or territory

You will likely have to go to the province or territory to be assessed. You may also need an employer
in Canada to give you experience and training.

You should go to the website of the body that governs trades for the province/territory where you
would like to live and work. The process is different depending on where you want to go.

Each website has more details about whether you need a certificate of qualification to work in that
province or territory in a specific skilled trade, and what you have to do to get one.

Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Northwest Territories
Nova Scotia
Nunavut
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Saskatchewan
Yukon

If you work in a skilled trade and want to live in Canada permanently, use our Come to Canada tool
to see if you are eligible for the Express Entry pool.

Related links

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Date modified:
2016-10-24

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