On Saturday, June 26, 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced major changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Class with no advance notice. Unless an applicant has arranged employment, he/she must now have at least 1 year of continuous full-time paid work experience or 2 years of continuous half-time paid work experience in at least 1 of 29 occupations to even be eligible to apply. Citizenship and Immigration Canada also imposed a quota. A maximum of 20,000 Federal Skilled Worker applications will be considered for processing until July of 2011 AND within the 20,000 cap, a maximum of 1,000 applications will be accepted per eligible occupation (i.e. any 1 of the 29 occupations that appears on Canada’s General Occupations (Demand) List).
On Monday, November 1, 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada released approximate figures as to how many Federal Skilled Worker applications were received as of that date and…of those…how many were received in each of the 29 eligible occupations.
According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, approximately 3,309 Federal Skilled Worker applications were received as of November 1, 2010. The maximum for the category is 20,000. Of the 3,309 Federal Skilled Worker applications received, the breakdown, according to eligible occupation, is as follows:
Applications received toward the overall cap: 3,309 of 20,000 as of November 1, 2010
Applications received per eligible occupation
(by National Occupational Classification [NOC] code) Number of Complete Applications Received*
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 134
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture) 32
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 1,000 (No Longer Available – Quota Reached)
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 45
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 158
2151 Architects 181
3111 Specialist Physicians 138
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 167
3113 Dentists 208
3131 Pharmacists 284
3142 Physiotherapists 57
3152 Registered Nurses 461
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 11
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 4
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 21
4151 Psychologists 37
4152 Social Workers 95
6241 Chefs 17
6242 Cooks 48
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 26
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 58
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 34
7242 Industrial Electricians 40
7251 Plumbers 8
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 10
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 14
7371 Crane Operators 0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 2
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 19
*The number of complete Federal Skilled Worker applications received as of November 1, 2010, is approximate.
NOTE: Because application intake fluctuates, these figures are meant as a guide only. There is no guarantee that an application sent in now will fall within the cap.
What does this mean? It means several things.
1. Canada is still accepting skilled workers and has not yet met its 20,000 quota for the category.
2. If your work experience is in occupation 1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management (whose quota has been reached), you must either find another occupation on Canada’s General Occupations (Demand) List in which you have a minimum of one (1) year of paid full-time work experience within the past ten (10) years to satisfy eligibility requirements OR you must wait until the new General Occupations (Demand) List is released on July 1, 2011 to see whether 1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management is still on the list OR obtain Arranged Employment.
3. If your work experience is in an occupation in which many applicants have already applied (i.e. 3152 Registered Nurses), you should proceed with your proposed Canadian Immigration plans as soon as possible and move quickly to file your completed Application package before the quota for your occupation is filled.
4. If your work experience is in an occupation in which not many applicants have already applied (i.e. 3215 Medical Radiation Technologists/3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists), that is not a reason to delay or defer your proposed Canadian Immigration plans to a later date. The overall quota for the Federal Skilled Worker category is 20,000. Once that number is met, no further applications will be accepted, regardless of whether your particular occupation has met its own 1,000 applicant quota or not.
*Because application intake fluctuates, these figures are meant as a guide only. There is no guarantee that an application sent in now will fall within the cap.
If you are an existing client of Abrams & Krochak and have any questions, regarding this information, please send your questions, in the form of an e-mail, to info@akcanada.com
If you are not yet a client of Abrams & Krochak but had your eligibility to migrate to Canada as a Federal Skilled Worker favourably assessed by the firm and you have questions, regarding this information, please send your questions, in the form of an e-mail, to askus@akcanada.com
If you are not yet a client of Abrams & Krochak and have not yet had your eligibility to migrate to Canada as a Federal Skilled Worker assessed by the firm, but you wish to receive such an assessment, please visit http://www.akcanada.com/assessment.cfm
We look forward to representing you and to seeing you soon in Canada.