Get a Canada PR Visa through the Federal Skilled Trades Program

The FSTP (Federal Skilled Trades Program) is an immigration program for skilled foreign workers wanting to obtain a Canada PR visa based on their qualifications in a skilled trade.

Minimum Eligibility Requirements

There are certain basic requirements you have to meet to become eligible to apply for Canadian permanent residence via the Federal Skilled Trades Program. These include:

Meeting the required levels of proficiency for each language ability namely
- Writing
- Listening
- Reading
- Speaking
Having full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work experience) in a skilled trade of at least 2 years within the 5 years prior to your lodging an application, which must also meet the requirement that your work experience has to be for paid work (wages/commission earned; no volunteer work/unpaid internships will be counted)
Meeting the job requirements for that particular skilled trade as given in the NOC (National Occupational Classification), except when a certificate of qualification is needed have one of the following:
- A valid job offer of full-time employment for a minimum total period of 1 year
- Certificate of qualification in that particular skilled trade issued by the authority of a Canadian province/territory/federal authority

*Check your eligibility to Canada with the help of Y-Axis Canada Immigration points calculator.

What Is the Accepted Skilled Work Experience?

Work experience in the following skilled trades is accepted for the Canada Federal Skilled Trades Program and is organized under the following groups of the NOC:

Group	Trades
Major Group 73	Maintenance and equipment operation trades
Major Group 72	Industrial, electrical, and construction trades
Major Group 92	Processing, manufacturing and utility supervisors, and central control operators
Major Group 82	Supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture, and related production
Minor Group 633	Butchers and bakers
Minor Group 632	Chefs and cooks

All major groups of trades and their sub-groups are of skill type B. Basically the requirement is that you must demonstrate that you have already performed the duties mentioned in the lead statement of the description given to the occupation in the NOC.

Language Ability Required for the Federal Skilled Trades Program

It’s necessary that you have to:

Meet the minimum score requirement of CLB (Canadian Language Benchmark) 5 for listening and speaking and CLB 4 for writing and reading
Take approved language tests for
- Writing
- Listening
- Reading
- Speaking
Submit the test results in your Express Entry profile

The results of your language tests have a 2-year validity counted from the date of the test result. Its validity must be intact on the day you apply for Canada PR.

Requirement of Proof of Funds

It’s necessary to show that you have sufficient money to meet your and your family members’ needs when you settle in Canada. This is applicable unless you

have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada
can legally work in Canada

You must also have an “admissible” status to be eligible to apply for Canadian permanent residency.

Once you decide to immigrate via Canada Federal Skilled Trades Program, you must be prepared to live outside the province of Quebec as it has its own mechanisms to select skilled workers.

Documents to Submit for Various Stages of the Application

Here are the document requirements at different stages of the Canada PR application process:

Documents for creating your Canada Express Entry profile

You may have to provide information to IRCC through documents including:

A valid passport/travel document
Results of your language test
Proof of Canadian education you received or an assessment report of your foreign educational credential for the purpose of immigration in one of the cases below
- you are filing an application via the Federal Skilled Workers Program
- you want to score points for the education you got outside Canada
Provincial nomination (in case you have one)
A written job offer from an employer in Canada (in case you have one)
Proof of work experience
Certificate of qualification in a trade occupation issued by a Canadian province/territory (in case you have one)
Proof of funds

After you are done with making a Canada Express Entry profile, you will be up to participate in Canada federal Express Entry draws. Once you get an invitation from IRCC to lodge an application for a Canada PR visa, it’s time for you to submit the following documents with the application for Canada PR:

Police certificates
Certificates of medical exams
Proof of funds
A common-law union form (if your marital status is declared as “common-law”)
Birth certificate (if you’re declaring dependent children)
Adoption certificate (when a dependent child is shown as “adopted”)
A representative form (if you’ve hired a representative)
Marriage certificate (if your marital status is declared as “married”)
Death certificate (if your marital status is declared as “widowed”)
Divorce certificate and agreement of legal separation (if your marital status is declared as “divorced”)

It’s necessary for you to file an application for Canada PR within 60 days of getting an invitation from IRCC. A positive decision by IRCC will enable you to arrive in Canada.