FSW Step 2 - Check Eligibility

As we explained on the previous step, the Federal Skilled Worker program is looking for skilled workers (duh!). "Skilled" is the keyword here - meaning you won't get to immigrate because of your good looks :P

With that in mind, IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) has put a system in place to make sure only the right people get selected.

The very first thing to do is an eligibility test that will tell you right away if you are eligible or not.

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How does the test work?

It is a simple online questionaire, that will ask you questions similar to these:

• "How many years of work experience do you have?"
• "How much money will you bring with you?
• "How many family members do you have?"
• "What's your age?"
• "How good is your English?" (not really on these terms)

Note that it asks things not directly related to your skills, like how much money you are bringing, and how big your family is. May sound like getting into your privacy, but at the end what they want to know is how many people will move in , and if you have enough money to support yourselves all while you settle down.

You won't need to provide any evidence of the claims you make for now. But you will have to prove them later on the process, so be truthful.

At the end, it will give you a "yes or no" type of result, saying if you are eligible or not.

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English Skills

One of the things the questionaire asks about, is how good is your English. Of course it won't take your word for it, as it can be very subjective. Instead, it asks how much you scored on an accepted English Exam like IELTS (International English Language Testing System).

Not everybody has a IELTs result at this point, and you probably don't want to do it just to be able to check your eligibility. So what you can do is run the questionaire with different possible IELTS results, to check if you would be eligible on different scenarios. Then after you actually do the English exam, you come back to the questionaire, and enter your real results.

There is a minimum IELTS score to be considered eligible, so you don't need to go crazy on the different scenarios. Read more about IELTS (and other approved Language exams) on the Do English Exam step.

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Ok, I'm ready! How do I start the test?

I though you'd never ask :)

Go to IRCC Express Entry Website and click the "Check your eligibility" button.

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I'm eligible! What's next?

That's great!

At the end of the questionaire, it will give you a personal reference code. Save that number (you will need it later), and print the results page. It will look something like this:

Important: If you are running the questionaire as an hypotetical scenario, don't use the provided code to move on the process. Only move forward with the code if you have filled in all answers with correct information.

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I'm not eligible... Now what?

You are missing one or more of the minimum requirements:

• At least one year of continuous full-time work experience;
• At least score of 7 CLB (Canadian Language Benchmark) on the English test;
• Education diploma equivalent to a Canadian credential;

You will need to improve your skills and come back. The questionaire results won't tell exactly what you are missing. We recommend you redo the questionaire, but this time changing the answers where you think you can improve, so you can identify where you need to work on.

Most common opportunities are finishing a degree, or redoing the English exam.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I do this questionaire more than once?
Yes, you can do it as many times as you like. Just don't use the reference code if you were "playing" with different scenarios.

What happens if I don't give honest answers?
Further on the process, you will have to back-up all your answers with evidences (like reference letters, or certificates). If evidences don't match the answers, you might get delays or denial on the process.

Can I skip this step?
No, the end of the questionaire will give you a personal reference code, which will be needed to continue on the process.

It is asking about my NOC (National Occupation Code), what is that?
Canada has a list of professions, with a code for each. At this point, you don't need to know the exact code for your profession, and you can just use the question text as a guideline. But if needed, you can find your NOC on this link.

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If you did the eligibility test, and got a positive result (eligible), congratulations! You can set this step as "done", and move on to the next step.

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FSW Steps

FSW Step 1 - Understand the whole process

FSW Step 2 - Check eligibility

FSW Step 3 - Inform dependents

FSW Step 4 - Find out your NOC

FSW Step 5 - Get passport(s) ready

FSW Step 6 - Do English Exam

FSW Step 7 - Get an ECA

FSW Step 8 - Create and submit profile

FSW Step 9 - Wait for ITA

FSW Step 10 - Fill out the online form

FSW Step 11 - Get Police Certificates

FSW Step 12 - Get Medical Exams

FSW Step 13 - Get Proof of Funds

FSW Step 14 - Get Work Experience Letters

FSW Step 15 - Translate all documents

FSW Step 16 - Scan and upload documents

FSW Step 17 - Pay the fees

FSW Step 18 - Submit application

FSW Step 19 - Receive request for Biometrics

FSW Step 20 - Schedule and do Biometrics

FSW Step 21 - Wait for approval

FSW Step 22 - Send passport to VAC

FSW Step 23 - Receive COPR + visa

FSW Step 24 - Arrange travel

FSW Step 25 - Do the landing

FSW Step 26 - Receive PR Card