Express Entry: All You Need to Know About Federal Skilled Trade

Disclaimer: This blog is only intended for educational purposes and shouldn’t be used as a substitute for legal advice .

The FST or Federal Skilled Trades program is one of the most popular federal immigration options for aspiring Canadian immigrants. FST is also one of Canada’s three major Express Entry systems, which uses CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System) to rank the candidates. The highest-ranked candidates are then invited to apply for a Canadian PR.

Eligibility Criteria for FST

To qualify for an FST program, you must have at least 2 years of working experience as a full-time employee in a skilled trade. The work experience must be no more than 5 years old.

According to NOC (National Occupational Classification), the following professions are considered skilled trades:

• Construction, industrial, and electrical trades
• Equipment operations and maintenance trades
• Technical jobs and supervisors in agriculture and natural resources
• Manufacturing, processing, and utility supervisors
• Cooks and chefs
• Bakers and butchers

Other FST Criteria

If you have the necessary work experience, you must also fulfill other eligibility requirements before you can apply for the FST program:

• You must have a full-time job offer for at least 12-months or possess a certificate of qualification in any of the skilled trades issued by their territorial authority or provincial government.
• You must complete the language requirement, i.e., have a minimum level on Canadian Language Benchmarkin French or English
• You must intend to reside outside Quebec.

If you meet all of the above criteria, you can submit your Express Entry profile for the FST program. However, you still need to meet other admissibility requirements, such as having no criminal records or certain health conditions.

Application Procedure for FST

Once you meet the requirements, you can submit your Express Entry profile to IRCC (Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada). Submitting your profile doesn’t guarantee that you’ll receive your PR. However, once you’ve submitted your application, you’ll be assigned a CRS score. You’ll be invited to apply for permanent residence in Canada as a skilled worker based on your rankings.

You’ll need to provide the following information when submitting your Express Entry profile:

• Identification documents:You’ll be required to submit national identity documents like passports and ID cards
• Language proficiency scores:All the Express Entry candidates are required to provide scores for an approved English or French language test that was taken within the last 2 years.

If you want to apply for Canadian immigration, our immigration lawyers in Toronto can help you. Nanda & Associate Lawyers employs experienced lawyers who can help you navigate complex immigration requirements to acquire Canadian PR.

We also have a team of experienced civil litigations lawyers, personal injury lawyers, and family lawyers to assist you legally in related matters. Contact us today to schedule your appointment