Note:**Quebec to re-open its skilled worker immigration program in 2015**
The Canadian government has released its list of the 24 occupations that will now be eligible for immigration under the Federal Skilled Worker program.
The eagerly anticipated list contains several occupations that were on the previous list – including physiotherapists and medical radiation technologists. However, the majority of the old occupations are no longer on the list, including dentists, doctors and nurses.
Occupations that are appearing for the first time on the list and thus will be able to apply as of May 4 include a variety of engineering positions as well as land surveyors and computer programmers. The skilled worker program had been under a moratorium since spring of last year.
The announcement also included new information on application quotas as well as information regarding acceptable credential assessment organizations. The overall cap for new skilled worker applications will be 5,000 and only 300 in each occupational category.
“As a result of the actions taken by the Government to deal with the massive backlogs and unacceptably long wait times, FSW applications will be processed in approximately one year,” said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney upon announcing the changes. “We will not be able to remain competitive and attract the skilled immigrants we need if we allow backlogs and wait times to grow again. That’s why we are capping application intake and focusing on specific occupations that are experiencing labour shortages in Canada. This will also help us transition nicely into the just-in-time immigration system of the future.”
A full list of eligible occupations as well as details surrounding the language and education requirements can be found at the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada