The Canadian federal government has ushered in a new era of permanent residence (PR) selection, prioritizing foreign nationals with work experience in in-demand occupations.
Assess your eligibility for Canadian permanent residence
There are many in-demand healthcare jobs, some of which can be qualified for in less than two years, but what about PR-hopefuls who don’t want to work in healthcare?
Here are six occupations being prioritized for permanent residence, many of which require little or no postsecondary education:
| Occupation | Typical required postsecondary education | *Median annual pay* (CAD) | *Top annual pay (CAD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construction estimators - 22303 | 2 – 3 years college | 79k | 128k |
| **Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics - 72400 | None – 1 year college | 77k | 108k |
| Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians - 22310 | 1 – 2 years college | 74k | 115k |
| ***Heating, refrigeration and air conditioning mechanics - 72402 | None – 2 years college | 78k | 116k |
| **Heavy-duty equipment mechanics - 72401 | None – 1 year college | 77k | 114k |
| ***Insurance agents and brokers - 63100 | 3 – 6 months | 62k | 107k |
*Annual earnings assuming 40 hours per week at the job bank’s median hourly wage and top hourly wage for this occupation, rounded to the nearest thousand.
**Licensing is required in some provincial jurisdictions but not others.
***Licensing is required in all provincial jurisdictions.
Eligible work experience
Foreign nationals with work experience in these occupations are being prioritized for permanent residence through Canada’s Express Entry system.
Whether your work experience counts is based not on your job title(s), but on the duties you performed, classified on the basis of the National Occupation System (NOC), the Canadian federal government’s framework for categorizing occupations.
For a given position to be considered, you must have performed all the duties in the lead statement and most of the main duties. To learn more about matching your work experience to the relecant NOC code and entry, visit our dedicated article on the topic.
You can look up your occupation in CanadaVisa+.
Getting permanent residence
To get permanent residence through Express Entry, you must be eligible for one of its three permanent residence programs, and you must receive an invitation to apply an invitation to apply (ITA) for PR through the Express Entry system.
Having work experience in a priority occupation gives you an advantage by allowing you to receive an ITA in a category-based draw, with a lower score under Canada’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) than would normally be required for a general draw or Canadian Experience Class (CEC) draw.
To qualify for category-based selection (CBS), you must have six months of full-time or equivalent part-time continuous work experience in a single CBS-eligible occupation within the past three years.
To receive an invitation through a category-based draw, you must have an active profile in the Express Entry pool at the time the government holds that draw, and your CRS score must meet or exceed the cut-off score for that round of invitations.
If you receive an ITA through Express Entry, you have up to 60 days to respond with a complete application for permanent residence.
If you’re in Canada and have a valid work permit, you may apply for a bridging open work permit (BOWP) once you’ve received an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) for your permanent residence application.
Eligibility for Express Entry
To be eligible for Express Entry, you must meet the requirements for the Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, or Federal Skilled Trades Program.
You’ll need language tests from an approved testing provider within the past two years, and an educational credential assessment (ECA) for any non-Canadian education you wish to count toward your eligibility and your CRS score.
Assess your eligibility for Canadian permanent residence