What to Expect After Submitting an Application to Canada's Skilled Worker Prorgam (Waiting, Follow-up and Arrival to Canada)

This article is the second and last part of the two-part published under the title Work and Live in Canada through the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) 

1. How long should an applicant for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) wait to hear about the status of his or her application?

Depending on the Canadian visa office that received the application forms together with the fees and other documents, it may take a while before the applicant may know the status of his or her FSWP application. Check with the CIC the processing time based on each Canadian visa office

Note: The Canadian visa office for applications from the Philippines usually take 18 months to process. Incomplete requirements, existing criminal records under the applicant's name or his dependants' and unsettled personal situations (adoption, divorce, etc) may also affect the longevity of the processing of the FSWP application. However, when the visa office believes that further background checking should be performed, they may ask the applicant to send more necessary documents or attend an interview.

If the Canadian visa office deemed the applicant qualified for the FWSP program (that is, when he/she has submitted all the requirements, passed the assessment and has a clear personal record), the applicant will be contacted to ask to send his or her passport to the visa office and may be requested to send a medical exam result as well as a police certificate for him/her and his/her dependants to make sure they are not threats to the Canada's security. The visa office will then issue an entry visa and a Certificate of Permanent Residence (COPR), and then mail it to the applicant together with the passport.

a. Completion of the requirements does not fully guarantee eligibility for the program. As mentioned in the previous parts of this article, these requirements will undergo evaluation and will be marked according to Canada's immigration assessment points grid. As a result, an application may be denied and not processed because it failed to reach the passing mark set for the program.

b. An application may also be denied/not processed due the following reasons:

1.  the applicant poses a security risk in the country,
   

2.  the applicant committed human or international rights violations
   

3.  the applicant have been convicted of a crime, or may have committed an act outside Canada that would be a crime,
   

4.  the applicant have ties to organized crime,
   

5.  the applicant have a serious health problem,
   

6.  the applicant have a serious financial problem,
   

7.  

    the applicant lied in his/her application or in an interview,

8.  the applicant does not meet the conditions in Canada’s immigration law, or 

9.  one of the person's family members is not allowed into Canada.
   

However, conviction on these minor and serious crimes may be overturned, depending on the decision of a Canadian immigration officer, thus, giving the applicant a right to apply for visa and enter Canada. For further information regarding this matter, you may check it with the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.

The applicant is scheduled to go to Canada, what will happen upon his or her arrival?

Upon arrival, the applicant (now with an entry visa and COPR) will be greeted by an officer from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). Documents such as passport, visa and the Certificate of Permanent Residence will be checked and a few questions be asked.

Unless the applicant gave false information and did not meet the conditions for immigrants in Canada upon arrival, the officer will allow him or her to enter Canada as a permanent resident. The officer will also confirm the Canadian mailing address where the permanent resident card will be mailed.

Applying for immigrant eligibility through the Foreign Skilled Worker Program (FWSP) is just one of the many ways to enter and be a permanent resident in Canada. If an applicant is not eligible in the program, he or she may try other options under a different Canadian immigration category. Learn more about these options.

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