Canada is a popular destination for individuals living in Saudi Arabia because of the various economic opportunities offered in a variety of coveted sectors such as information and communication technology, health, science and engineering related fields.
Discover if You Are Eligible for Canadian Immigration
Due to factors such as English proficiency, education level and work experience, individuals residing in Saudi Arabia are well-suited for Canada’s immigration programs. In fact, most individuals from Saudi Arabia come to Canada as skilled workers through the economic class category.
Two popular options for residents of Saudi Arabia under the economic class category are the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Provincial Nominee Program.
Federal Skilled Worker Program
The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) may be the best option for an overseas Saudi Arabian immigration candidate. Candidates with work experience can apply to the FSWP to be granted permanent residence, even though they may not have a connection to Canada, or a job offer.
In order to be eligible for the FSWP, candidates must meet the following minimum requirements pertaining to work experience, education, language skills and more:
- One year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work experience in the past 10 years in a skilled occupation classified under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level 0, A or B;
- Validated language ability equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 in English or French across all abilities (reading, writing, listening, and speaking); and
- Canadian educational credential (certificate, diploma, or degree) or foreign credential and Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report.
- Score at least 67 points on IRCC’s six immigration selection factors.
- Show that you have enough money for you and your family to settle in Canada.
The FSWP is one of three programs managed under Express Entry, which is the Canadian governments application management system. Once a candidate determines that they are eligible for the FSWP, they can upload their Express Entry profile on Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website.
Once a profile is uploaded, a candidate will receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score, which is based on factors such as age, education, work experience, language ability and other human capital elements.
Every two weeks, IRCC sends out invitations to the highest scoring candidates to apply for permanent residence. Since the target for Express Entry is to invite more than 110,000 permanent residents by 2024, Express Entry is a great and quick way for economic class immigrations to gain permanent residence in Canada.
Provincial Nominee Program
The Provincial Nominee Program is another viable option for Saudi Arabian immigration candidates. Most of the provinces and territories in Canada have the PNP and they will nominate skilled worker candidates to immigration to their respective jurisdictions. The PNP allows each province and territory to create their own immigration pathway to respond to their labor market and demographic needs.
If Saudi Arabian candidates meet the eligibility criteria, they can apply to come to Canada through a PNP. Moreover, they can also enter the Express Entry pool and potentially be invited to apply for nomination by a province that selects candidates from the federal pool.
If nominated through Express Entry, the candidate will receive an extra 600 CRS points, meaning that they are basically ensured to receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence in and future Express Entry draw.
