How to Check Status of FSW Applications Sent to CIO

Ever wonder what is the status of your Federal Skilled Worker program PR Visa application you've sent to Centralized Intake Office CIO)? Considering the limited number of applications to be accepted under Ministerial Instruction 3 (MI-3), you would of course want to know if your application is already included in the MI-3 Total Number of Applications Received weekly update.

There used to be a CIO Online Inquiry form to check your application status but it's no longer available. I have just checked it few minutes ago.

To verify the status of your application, you may contact Client Service Unit (CSU) of the Central Intake Office through their email address: FSW‑Sydney‑Search‑Enquiry@cic.gc.ca

Please note, however, that you will not receive a reply to your email if:

- you have not already applied as a federal skilled worker
- you are not authorized to receive personal information
- you applied within the last six weeks
- your enquiry concerns any other topic.

It's only the 4th of August so please don't send an email inquiry now to check your application status if you have just sent your application July 1, 2011. And more importantly, very first using your courier tracking number if it was indeed delivered to and received by CIO.

Total complete FSW Applications received as of August 2, 2011

As of August 2, 2011, 556 applications have already been received by Centralized Intake Office (CIO). So far, not even one application for Crane Operators (NOC 7371) has been received and only one for Welders and Related Machine Operators (NOC 7265).

Applications received toward the overall cap: 556 of 10,000 as of August 2, 2011:

Eligible Occupation	Approximate Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers	25
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture)	5
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management	269
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners	7
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists	18
2151 Architects	12
3111 Specialist Physicians	7
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians	4
3113 Dentists	11
3131 Pharmacists	19
3142 Physiotherapists	3
3152 Registered Nurses	96
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists	4
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists	1
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses	4
4151 Psychologists	1
4152 Social Workers	18
6241 Chefs	7
6242 Cooks	8
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades	8
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades	9
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System)	2
7242 Industrial Electricians	4
7251 Plumbers	1
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators	1
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics	5
7371 Crane Operators	0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction	1
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service	6

Total complete FSW Applications received as of July 29, 2011

As of July 29, 2011, Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management is already halfway toward the cap of 500 applications to be received under Ministerial Instruction 3 (MI-3).

Total complete FSW Applications received as of July 29, 2011
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Eligible Occupation	Approximate Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers	21
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture)	5
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management	259
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners	6
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists	17
2151 Architects	11
3111 Specialist Physicians	7
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians	3
3113 Dentists	10
3131 Pharmacists	18
3142 Physiotherapists	3
3152 Registered Nurses	94
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists	4
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists	1
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses	4
4151 Psychologists	1
4152 Social Workers	16
6241 Chefs	6
6242 Cooks	6
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades	8
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades	9
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System)	2
7242 Industrial Electricians	4
7251 Plumbers	1
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators	1
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics	5
7371 Crane Operators	0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction	1
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service	6

Click here for the updtaed report from the official Citizenship ang Immigration Canada website.

Total Number of FSW Applications Received as of July 21, 2011 | MI-3

Here's the total numebrs of FSW applications received under MI-3 as of July 21, 2011, It's the first update since the Centralized Intake Office stared to accept MI-3 applications on July 1, 2011.

Eligible Occupation	Approximate Number of Complete Applications Received
0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers	5
0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture)	2
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management	52
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners	3
2121 Biologists and Related Scientists	5
2151 Architects	7
3111 Specialist Physicians	3
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians	3
3113 Dentists	3
3131 Pharmacists	4
3142 Physiotherapists	2
3152 Registered Nurses	26
3215 Medical Radiation Technologists	1
3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists	1
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses	3
4151 Psychologists	1
4152 Social Workers	10
6241 Chefs	3
6242 Cooks	4
7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades	4
7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades	3
7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System)	0
7242 Industrial Electricians	2
7251 Plumbers	0
7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators	2
7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics	3
7371 Crane Operators	0
7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction	0
8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service	3

Just like last year, it looks like Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management will be the first to reach the cap and followed by Registered Nurses.

Canadian Language Benchmarks | FSW Language Points System

Most applicants were expecting changes to be introduced through Ministerial Instruction 3 (MI-3) but there wasn't any. Well, except for the reduction in numbers of applications to be received and just recently the new applications forms and guidlines. But the proposed changes in FSW Points System was not implemented. Not yet.

Last week, there's this client who thinks he know better and insisted that there were changes in the Language criteria, specifically in calculating your points using your IELTS score. According to him, to get 4 points for Listening, Writing, Reading and Speaking, one must have at least scored 8.

His reference is the Canadian Language Benchmark 8.

After explaining to him what Benchmark 8 means, he then realized his mistake.

Then yesterday night, another client came to the office and was also insisting that there were changes in the IELTS score points system. She was so confident and was telling me she would no longer file her application because she can't get the IELTS Benchmark 8.

I am also receiving several emails asking about this Language Benchmark 8. It appears that some applicants are being confused with what they read from the official Citizneship ang Immigration Canada website.

I hope this post will help clarify the confusion.

First, what are the Canadian Language Benchmarks?

The Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) are the national standard used in Canada for describing, measuring and recognizing the English language proficiency of adult immigrants and prospective immigrants for living and working in Canada.

The Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (CCLB) promotes and supports the recognition and use of the CLB as a practical, fair and reliable national standard of second language proficiency in educational, training, community and workplace settings.

The CLB provide a descriptive scale of communicative proficiency in English as a Second Language, expressed as benchmarks or reference points. They cover four skill areas: reading, writing, speaking and listening, and use real life language tasks to measure language skills.

The CLB provide a framework of reference for learning, teaching, programming and assessing adult English as a Second Language in Canada, a national standard for planning second language curricula for a variety of contexts, and a common "yardstick" for assessing the outcomes. [Source]

The CLB's 12 benchmarks are divided into 3 parts:

Stage I: Basic Proficiency (Levels 1-4)
Stage II: Intermediate Proficiency (Levels 5-8)
Sage III: Advanced Proficiency (Levels 9-12)

Canadian Language Benchmark 8 is not equal to IELTS Score of 8. There are no changes in the IELTS Score Points System.

To get 4 points for Listening, your score must be at least 7.5. To get 4 points each for Writing, Reading and Speaking, you need to get at least 6.5. And it should be General Training module.

The problem with CIC official website is that the page where they explain the language factor is that they provided a link to explain the Canadian Language Benchmark and its description but there's no link to the page where they explain how to compute your points using your IELTS Score.

I'm providing the link here for your reference: http://www.cic.gc.ca/English/information/applications/guides/EG72.asp#results.

MI-3 Total Number of Applications Received | Federal Skilled Worker program

As of this writing, the total number of applications received since July 1, 2011 is not yet released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). It's interesting to know how many applications were already received for the past two weeks.

I will be posting a regular update on the number of applications received by CIC as it becomes available. You may subscribe via email to receive an update delivered in your email inbox.

Or simply click here to check the updates from the official Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.

UPDATE:
Total number of applications received as of July 21, 2011

Received as July 29, 2011

Received as August 2, 2011

Received as of August 3, 2011

1,000 cap for pharmacists has been reached! | Federal Skilled Worker Prorgam

As of March 15, 2011, the 1,000 cap for pharmacists has already been reached. Check http://cic.gc.ca for the updated report.



If you are a pharmacist currently completing documents but did not make it to the cap, here's what you may do if you are still interested to live and work in Canada.

Get your documents ready in preparation for July 2011. Your occupation may still be included in the priority list. And you better be ready to file your application within a month once it opens up again.

What if pharmacists will not be included?

If that is the case, try the Arranged Employment route or Provincial Nominee Program. This could be of help: How to find jobs in Canada.

You will have a better chance of getting hired if you are registered in Canada. Check out Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada for information on how to get registered.