The 'General Occupation List' tries to match would-be immigrants to the demand of certain skills, each occupation receiving between one and ten points based on short-and long-term labour market projections.
Canadian law and immigration firm Browstein and Brownstein says the more specific 'Designated Occupation List' includes occupations for which a particular province has specified an urgent need.
"If an applicant's occupation is on the list, and the applicant intends to settle in that province, they receive an automatic ten points based on the Designated List," says Brownstein.
If an applicant's occupation is not on the General Occupation List or the Designated Occupation List, their only hope of immigrating to Canada as an independent applicant is based on receiving a validated job offer from a Canadian Employment Center.
The prospective employer must complete a detailed questionnaire and convince the Canada Employment Centre that the validation of the foreign worker's job offer will benefit Canada and the Canadian or an immigrant through advertising.
The demographic factor which is set by the immigration department varies between zero and ten points and is presently set at eight points. All applicants receive these eight points.
21-44 age group scores the best
An applicant who is at least 21 and not more than 44 is awarded ten points. Two points per year to a maximum of ten points are subtracted for each full year that the applicant is younger than 21 and older than 44.
Applicants can now receive up to 16 points for education instead of the previous maximum of 12. A basic secondary education diploma gets five points; one that potentially leads to university, trade or occupational certification gets ten points. University graduates receive 15 points and a masters or Ph.D. gives 16 points.
Applicants can receive up to 18 points for specific vocational training, depending on the period of training - one point for 30 days up to 18 points for over ten years.
| EUROPE | Britain | 8,051 |
| Portugal | 7,916 |
| Italy | 910 |
| France | 2,587 |
| Netherlands | 619 |
| Germany | 1,620 |
| Former Soviet Union | 2,359 |
| Poland | 16,552 |
| Czechoslovakia | 1,354 |
| Greece | 533 |
| Others | 9,235 |
| Total | 51,736 |
| Africa | 13,440 |
| Asia | 111,361 |
| % | |
| Ontario | 53,1 |
| Quebec | 18,9 |
| British Colombia | 13,4 |
| Alberta | 8,8 |
| Manitoba | 3,1 |
| Saskatchewan | 1,1 |
| Nova Scotia | 0,7 |
| New Brunswick | 0,4 |
| Newfoundland | 0,3 |
| Prince Edward Island | 0,1 |
Applicants can also receive a maximum of eight points for work experience. Up to 15 points can be awarded for knowledge of French and English; up to ten points for 'personal suitability' - based on the discretion of the interviewing officer; and five points for those with close blood ties in Canada.
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| Legal Services | Immigration Services |