Kenyans are well-positioned to immigrate to Canada thanks to their high levels of English proficiency, education, and professional work experience all key factors in Canada’s immigration selection process for economic class candidates.

Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)

If you’re a Kenyan living overseas, the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) may be your best option. The FSWP allows candidates with work experience to apply for permanent residence, even without a job offer in Canada.

This program targets skilled workers who can leverage their foreign work experience, education, and language skills to become economically established in Canada. To qualify, candidates must meet the following minimum requirements:

• Work Experience: At least one year of continuous full-time or equivalent paid work in a skilled occupation classified under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER categories 0, 1, 2, or 3 within the past 10 years.
• Language Proficiency: Validated language ability equivalent to Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7 in English or French across all abilities (reading, writing, listening, and speaking).
• Educational Credentials: A Canadian educational credential (certificate, diploma, or degree) or a foreign credential with an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) report.

FSWP applicants must score a minimum of 67 points on IRCC’s six immigration selection factors and demonstrate sufficient funds for settlement.

What to Do If You’re Eligible for the FSWP

The FSWP is part of the Express Entry application management system. Once you confirm your eligibility, you can create and upload your Express Entry profile to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website.

Upon submission, candidates from Kenya will receive a Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score based on factors like age, education, work experience, and language ability.

Every two weeks, IRCC invites the highest-scoring candidates to apply for permanent residence, with a processing standard of six months. The aim is to admit over 110,000 permanent residents through Express Entry each year, making it one of the fastest pathways for economic class candidates to gain permanent residency in Canada.

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is another viable option for Kenyan immigration candidates. Canada consists of 10 provinces and three territories, each administering its own PNP. This program allows provinces and territories to create immigration pathways tailored to their specific economic and demographic needs.

Kenyan candidates may apply directly through a PNP if they meet the eligibility criteria. They can also enter the Express Entry pool and seek provincial nomination, which can yield an additional 600 CRS points, greatly enhancing their chances of receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence.