Canada Immigration 123

For people who want to settle and work in Canada.

Based on your education, work experience, knowledge of English and/or French, and other criteria, you can be selected to become economically established permanent resident of Canada.

Note: The province of Quebec is responsible for selecting its own skilled workers.

Do you intend to reside in Montreal or another city in the province of Quebec? The Province of Quebec establishes its own immigration requirements and selects immigrants who will adapt well to living in Quebec under the Canada-Quebec Accord on Immigration.

If you would like to work as a professional in Quebec, first you should follow a separate selection process before your application is finalized by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. In order to learn more about that province’s requirements, contact us.

The rules for applying as a federal skilled worker can change from time to time without notice, so make sure you visit this site regularly if you are considering immigrating to Canada under this category.

To apply as a skilled worker/professional, you must meet the following criteria:

• Include the results of your official language proficiency test, AND
• Have a valid offer of arranged employment, OR
• Have one year of continuous full-time paid work experience in at least one of the occupations listed here.

Work experience minimum requirements

If your application is eligible for processing, it will then be assessed against minimum requirements.

Your work experience must be:

• For at least one year, continuous, and paid (full-time or the equivalent in part-time), AND
• Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or Skill Level A (professional occupations) OR B (technical occupations and skilled trades) on the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC) list, AND within the last 10 years.

If you meet the above minimum requirements, your application will be processed according to the six selection factors in the skilled worker points grid , which are:

• Your education
• Your abilities in English and/or French, Canada’s two official languages
• Your work experience
• Your age
• Whether you have arranged employment in Canada, AND
• Your adaptability

You must also show that you have enough money to support yourself and your dependants after you arrive in Canada.

Please NOTE the following information:
If you are applying under one of the 29 eligible occupations, as of July 1, 2011, a maximum of 10,000 federal skilled worker applications will be considered for processing in the following 12 months. Within the 10,000 cap, a maximum of 500 Federal Skilled Worker applications per eligible occupation will be considered for processing each year.

These limits do not apply to applications with an offer of arranged employment.

Apply Now for Skilled workers and professionals program

If you would like to make a successful transition from temporary to permanent residency, there is a way - especially if you are/were a temporary foreign worker or a foreign student who graduated in Canada.

Applying should be easy for you, since you respond to the "Canadian Experience Class" and you already are familiar with Canadian society and can contribute to the Canadian economy.

To apply as a Canadian Experience Class resident, you must meet the following criteria:

• Plan to live outside the province of Quebec
• Be either: a temporary foreign worker with at least two years of full-time (or equivalent) skilled work experience in Canada, OR
• A foreign graduate from a Canadian post-secondary institution with at least one year of full-time (or equivalent) skilled work experience in Canada
• Have gained your experience in Canada with the proper work or study authorization
• Apply while working in Canada – or – within one year of leaving your job in Canada
• Include the results of an independent language test (from an agency designated by CIC) with your application

According to the Canadian National Occupational Classification (NOC), skilled work experience means:

• Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) OR
• Skill Level A (professional occupations) OR
• Skill Level B (technical occupations and skilled trades)

Your application will be assessed on two requirements if you apply as a temporary foreign worker:

• Your work experience and
• Your ability in English or French.
• If you apply as a graduate of a Canadian post-secondary educational institution with Canadian work experience, it will be assessed using the above requirements, as well as:
• Your education

Please NOTE the following:
If you are married or living with a common-law partner in Canada, and she/he also meets the above requirements, you can decide which one of you will apply for the Canadian Experience Class as a principal applicant. This rule applies to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

Apply Now for Canadian Experience Class program

For people who want to start a business in Canada

Canada has developed its Business Immigration Program, allowing experienced business people to come to the state and support the development of the Canadian economy.

Business immigrants are expected to make a C$800,000 investment or to own and manage businesses in Canada, and must meet certain experience and/or net worth criteria.

If you are interested in applying for permanent residency as Investor, please consider the following.

The Immigrant Investor Program seeks experienced business people to invest C$800,000 into Canada’s economy and become permanent residents. Investors must:

• Show that they have business experience
• Have a minimum net worth of C$1,600,000 that was obtained legally and
• Make a C$800,000 investment.
• Your education

Your investment is managed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and is guaranteed by the Canadian provinces that use it to create jobs and help their economies grow.

CIC will return your C$800,000 investment, without interest, about five years and two months after payment.

Please NOTE:
On July 1st 2011 a new annual cap was introduced through ministerial instructions. The cap will reset on July 1, 2012, unless otherwise indicated in a future ministerial instruction. The Federal Immigrant Investor Program closes once 700 complete applications are received at the Centralized Intake Office.

The cap does not apply to the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program.

If you are interested in applying for permanent residency as Entrepreneur, please consider the following:

Experienced business persons who are willing to own and actively manage businesses in Canada are targeted by the Entrepreneur Program. They are considered valuable since they contribute to the economy and create jobs.

Please NOTE:
CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) has temporarily stopped accepting applications for the federal entrepreneur program. Only applications received before July 1, 2011, will be processed. This suspension will continue until further notice.

If you are interested in applying for permanent residency as Self-Employed Person, please consider the following:

Applicants who have the intention and ability to become self-employed in Canada are to be attracted by the Self-Employed Persons Program.

• Relevant experience that will make a significant contribution to the cultural or athletic life of Canada OR
• Experience in farm management and the intention and ability to purchase and manage a farm in Canada.

Apply Now for Investors, entrepreneurs and self-employed people program

One of Canada’s provinces or territories can nominate you to settle and work there

The Provincial Nominee Program seeks to attract people who have the skills, education and work experience needed to make an immediate economic contribution to the province or territory that nominates them. They are ready to establish themselves successfully as permanent residents in Canada.

Please NOTE:
To apply under the Provincial Nominee Program, applicants must be nominated by a Canadian province or territory.

Please NOTE:
Since the criteria for provincial nomination are determined by the individual provinces and territories, they can change without notice.

Due to this reason, ALWAYS consult the corresponding provincial site regularly before submitting your application.

The Government of Canada has an agreement with most of the provinces which allows them to nominate immigrants for permanent residency.

If you decide to choose the Provincial Nominees Program, you must first apply to the province where you wish to settle and complete its provincial nomination process. The province will consider your application based on its immigration needs and your genuine intention to settle there.

Here is a list of the provinces and territories currently participating in this program. Since the criteria vary among the provinces, you should visit their websites for more information.

• Alberta
• Manitoba
• Newfoundland and Labrador
• Ontario
• Saskatchewan
• British Columbia
• New Brunswick
• Nova Scotia
• Prince Edward Island
• Yukon
• Northwest Territories

After you have been nominated by a province or territory, you have to make a separate application to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) for permanent residence. A CIC officer will then assess your application based on Canadian immigration regulations.

You will have to pass a medical exam and obtain a police certificate. Provincial nominees are not assessed on the six selection factors of the Federal Skilled Workers Program.

Apply Now for Provincial nominees program

CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) considers very important to help families who come from other countries to reunite in Canada.

You can sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, dependent child (including adopted child) or other eligible relative (such as a parent or grandparent) to become a permanent resident if you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.

CIC refers to people corresponding to these criteria as "Family Class".

Those who become permanent residents can live, study and work in Canada.

When you arrive in Canada as a permanent resident, you must make every reasonable effort to provide for your own essential needs and those of your family.

The process to sponsor your family begins when you, as a citizen or permanent resident in Canada, apply to be a sponsor.

You should consider that there are two different processes for sponsoring your family.

One process is used for sponsoring your spouse, conjugal or common-law partner and/or dependent children.

Another process is used to sponsor other eligible relatives.

Apply Now for Family Class program