Canadian Immigration Regulations at a Glance

Do I qualify for immigration to Canada?
Which class should I apply under?
What conditions do I need to satisfy?
How long does it take to process a visa? 

Essentially, there are four main ways to immigrate to Canada. You can apply under one of three permanent residence classes:

Skilled Worker

Family

Business

The other option is to apply for a Temporary Residence Visa

LATEST UPDATES - For recent changes and news regarding the immigration regulations, please click here

Skilled Worker

This is the most popular class, with applicants allocated points on the basis of a range of eligibility factors related to their ability to become economically established in Canada.

Eligibility Criteria -  for a Federal Skilled Worker application to be deemed eligible for processing, you must;:-

• include the results of your official language proficiency test, AND
• have a valid offer of “arranged employment”, OR
• be a skilled worker who has had one year of continuous full-time or equivalent part-time paid work experience in at least one of the following eligible occupations within the last ten years:

Note: the occupations above are all Skill Type 0 (managerial occupations) or Skill Level A (professional occupations) or B (technical occupations and skilled trades) on the Canadian National Occupational Classification list.

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

• your education (Applicants are awarded up to 25 points).
• your abilities in English and/or French, Canada’s two official languages (Applicants are awarded up to 24 points).
• your work experience (Applicants are awarded up to 21 points).
• your age (Applicants are awarded up to 10 points)
• whether you have arranged employment in Canada (Applicants are awarded up to 10 points).
• your adaptability. (Applicants are awarded up to 10 points).

Pass Mark - Applicants must achieve a minimum of 67 points out of 100. You must also show that you have enough money to support yourself and your dependents after you arrive in Canada.

Quotas - As of 1st July 2011, Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) introduced limits on new applications in order to reduce their processing backlog. Between 1st July 2011 and 30 June 2012, a maximum of 10,000 complete Federal Skilled Worker applications will be considered for processing. Within the 10,000 cap, a maximum of 500 Federal Skilled Worker applications per eligible occupation will be considered for processing within this same time frame.
Note: These limits do not apply to applications with an offer of arranged employment (job offer).  Once each specific occupation cap has been reached, CIC will only accept applications for that occupation from people with an existing offer of arranged employment.

***For those who had lodged their application before 1st July 2011, the processing times have still to be advised.

New federal skilled worker applications that do not meet the eligibility criteria outlined above will not be processed and the application fee will be refunded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Quebec - The province of Quebec has different eligibility criteria, quotas and processing guidelines.

Please note: Migration Bureau acts as a referral partner on behalf of an appointed Quebec representative. Upon proceeding with the immigration process, it is the client’s responsibility to verify with the attorney specified in the agreement the accuracy, validity and relevance of all the information contained in the assessment report and to liaise directly with the attorney, with no recourse to Migration Bureau (which takes no active role and has no responsibility for the progress of the client's visa file or for the provision of immigration advice in accordance with Quebec immigration rules and regulations)..

Click here - for further details of average application processing times.

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Family

There is also the family visa for persons who have qualifying relatives in Canada who are willing and eligible to sponsor them. Sponsors must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident:
spouse, common-law or conjugal partners; dependant child, parent or grandparent; an orphaned brother, sister, niece, nephew or grandchild (under 19); and any relative if the Canadian sponsor does not have another close relative who is in Canada or who can be sponsored to come to Canada. The most common type of family class application is for those persons who are married or engaged to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

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Business

Applicants are divided into three subcategories: Self-employed, Entrepreneur and Investor.

As the name suggests, the Self-Employed class is suitable for self-employed business persons who do not necessarily intend to employ other persons in their business. This class is limited to farmers and applicants who will be of cultural, artistic or sporting value to Canada. Under this class there is no minimum capital or past ownership requirements, but applicants must prepare a viable, well-researched business proposal and possess sufficient funds and acceptable experience to establish or purchase the proposed business in Canada. Past self-employment, though not strictly required, is considered an asset. There is also a requirement to
meet the pass mark.

Under the Entrepreneur class, you must have past business experience in a qualifying business for a specified period. Applicants must also possess a net worth of at least C$300,000. Upon arrival in Canada, there is a requirement to establish or purchase a
business enterprise and provide active and ongoing management of that business within three years. Your business must create at least one new full-time job for a Canadian and meet other
requirements of a qualifying business. There is also a requirement to meet the pass mark.

Applicants under the Investor class must possess a total net worth of at least C$1.6 million and invest C$800,000 of this amount with the Canadian Receiver General for 5 years. Although the fund is Government guaranteed, no interest is payable. Applicants must prove that the funds have been generated through their own business initiative and that they have previously managed either 5 full-time staff for at least 2 years OR owned a share in the business they have managed for at least two years in the five years prior to applying. If you do not wish to undertake an investment, an alternative is to establish a loan arrangement with a Canadian bank, whereby the amount to be invested is borrowed. Under this option, it is still necessary to possess an overall net worth of C$1.6 million. The down side of this option is that you must pay the interest charges accumulated over the 5-year term.

The main advantages of the Investor class are that you do not need to actively own and operate a business and that you are issued with permanent residence immediately upon approval.
All applicants must satisfy health, police, character and credibility checks, and a range of other criteria.

IMPORTANT NOTE; If you do not qualify under any of the above classes, you may be able to apply under one the Provincial Government Nominee programmes. Although only a limited number of places are available every year, the regulations differ from those described
above, as they are set by the Provincial Government according to economic and social needs of that region. Contact your nearest Migration Bureau Office for further information.

Quotas - As of 1st July 2011, a maximum of 700 new federal immigrant investor applications will be considered for processing in the following 12 months. Applications received by CIC before July 1, 2011 will not be affected by this cap. The cap does not apply to the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program.

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Temporary Visas

A number of temporary residence visas are also available:

Work Permits: If you are offered a job that cannot be filled by a Canadian and the Canadian employer is able to satisfy a Service Canada labour market assessment, then you may be able to apply for a work permit. The permit is issued for the duration of the employment contract usually up to a maximum of 3 years. Important note: Canadian employers are generally reluctant to sponsor offshore candidates unless there are specific skills shortages, and do not consider applicants unless ALREADY in possession of a Canadian residence visa and present in Canada for interview. So unless you are to be transferred to Canada by your current employer, this can be a very difficult visa to obtain.

Student visa: If you are enrolled into a qualifying course at a Canadian tertiary institution, you can apply for a student visa. This visa allows you to study full-time and to work a limited number of hours per week. Other temporary visas include young persons working holiday programmes and visas for live-in caregivers.

Working Holiday Visa – A Possible Route to Canadian Residency

The International Experience Canada Working Holiday initiative offers emigrants from the UK (& other reciprocal countries) a possible temporary visa allowing them to experience life and travel in Canada, and to look for permanent employment as a basis for an eventual residency application.

The quota for UK participants in 2012 is 5,350 places.  For eligible candidates (eg. 18 to 30 years old, with insurance and some support funds), the average processing time for such visas is 8 weeks.

Migration Bureau does not handle Working Holiday visa applications unless they are part of a permanent residency application. However, our officially-regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants provide experienced, professional services for long-term emigrants and our local Employment Consultants provide job search assistance to help you obtain that vital Canadian job offer.

For details, contact Migration Bureau today. 

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Your Next Step?
If your initial assessment is favourable, we will then invite you to complete a more comprehensive Full Check Immigration Assessment: a confidential, information-gathering exercise which will enable our immigration experts to assess your position under the official immigration regulations, without any obligation on you to proceed further.

Click here to complete an online Full Check Immigration Assessment. Please Note: This is a paid service, so a fee applies.

Caution: Immigration Regulations can change without advance notice. You are strongly advised to seek the advice of a professional Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant before applying.

(Information on this page has been checked by John Lironi, MA, ICCRC Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant,  as at 1st July 2011).

NEWSFLASH - For recent changes and news regarding the immigration regulations, please click here

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