How to immigrate to Canada?
Immigrating to Canada can seem like a daunting process, however, given Canada’s welcoming attitude to immigrants, there are many options and pathways to immigrate.
Some of the main programs to immigrate to Canada and Canada Permanent Residence are:
- Express Entry Canada (Provincial Nominee Program)
- Family Sponsorship
Express Entry Canada
The Express entry program in Canada is broken down into three further programs:
- Canadian Experience Class
- Federal Skilled Worker Program
- Federal Skilled trades program
The Express Entry system is based on merit and ranks applicants by giving them points for various factors. This score is referred to as the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS score).
You must first be eligible for one of the above programs. The eligibility criteria for each program varies and has many factorsl.
The main difference between the categories is the work experience:
| Canadian Experience Class | You must have 1 year of Canadian work experience (1560 hours) in the 3 years before you apply. |
| Federal Skilled Worker Program | 1 year of continuous work or 1560 hours total in the last 10 years that can be obtained in Canada or abroad. |
| Federal Skilled Trades Program | At least 2 years of full-time experience in the skilled trade within the 5 years before you apply. You must obtain this experience in a country where you are qualified to practice and must have the required education, training or apprenticeship in the trade. |
For the Federal Skilled Trades Program, you need to have specialized knowledge and have completed hands on work, skilled trades people may work in sectors such as:
- Construction
- Transportation
- Manufacturing and Industrial
- Natural Resources and Agriculture
For a more comprehensive breakdown of the specific eligibility breakdown of each category, visit, https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/who-can-apply/federal-skilled-trades.html#gc-document-nav
Once you have established which program you are eligible for, you must complete an Express Entry profile and have your skills, education, language ability, work experience and other factors assessed to provide you with a CRS score.
After the profile is completed and submitted, you will wait to receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence.
You receive an invitation to apply only if your CRS score is above the minimum points score of the round of invitations being offered. Rounds of invitations for the different categories are provided sporadically but frequently.
If you receive an invitation to apply, you must complete a full permanent residence application with all the required documentation and submit it within the timeline provided.
Provincial Nominee Program
The Express Entry program also has draws for the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). You must first qualify for 1 of the 3 main programs (Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker or Federal Skilled Trades) and in addition to this you need a PNP nomination.
Each province in Canada has its own PNP program, you must apply to the province in which you are interested in immigrating to, they will each have their own eligibility criteria and process for applying. If you’re application is approved and you are nominated by a province, you will receive extra points towards your CRS score.
This boost in points can be substantial and greatly increase your chances of being selected in the round of Express Entry invitations. There is a specific round of invitations for the PNP program in addition to the 3 main categories, making your chances of being invited to apply higher.
Family Sponsorship
Another pathway to immigrate to Canada through is the Family Sponsorship category. Through this category you can sponsor the following family members:
- Spouse, common law partner, conjugal partner, dependent child
- Adopted Child
- Parents and grandparents
Spouse, common law partner, Conjugal partner
Your spouse can be either sex and must be:
- legally married to you
- at least 18 years old
Your common-law partner
- isn’t legally married to you
- can be either sex
- is at least 18 years old
- has been living with you for at least 12 consecutive months, meaning you’ve been living together continuously for 1 year in a conjugal relationship, without any long periods apart
- Any time spent away from each other should have been short & temporary
Your Conjugal Partner
- isn’t legally married to you or in a common-law relationship with you
- can be either sex
- is at least 18 years old
- has been in a relationship with you for at least 1 year
- lives outside Canada
- can’t live with you in their country of residence or marry you because of significant legal and immigration reasons such as
- their marital status (for example, they’re still married to someone else in a country where divorce isn’t possible)
- their sexual orientation (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship, and same-sex relationships are not accepted, or same-sex marriage is illegal where they live),
- persecution (for example, your relationship is between different religious groups which is not accepted and they may be punished legally or socially)
Dependent Children
To qualify as a dependent child the child must be under 22 years old and they don’t have a spouse or common-law partner.
There are some exceptions if the child is 22 years old or older and meet both the following requirements:
- they are unable to financially support themselves because of a mental or physical condition
- they have depended on their parents for financial support since before the age of 22
Once you have determined whether the person you are sponsoring falls under one of the above categories, you must also demonstrate that you are eligible to sponsor the individual(s).
You must
- Be at least 18 years old
- A Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
- Not be receiving social assistance for reasons other than disability
- Be able to provide for the basic needs of any persons you want to sponsor
There is currently no income requirement to sponsor your spouse, partner or dependent child, you will only need to show you have enough money if you’re sponsoring a dependent child who has 1 or more dependent children of their own, or you’re sponsoring a spouse or partner that has a dependent child, and their dependent child has 1 or more children of their own.
After determining that you are eligible as a sponsor and the person you are sponsoring can be sponsored, you must submit a complete permanent residence application. As of September 23, 2022, you must apply online for this program unless you are unable to do so.
The application package includes the document checklist which lists the proof required to:
- Apply to Sponsor
- Apply to be sponsored (permanent residence)
Parents and Grandparents
This program was created to help sponsor your parents and grandparents to become permanent residents of Canada.
The way the program was setup was to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) of the parent or grandparent you intend to sponsor. Then through a lottery system, random potential sponsors were invited to apply for permanent residence for their parent or grandparent.
However, the last time EOI’s were accepted was in 2020. Since 2020, only those individuals who submitted an EOI in 2020 have been invited to apply. Last year on May 21, 2024, 35 700 invitations were sent out to sponsors with EOI’s from 2020.
Currently, we are waiting to see if IRCC opens up the program to accept new Expressions of Interest, as of now, there are no updates on this, and the program remains closed to new EOI’s.
IRCC has suggested super visas for parents and grandparents allowing them to stay in Canada for 5 years at time as an interim solution to those not invited to apply to sponsor.
Discover the main pathways to immigrate to Canada, including Express Entry Canada. Learn your options and get expert legal help to start your journey today!