IMMIGRATION

Option 1: Earn a passing score in Express Entry

In January 2015, Canada launched one of the most advanced immigration systems called Express Entry.

The purpose of the system is a more efficient and faster selection of highly skilled immigrants through the so-called pool.

Express Entry is built on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which assesses the candidate based on information in its profile. Scores are based on the following factors:

• Skills and work experience;
• Education (including new rules for education in Canada);
• Knowledge of English and/or French;
• Language skills and education of the applicant’s spouse or common-law partner;
• A job offer is supported by a positive labor market impact assessment (LMIA);
• Presence of a government provincial program for permanent residence;
• Certain combinations of language skills, education, and work experience, which lead to a higher probability of employment for the applicant.

Option 2: Immigration to Canada through Education (Study Permit)

Today, the most popular and expensive way to immigrate to Canada, the essence of the program is simple, you get an education from a Canadian educational institution, having paid everything from your pocket (the price of annual tuition varies from $ 16 000 to $ 40 000 a year), after receiving an education you obtain a work permit and through subsequent work experience in the specialty that you graduated from in Canada you can get residence status and later citizenship of Canada.

Option 3: Immigration to Canada as a Qualified Specialist

If you are the specialist that Canada needs, then you have good chances to immigrate to Canada, but again, just being a specialist is not enough.

For individuals who wish to work in Canada, they may apply for a temporary work permit through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. As a general rule, these work permits require a valid job offer from a Canadian employer, though there are exceptions. In most cases, it is possible to extend work permits from within Canada, but some work permits have a maximum duration.

In many cases work permits require that the employer obtain Labour Market Opinion from Human Resources and Social Development Canada which confirms that the employment will not adversely affect Canadian workers. There are a number of exemptions to this rule.

Spouses and common-law partners of individuals who hold a Canadian work permit may accompany the work permit holder to Canada. In many cases, spouses are eligible to apply for an open work permit, which allows the holder to work for any employer in Canada.  

Option 4: Immigrate to Canada through a Babysitter or Caregiver Program

Another popular program, according to which a lot of people immigrate to Canada.

The Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots both offer a direct pathway to permanent residence and allow applicants to bring family members with them to Canada.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says each new pilot has a maximum of 2,750 principal applicants, for a total of 5,500 principal applicants per year, plus their immediate family.

Candidates are only eligible for an initial occupation-specific work permit if they have a Canada job offer in hand and provided they meet standard criteria for economic immigration programs.

Once they have accumulated two years of work experience, the pathway to permanent residence is guaranteed.

Option 5: Investment in Canada’s Economy

Roughly speaking, you can simply buy the Canadian residency status for a minimum investment of $ 200 000 ($ 800 000 for the province of Quebec).

The Business Immigration Program is designed to seek out individuals who are in a position to contribute to Canada’s economic development through their investment and managerial skills. Individuals who apply under this category have financial resources that will strengthen the Canadian economy and help create more jobs. Individuals with business experience and relatively high net worth may apply under one of three categories of the Business Immigration Program. Each of these categories targets a different contribution to the Canadian economy and has its own requirements.

• Immigrant Investor Program: This program seeks to attract experienced business people willing to make substantial investments in the Canadian economy. Applicants under this program must establish a net worth of at least CAD$800,000, and demonstrate that this wealth was legally obtained. In addition, Immigrant Investors must make an investment of CAD$400,000, which the government of Canada will return to them at the end of five years, with no interest. To qualify as an Immigrant Investor the applicant must also have managed a qualifying business, as defined by Canadian Immigration authorities. Applicants destined to the province of Quebec may qualify under a similar Investor Program administered by that province.
• Entrepreneur Program: The Entrepreneur Program is geared towards business immigrants who plan to have a hands-on role in their contributions to the Canadian economy. The net worth requirements for the Entrepreneur Program are lower than for Immigrant Investors (CAD$300,000 rather than CAD$800,000). Applicants under this category of the Business Immigrant Program must commit to both managings and owning at least one-third of a Canadian business, which will create or maintain employment, within three years of landing in Canada. Applicants destined to the province of Quebec may qualify under a similar Entrepreneur Program administered by that province.
• Self-Employed Persons Program: The Self-Employed Persons Program is in place for individuals with relevant experience and skills in business, culture, athletics or farming who are able willing to support themselves and their dependents through self-employed income. To apply under this program an individual may need to demonstrate experience, net worth and/or artistic qualifications depending on the criteria under which they are applying. Applicants destined to the province of Quebec may qualify under a Self-Employed Program administered by that province.

Option 6: Family Class Sponsorship

Family Reunification remains a corner-stone of Canada immigration policy. Families in Canada can sponsor their relatives to come to Canada on a permanent basis. In order to qualify to Sponsor your relative, you have to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Also who you can sponsor is your spouse and children under the age of 22 (there are some exceptions to this). Sponsoring your parents or grandparents is no longer an option at this time. However, you can bring them to Canada under the Super Visa Category.

• Marriage with a Canadian: Perhaps one of the most popular queries in Google, relating to many countries. As for Canada, it is not enough just to get married for immigration to Canada. There must be a level of trust. That’s not all, your marriage is likely to be tested for suitability, and this includes a lot of questions, for sure, if you read about these programs, you know the details. You can be called for an interview. Canada also has the right to request information about correspondence, calling, photos, and so on. In general, the process is not easy and you will fritter away a lot of energy and nerve. So think twice if you decide to enter Canada in a similar way. Same-sex marriage in Canada is legal.

Option 7: Stay as a Refugee

There is a theoretical chance that after arriving in Canada without a visa, you can directly ask for refugee status at the border. It is advisable to have with you the appropriate forms.

If they are not with you, then it will be possible to fill everything in place, after which the immigration officer will conduct an interrogation.

If you can convince an officer during the interrogation that certain serious circumstances have forced you to flee from your country, then you can be given the green light for immigration to Canada.

Option 8: Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program (AIPP)

The AIPP is one of the easiest immigration programs in the world (respectively, the easiest way to immigration to Canada), with simplified requirements for almost every indicator: language, education, work experience.

The goal of this program is to settle the Atlantic part of Canada and solve the problem of labor shortages in the four Atlantic provinces of Canada (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island).

The most difficult part of this program is finding an employer, but recently each of the provinces published a list of employers through which you can immigrate under this program.

Option 9: The five-year federal immigration program: Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot

On January 25, the Government of Canada announced a new immigration program, Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, which aims to attract qualified foreign workers to rural and northern communities in Canada.

The program involves cities with a population of 50 000 people or less or located at least 75 kilometers from the metropolis, where 100 000 people and more live.