Canadian Immigration

Express Entry Visa

Express Entry is the fastest and most popular pathway for newcomers looking for a new life in Canada.

Express Entry is an online system that Canada use to manage applications for permanent residence from skilled workers. There are three federal programs within Express Entry:

  • Federal Skilled Worker

  • Federal skilled trades

  • Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

  • Provincial Nominee Program—PNP

Express Entry is the main path for skilled worker to immigrate to Canada. Works as a Pool of applicants who are individually “invited” to apply for permanent residence depending on qualifications. The Selection criteria is point based.

This is a 2-step process of selecting applicants for Permanent Residency under one of the Economic Classes.

◦ Step 1: Online Profile – the applicants are assessed based on their skills, education, language ability, work experience and other factors. This is a point-based system.

◦ Step 2: Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence

Provincial Nominee Program

The Government of Canada relies on its relationships with provinces, territories, and stakeholders to enable the success of its immigration system. Provincial Nominee Program allows provinces and territories to nominate applicant to apply for permanent residence in Canada.

Family Class Sponsorship

Canada is committed to keeping families together. Canada offers a number of immigration programs that give Canadians the opportunity to sponsor their loved ones to Canada.

Eligible sponsors can only sponsor members of their family group, as defined by the Canadian Government.

Family members of Canadian permanent residents and citizens may be sponsored to come to Canada as permanent residents. Sponsors accept financial responsibility for the individual for a defined period of time.

  • spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner

  • parent and grand-parent sponsorship

  • children

Business Immigration

Self-employment

A candidate is a person who may become a permanent resident on the basis of their ability to become economically established in Canada and who are a self-employed person. In order to qualify the candidate needs to:

  • have relevant experience in cultural activities or athletics and

  • be willing and able to make a significant contribution to the cultural life of Canada

The self-employed applicant needs to demonstrate the intention and capacity to create and establish a Canadian business that will create employment and will make an important contribution to the Canadian economy.

Start-up Visa

Start-up Visa is a program with the main point to attract immigrant entrepreneurs with the skills and potential to build businesses in Canada. The successful candidates need to be:

  • are innovative

  • can create jobs for Canadians

  • can compete on a global scale

Humanitarian and Compassionate Immigration

Permanent residency may be granted based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds on a case-by-case basis, or certain public policy considerations under exceptional circumstances.

The applicants who apply to the humanitarian and compassionate considerations class do not meet the requirements for Canada’s family reunification, economic, or refugee programs. Usually, the applicants do not qualify because they are either ineligible or inadmissible.

Refugee

Each year, IRCC facilitates the admission of a targeted number of permanent residents under the refugee resettlement category. IRCC offers protection to Convention Refugees, who are outside of their home country and are unable to return based on a well-founded fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.

Caregiver Program

Home Child Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot

The Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker pilots opened for applications on June 18, 2019 and will run for five years. They replaced the expiring Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs pilots. Through these pilots, caregivers benefit from a clear transition from temporary to permanent status to ensure that once caregivers have met the work experience requirement, they can become permanent residents quickly.

They also benefit from occupation-specific work permits, rather than employer-specific ones, to allow for a fast change of employers when needed. The immediate family of the caregiver may also receive open work permits and study permits to help families come to Canada together. Features of the new pilots reflect lessons learned from previous caregiver programs and test innovative approaches to addressing unique vulnerabilities and isolation associated with work in private households.

*NEW* Opportunities

The three-year Agri-Food Pilot was launched on May 15, 2020, and provides a new pathway to permanent residence for experienced non-seasonal workers in specific agri-food industries and occupations. A total of 2,750 applicants and their family members can be accepted annually.

Testing a new community-based economic development approach, IRCC launched the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot in 2019 to support smaller and more remote communities to access the economic benefits of immigration. It helps Canadian communities offer meaningful employment, with the goal of retaining newcomers in the long term. Eleven communities were selected for this pilot and recommending candidates for permanent residence began in November 2019.