From Wiki

This guide provides a clear and concise overview of the options available to those seeking to immigrate to Canada.

Contents 1 Employment 2 Study 3 Family / Canadian Relatives 4 Investment 5 Provincial Programs 6 Working Holiday Visa 7 Myths

[edit] Employment

The List

If you have worked in a job in the last 10 years that is on the list of Eligible Occupations you can apply for Permanent Residence as a Federal Skilled Worker, as long as you were in the job for at least 1 year full-time and also have a minimum of 67 points on the self-assessment test. You will also need to have a minimum amount of Funds to support yourself upon landing, pass a medical and provide police checks. You can see the list here. [CIC Website]

Intra-Company Transfer

If your company has offices in Canada, you may be able to get an intra-company transfer.

Self-Employed Class

If you have at least 2 years self-employed experience out of the previous 5 years, in a qualifying occupation (cultural/athletic/farming) you can consider this program. [CIC website].

Canadian Experience Class

If you have worked full-time in Canada for at least 2 years in a Skilled job, or you have spent 2 years studying in Canada followed by a year's Skilled work experience, then you would qualify for Permanent Residency under this program.

Job Offer

If you do not fall in to any other category for immigration, as outlined in this guide, then your only option is to try and find a job offer to get a visa.

If you find an employer who is willing to hire you, the employer can apply to get the job offer approved by the government to be able to hire you. This is in the form of two options. The first is what is known as an AEO, or Arranged Employment Opinion. The second is called an LMO, or Labour Market Opinion.

These two are very different as they present you with two paths to immigration.

The AEO route gives you a document which you can then use to apply for Permanent Residence as a Federal Skilled Worker (category 2). However, the AEO takes around 6 months to obtain, and you cannot apply for Permanent Residency until you have this. The employer must therefore be willing to wait for the AEO and your subsequent residency to come through before you are able to work, which can take anywhere between 1 to 2 years or more in total. [HRSDC website].

The LMO route gets you into Canada quicker as it can be used to apply for a Temporary Work Permit. To get the LMO, your potential employer must prove that they have advertised the job across Canada and been unable to find a Canadian willing, or able, to do the job. However, your work permit will have an expiry date between 1 and 3 years after you land in Canada (at which point you will be required to leave unless you have obtained Permanent Residency, or if not, can get a new Temporary Work Permit), and you will only be permitted to work for that employer. Your Work Permit can then be used in the same way as an AEO to apply for Permanent Residence¹. [HRSDC website].

Sometimes CIC allows certain types of jobs to be LMO exempt, and there are various categories of workers that fall under this criteria, including intra-company transfers. [[1]]

[edit] Study

Study Permit

If you can secure a place at a university, college or technical institution, you can apply for a study permit [CIC Website]. This will allow you to study in Canada for the duration of your course. You can use two years of your study time to count towards Permanent Residence by applying under Canadian Experience Class [CIC Website], however an additional year of skilled work in Canada is also required (under a Work Permit).

[edit] Family / Canadian Relatives

Canadian Parent(s)

If your mother or father is Canadian, you may be able to claim Canadian Citizenship.

Canadian Spouse/Children/Grandchildren

You may be able to get your Canadian spouse, adult child or grandchild to sponsor you.

Canadian Relatives

This varies from province to province, however in some provinces more distant relatives are able to sponsor you into Canada under a Provincial Nominee Program.

[edit] Investment

If you can show that you have business experience, have a minimum net worth of C$1,600,000 and intend to make a C$800,000 investment then you can consider the Investor Class Program. [CIC website].

[edit] Provincial Programs

Each province has their own Provincial Nominee Program, and each of these have many different streams. It is worth exploring them, especially as some of them are more 'open' than the Federal programs, so it is possible to get Permanent Residency without a job offer for example. [[2]]

[edit] Working Holiday Visa

If you are between 18 and 30 (inclusive) you can enter Canada on a 12-month open working holiday visa through the IEC (via Bunac or CIC directly). [CIC website].

[edit] Myths

• The List of Skilled Worker occupations has no bearing on obtaining an LMO or Work Permit. It is only for Federal Skilled Worker Category 1 Permanent Residence Applications.