Matello

Hi,
I am looking to emigrate and am trying to find out about various countries and their emigration rules.

I know Canada has a points based system.
I have a few questions I hope someone could answer.
If a person applies through this route and passes the test and the other checks, is it like Australia in that you can then fly to Canada to validate your visa and it is then validated for a length of time?
i.e. are you then classed as a permanent resident?

I have read some things that say you need a job offer and then you are only granted a temporary work permit.
If so, how do you make this permanent? It seems very risky to go halfway across the world on a temporary visa with wife and kids in tow and risk being sent back at any time if this is the case.

Sorry for the ramble and lots of questions but the Canadian system seems less confusing compared to the Australian immigration system.

Thanks
Matello

SAW 04

You'll find all the answers here

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Category:Canada

iaink

Short answer is that if you have the points you can apply for PR visa, which will be issued at some non specific point 5 or 6 or more years from now, at which point you climb on a plane, present paperwork at point of entry and get a shiny permaneny resident card a few weeks later.

However, a 5 or 6 year wait is not really an attractive option, so the prefered choice is to find a job, get the LMO and enter either as a temporary resident, or apply through a provincial nomination program for a fast tracked PR visa while being here temporarily at first.

Once here with a job it can be leveraged into PR without too much problem as its worth a lot of point for canadian experience and for having the job itself.

Temp work permits are rarely a problem to renew, the bigger issue is that its only good for that one job, so if the job dissapears you are up shit creek unless you can find another employer willing to do the paperwork.

The canadian system may be less confusing, but its also much slower if you just go with the skilled worker points system without a job involved.

Matello

Is that irrespective of occupation/skills?

Matello

iaink

Yes. But there are no guarantees, the whole system could (and if you ask me should) be overhauled in the time it takes to get processed.

Matello

If it's the second most popular destination, how come it is so much more difficult to get in. Is it the system?


First, ask yourself if you would be able to get into Canada by:
Claiming Canadian citizenship (through a Canadian parent, for example);
Getting your Canadian spouse or adult child to sponsor you;
Getting an intra-company transfer;
Starting a business that will employ Canadians;
Being a British citizen who is between the ages of 18 and 30 and who can get into Canada on a 12-month working holiday visa through BUNAC; or
Having a relative in Alberta who could sponsor you through the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program's Family Stream.


If you don't belong to one of the above mentioned categories, almost your only hope of getting into Canada within the next quarter of a century is to secure pre-arranged employment.

Is this an exaggeration?

wizzard

and if the past is anytihng to go by they would make all the changes retroactively apply to everyone in process.

Judy in Calgary

No.
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iaink

Actually, turns out thats no longer correct info. Your skills and expereince have to be on the list of required skills now in order for your application to be valid for skilled worker.

I should have visitied the CIC website...like everyone else looking into this is strongly recomended to.

Skilled worker is still available without a job offer as far as I can see, but you need at least a years work experience in a desired job function, within the last ten years.

There is also now a seperate channel for those with canadian experience (ie educated here, or here on a work permit for at least two years)

Matello

Claiming Canadian citizenship (through a Canadian parent, for example);
Getting your Canadian spouse or adult child to sponsor you;
Getting an intra-company transfer;
Starting a business that will employ Canadians;
Being a British citizen who is between the ages of 18 and 30 and who can get into Canada on a 12-month working holiday visa through BUNAC; or
Having a relative in Alberta who could sponsor you through the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program's Family Stream.


So even though I don't fit any of those categories above, even though I fall into the 18-49 age group and am a skilled IT person, it may take me 25 years to get into Canada?

Sorry to re-question this but Australia is a far more popular destination yet I am told with my skills I can expect to wait 6-12 months.

Judy in Calgary

No, it won't take you 25 years. If you don't have pre arranged employment or if your occupation is not on THE AS YET TO BE PUBLISHED LIST of occupations in extreme demand, you will never get in.

Once THE LIST has been published, your permanent residence (PR) application quickly would be rejected if you did not meet either of those criteria (that is, pre arranged employment or an occupation on THE LIST). So they wouldn't just leave you dangling.

If you have pre-arranged employment, you can get in within six months or so. They tell us that people whose occupations are on THE AS YET TO BE PUBLISHED LIST will be able to get in within about twelve months.

In fact the whole point of moving to a system that places so much emphasis on pre arranged employment and on THE LIST was to try to make the immigration application process more effective, as it is in Australia. The Government of Canada is conscious (or it claims to be conscious) that it is losing good quality applicants to Australia.

Just in case it has escaped anyone's attention, if an applicant does not have pre arranged employment, THE LIST will be critical.

Much as I value iaink's opinion 99.9999% of the time, I have less respect for the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website than he appears to have. I believe the CIC website is deceptive, because it does not give the first time visitor an honest idea of the implications of recent legislation. If you want to understand those implications, I recommend that you read the Wiki article entitled THE LIST-Canada, just in case my central point has managed to escape you till now.
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Matello

Judy,
Thank you for your reply.
I have read the CIC website but found it confusing.
Your last post has made it so much clearer.
Thank you.

Matello