Guys,

I'm moving to Canada from Ireland. No ifs, buts or maybes. I'm self-employed here as an NLP practitioner, which should help the ol' immigration procedure.

Thing is, I've just found out that I have a great-aunt in Montreal and she's willing to help in the immigration process. Does having family (of a sort) in Canada actually help much in the immigration process? Any information will be hugely appreciated!

Cheers,
Niall

PS: I've read the warnings about moving to Canada on the other threads - if anyone thinks Canada is bad, try Ireland - it makes even the UK look like Utopia.

Ireland....the home of many beauties and beautiful women :-) I digress, anyway in answering your question, here is how it works, i don't know if you are looking for your aunt to sponsor you, but the only way that is going to work is if you are orphaned.

If you are looking to gain brownie points from having a relative here in Canada, i believe that gives you 10pts or is it 20? Oh...and Quebec does their own processing separately from the rest of the country, and being able to speak french, will definitely help your case there.

Family Class Immigrants are sponsored for a Canadian Immigrant Visa by a close relative who is either a Canadian citizen or a Canadian permanent resident. The Canadian relative is known as the Sponsor. To qualify as a Family Class Immigrant, an applicant must be the Canadian Sponsor's:

spouse; or

fiancé(e); or

parent or grandparent; or

dependent child ; or

orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece, or grandchild -- under 19 and unmarried.

Also included are children under 19 who are either orphaned or placed with a child welfare authority for adoption and who the Sponsor intends to adopt. If the Sponsor has no relative as listed above and no relatives who are Canadian citizens or Canadian permanent residents, he or she may sponsor one other relative.

The Sponsor must be able to demonstrate the financial ability to provide for the essential needs of the Family Class Immigrant and dependents. The financial ability requirements are eased when sponsoring a spouse and/or an unmarried child(ren) under 19 years old.

The Sponsor must enter into an agreement with the Government of Canada (or the Government of Quebec, if that is where the Sponsor resides) whereby he or she agrees to provide for the essential needs of the Family Class Immigrant and dependents for a prescribed period of time. Failure to meet any of the commitments provided for in this agreement could result in legal action being taken against the Sponsor.

The Sponsor must be: a Canadian citizen or permanent resident; at least 19 years old; physically residing in Canada (or able to demonstrate an intention to reside in Canada by the time the sponsored family member lands in Canada); not in prison; not bankrupt; and not under a removal (deportation) order if a permanent resident.

Mick,

Well I'm not orphaned (******' parents) and I've got damn all French... but being self-employed counts for a fair bit, does it not? It does as far as my current research has taken me anyway. Chances are the immgration process will take a couple years, or so I've heard.

Niall

well....you mentioned self employed, and yes it counts for something, and the rules goes like this:

This applies to individuals with prior self employed experience as farmers, athletes (at an international level), or artisans. To be able to apply under the Self-Employed category, an applicant must demonstrate an intention and ability to establish or purchase a business in Canada that will keep him or her employed and make a "significant" contribution to the economy or the cultural or artistic life of Canada.

Applicants must demonstrate that the proposed business will generate sufficient revenues to support the applicant and his or her dependents. Farmers, artisans, sports personalities, actors, consultants, and operators of small business outlets that may be in demand are examples of applicants who may qualify.

Assessment in this category is based upon:

business ability and experience (when applying under the economic contribution component of the Self-Employed description);


artistic qualifications (when applying under the artistic/cultural component of the Self-Employed description); and


net worth (sufficient to establish/purchase the proposed business).

Hi

We came under the self employed category. My partner was a Financial Adviser. He never said that when we came here he would carry on with that profession. He did not employ any staff, he was just a one man band. He has a sister here in Canada and I think it got us just 10 pts. Sounds like your application was similar to ours. It took us 11 months from beg to end and we did not have to have an interview.

Hope this helps.

JJ

I was able to sponsor my nephew and his family with no problem tt was ten years ago, I was able to give him a job as we had our own business, and I was responsible for them for five years.
They are getting on like a house on fire and doing great