FAQ

No. Applicants can still qualify for a Canada Immigration (Permanent Resident) Visa without a Canadian job offer. However, Canadian employers play a greater role in Canadian immigration under the federal Express Entry immigration selection system than they did previously, meaning that, for many candidates, obtaining a valid Canadian job offer significantly increases their chances of being invited to apply for Canadian permanent residence. Candidates in the Express Entry pool have the opportunity to increase their chances of being invited to apply by promoting themselves directly to employers through the CanadaVisa Job Search tool.

A job offer is a genuine offer of employment from a legitimate Canadian employer.

Canada Visa Application Centres have been established to provide administrative support to its clients for the successful submission of applications for all temporary resident categories (visitor visas, study and work permits) and travel document applications to the offices of  Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada around the world.

Pursuant to the provisions of Canada’s constitutional laws, the holder of a Canadian permanent resident visa and his/her accompanying dependants are permitted to permanently reside in Canada and earn a livelihood in any one of the ten provinces or three territories within Canada. In addition, individuals with Canadian permanent residence may attend primary and secondary education institutions in the various provincially administered public school systems, tuition exempt. Permanent residents also qualify for provincially administered universal health care coverage.

(Skilled worker class, Quebec skilled worker class, provincial nominee class, entrepreneur class, investor class, self-employed persons class, Canada experience class)

The Federal skilled worker class is point based and confers permanent resident status upon qualified applicants who are able to demonstrate an ability to become economically established in Canada. Applicants are assessed under 6 factors and numerous subfactors of assessment providing for 100 points. Individuals with at least one year of continuous full-time employment experience, or the equivalent in part-time employment in one or more “open” occupations, within the 10 years preceding the date of their application and who possess the required settlement funding, may qualify for assessment. Applicants who do not meet the applicable pass mark may be accepted under the positive discretion provisions of the regulations. This mechanism is (rarely) used to accept a number of applicants who will be able to successfully settle in Canada yet who do meet the applicable pass mark.

Under the Quebec skilled worker class and the Provincial nominee class, applicants may become permanent residents on the basis of their proven ability to become economically established in Canada, in accordance with immigration programs and selection criteria administered by Quebec or the provinces.

A detailed review of the Quebec skilled worker program may be obtained here.

A detailed review of the Provincial nominee programs may be obtained here.

The Investor class is point based and confers permanent residence to applicants who demonstrate an ability to become economically established in Canada on the basis of their business or management experience and high personal net worth. Approval is contingent upon the investor undertaking to commit an irrevocable, passive, non-interest bearing investment of $800,000 in a government guaranteed investment fund. As of February 11, 2014, the Canadian government announced the end of its Immigrant Investor program. Currently, Investor Immigrants must intend to settle in the province of Quebec and apply under the Quebec Investor class.

A successful applicant under the Quebec Investor class is one who has a) owned and operated a business for 2-years in the previous 5-years or has held a high level management position for 2-years in the previous 5-years in a private company, government or NGO; b) possesses a personal net worth of at least CAD $1,600,000 legally acquired and c) undertakes to invest $800,000 in a passive government guaranteed investment for a period of five years and receive no interest. Applicants may finance their investment and liquidate only $180,000 to $220,000 into a government approved financing program for five years and receive no return of capital.

The Entrepreneur class is point based and confers permanent residence to applicants who demonstrate an ability to become economically established in Canada on the basis of their business experience and personal net worth. Approval is contingent upon the entrepreneur undertaking to invest and become active in the management of a qualifying business operated in Canada that will contribute to the economy and create employment. Entrepreneurs may apply under the Quebec Entrepreneur class or a number of Provincial Nominee Programs.

A successful applicant is generally one who has a) managed a qualifying business and has controlled a percentage of equity of the qualifying business for at least two years in the period beginning five years preceding the application; b) possesses a personal net worth of $300,000 and c) undertakes to control a percentage of the equity of a qualifying Canadian business and provide active and ongoing management of the qualifying Canadian business that will create at least one incremental full-time job for Canadian citizens or permanent residents, other than the entrepreneur and their family members. This condition must be fulfilled for a period of one year within the period of three years after the day on which the entrepreneur becomes a permanent resident.

The Self-Employed class refers to applicants who have the intention and the ability to create their own employment and make a significant contribution to the cultural, artistic or athletic life of Canada, or to create their own employment by purchasing and managing a farm in Canada.

A successful applicant is one who has at least two years of experience in the period beginning five years before the date of the application and ending on the day a determination is made on the application, in self-employment in cultural activities or in athletics; participation at a world-class level in cultural activities or athletics; or farm management experience.

To qualify, the applicant must demonstrate a sufficient financial net worth which, although less than an entrepreneur and not specified in the regulations, should enable the applicant to be self-employed in Canada and make a significant contribution to specify economic activities in Canada and to meet the initial settlement requirements for the applicant and accompanying dependants.

Skilled Workers are persons with suitable education, work experience, age and language abilities under one of Canada’s official languages and who are selected as permanent residents under six selection factors which demonstrate their likelihood to become economically settled in Canada. Applicants are assessed under 6 factors and numerous subfactors of assessment providing for 100 points. Individuals with at least one year of continuous full-time employment experience, or the equivalent in part-time employment in one or more “open” occupations, within the 10 years preceding the date of their application and who possess the required settlement funding, may qualify for assessment.

Applications submitted under the Federal skilled worker class undergo a two-stage assessment process.

To qualify under the First-Stage, skilled worker applicants must meet the following conditions:

1. Eliminatory condition:

• • Possess at least one year of applicable experience in one of 50 major high demand occupations (health, skilled trades and finance) listed here; OR
  • Possess an approved offer of “Arranged Employment”; OR
  • Legally living in Canada for a minimum of one year as a temporary foreign worker and have received a permanent full-time employment offer from current employer; OR
  • Are enrolled in good standing in a Canadian Ph.D. program and have completed at least two years of the program or graduated within the 12 months preceding the application.

Applicants who meet one of the above eliminatory conditions will be eligible for continued processing as a skilled worker under a second-stage at which time they must also meet each of the following essential selection conditions:

2. Essential selection conditions:

• • Possess one-year, within the previous 10 years, of suitable continuous full-time paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time continuous employment; AND
  • The work experience must be classified within Skill Type 0 (Managerial Occupations), Skill Level A (Professional Occupations), or Skill Level B (Technical Occupations and Skilled Trades) within the meaning of the National Occupational Classification system; AND
  • Score sufficient points under the skilled worker point grid comprising of six selection factors. The current pass mark is 67 points; AND
  • Possess suitable settlement funding; AND
  • Undergo a successful security background and medical examination.

The Regulations enumerates the factors and allocates the maximum number of units as follows:

For a detailed breakdown of the Skilled Worker immigration factors, please click on the following link.

In summary, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations under the skilled worker class features a selection process THAT:

• Implements a selection regime that places emphasis on higher education, language abilities and flexible transferable skills.
• Favours married (or common-law partners, conjugal partners) applicants with university education at the graduate level.
• Rewards applicants with government approved job offers in Canada.
• Provides the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration with authority to set and amend the pass mark at any time during the process with no lock-in protection for an application under assessment. This gives rise to a highly unpredictable selection regime.
• Preserves the discretionary powers of a visa officer to assess an applicant’s overall settlement potential, irrespective of the point total and approve an application under the positive discretion (or refuse an application under the negative discretion) provisions of the regulations. This mechanism is used to accept a number of applicants who will be able to successfully settle in Canada yet who do meet the applicable pass mark.
• Follows a processing system based on an applicant’s nationality or current place of legal residence.
• Establishes a continuing conformity principle requiring applicants to meet applicable selection criteria at the time an application for a permanent resident visa is made as well as at the time the visa is issued. This gives rise to a highly unpredictable selection regime.

On November 28, 2008, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, provided assurances that new federal skilled worker applications should receive a selection decision within 6-12 months from submission. This contrasted substantially with applications submitted under the old regime where, depending upon the time of year, the immigration program and the office in question and other factors, the processing time for an application for permanent residence filed under the economic class can vary from between 12 months and 40 months. This is the time generally needed to demonstrate compliance under one of the applicable categories; a clean bill of health for the applicant and accompanying dependants; sufficient assets to successfully establish the family in Canada; and a confirmation of no criminal inadmissibility’s for the applicant and the overage accompanying dependants. (The immigration offices in New Delhi, Islamabad, Beijing, Manila and Accra historically attract the most applications and therefore have the longest processing times).

Then take an initial check of your eligibility so that we can check your eligibility as per your qualifications till now!

Every application is different and processing times largely depend on the type of visa being applied for. For the most recent guidelines for Australian visa processing times, see Australia Immigration Process now!

No. This type of service is no longer provided by Government. The authorities exist to enforce the immigration law, make decisions on residence applications and to issue residence visas. Although basic information and application forms are available, the authorities are unable to provide independent advice and personalized guidance on your specific case. An Australian Registered Migration Agent can provide this kind of service.

Yes. A surprisingly large number of applicants are unaware how strictly the immigration regulations are enforced and are often unnecessarily refused or delayed due to technical errors on their application or by submitting the wrong supporting documentation. So the moral of the story is to consider seeking the professional guidance and independent advice of a MARA Registered Migration Agent before lodging an application for residence. Migration Agents exist to help you find the best way through the immigration maze and are highly effective in doing so.

No. Although you may fundamentally qualify under the immigration policy, you are by no means guaranteed of success. Your application must be prepared in accordance with the prevailing immigration regulations and submitted together with the appropriate supporting documentation in order to be approved by the immigration authorities. The ways in which to do this are not always clearly set out by the immigration authorities and result in many applicants presenting their cases incorrectly, inevitably leading to refusal. So you should consider seeking the advice of a MARA Registered Migration Agent.

The Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP) is an immigration program for candidates for economic immigration who intend to settle in the province of Quebec. The Ministère de l’immigration, de la diversité et de inclusion (Ministry of Immigration, Diversity, and Inclusion (MIDI)) receives applications to the QSWP through the online platform Mon Projet Québec. Applicants who are successful under the QSWP have issued a Quebec Selection Certificate (Certificat de sélection du Québec, or CSQ), which is required before the candidate applies to the Canadian federal government for a permanent residence visa.

Mon projet Québec is an online system for receiving applications to the QSWP. Candidates wishing to submit an application to the QSWP must first register an account on Mon projet Québec, and complete the application profile. For more information on Mon Projet Québec, please consult the comprehensive and updated Mon projet Québec Frequently Asked Questions page.

A CSQ is a document issued to successful applicants to Quebec immigration programs to show that they have been selected for immigration to Quebec. With a CSQ, a candidate can apply to the Federal government for permanent residence. The CSQ is not a permanent residence visa and cannot be utilized for entry into Canada.

No. Potential applicants for immigration to Quebec through the QSWP must first create an account in the secure online space Mon projet Québec. This is currently the only way for a candidate to submit an application to the QSWP.

Possibly. The selection is done on a points-based assessment. If a candidate meets the selection points requirements without providing results of an IELTS English test, he or she may still be granted the CSQ. To find out if you are eligible, fill out our online assessment form.