How to become a permanent resident of Canada

It is extremely important to understand the process of getting the PR status in Canada before planning to move to this country. This is because the process is very complicated, takes a lot of time and often requires a significant cash investment. Unfortunately in many cases people are unable to go through the whole process for the reasons mentioned above, and so I think everyone should read this post and estimate their chances first before spending time and learning about other aspects of living in this country. In this post you will find the most common ways of getting PR, however you will need to do some research or wait for the next posts to learn all those little details about each program.

Before I move on to the main topic, I would like to mention that people who are pretty clever, detail-oriented and organized do not need to pay immigration consultants for their help with applying for visas or immigration programs because all of the information you need is available on-line and I will provide you with important links as we go. For people who do not need to worry too much about money and are afraid they can make a mistake, hiring an immigration consultant is a good idea but be careful because there are many dishonest people who will tell you what you want to hear just to get some money from you.

How to become a permanent resident of Canada?

There are many people (especially from Europe) who think that becoming a permanent resident of Canada is as easy as it is to get the PR in some of the European countries. These people do not realize that in Canada it's completely different, and they often think that it's enough to live in this country for a couple of years and then they will become permanent residents automatically. Unfortunately, the process is not that easy.

Assuming that you are not a refugee, and do not have parents or spouse in Canada, you will have to go through one of the economic immigration programs that are based on certain selection factors. There was one exception to this rule - if you had significant amount of money that you would be willing to invest in Canada ($500K I believe) you could apply through the Federal Immigrant Investor and Entrepreneurs program, however it has been terminated in 2014. The program is still available in Quebec but the required amount is $800K.

It is likely that most of the people who read this blog will have to go through the economic immigration program, and so I will focus on this one in this post. The immigration system in Canada is based on points. In most of the programs you will get points for the following:

• Education
• Work Experience
• Age
• Language proficiency
• Relatives in Canada 
• Job offer from Canadian employer

Generally speaking, education and work experience are the most important factors, but it cannot be any diploma or any work experience. There is a list of trades and professions that are highly demanded in Canada and your field of study and work experience must be in one of those categories. For example, if you got a bachelor degree with specialization in tourism and worked as a forklift driver in your country, this will not make you eligible to apply for PR in Canada.

If you would like to check if your education and work experience would help you click on the link below and check if your profession falls under NOC skill type 0, A or B. If it does, it should be a little bit easier for you. If it doesn't, you will have to go through another program.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/noc.asp

The preferred age range is 18-35. The required language proficiency is CLB7 or above. For the full list of the selection factors with details click the following link:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/skilled/apply-factors.asp

Now you should know more or less if you have any chances to qualify. If you think that you meet most or all of the selection criteria it would be a good idea to click the link below and answer all of the questions. It will automatically check if you qualify for PR as a skilled worker and provide with a list of programs that you should focus on.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/ctc-vac/ee-start.asp

If for some reason you do not qualify, you may also consider the following programs:

• Provincial Nominees 
• Investors, entrepreneurs and self employed (as of Feb 2014 available in Quebec only)
• Family Sponsorship
• Refugees 

If you do not qualify for any of the four programs mentioned above you can come to Canada as a temporary worker or international student. Once you get education from Canadian college or university or get work experience in a demanded field your chances may significantly increase.

How long does the whole process take if you are eligible under one of the programs mentioned above?

The fastest option is Express entry because it may take as little as 6 months from the time you register to the final decision on your permanent residency application. In all of the other programs it takes much longer than that. For example, for provincial nominees it should take approximately six months to get the nomination and another 15 to process the application for PR. The process of sponsoring a dependent child takes 16 months (for Poland) while an application to sponsor parent takes on average 4-5 years. Self employed category is probably the worst because the current processing time is 96 months. You can check other processing times by visiting the following website:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/


Hopefully you learned something new from this post. If you are interested in more posts like this please:

• Like my page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1646910395636607/
• Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/newtocanada6194
• Subscribe to the blog here
• Join the group of international students and foreign workers in Canada on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1742508492690628/

The more likes/followers I get, the more motivation I have to write new posts.