by Canada is an incredible country and is sought out by people the world over looking to immigrate to a new country. Moving to Canada is not necessarily easy – the process can be long, and there are often challenges along the way – luckily, however, there are many different ways through which a person could move to Canada and ultimately gain residency.
Each year, Canada accepts over 250,000 new immigrants. Barring any legitimate reasons why Canada would not accept someone, for example, a criminal record, financial reasons, and health problems, one of the methods below can be used to immigrate to the country.
1. Refugee
Refugees are people who need to leave their country because their life is at risk. Claiming refugee status is a serious claim. It specifically indicates that the person will be in grave danger if they remain in their country. Once a claim is submitted, it will undergo a rigorous analysis, where a decision will be made as to the claim is valid or not. The refugee claim can be made before entering the country, however people who have already entered Canada can also make a refugee claim from within the country.
2. Family sponsored
Another way to move to Canada is to have family sponsorship. This means that a family member who is already a Canadian citizen, is a permanent resident of Canada, or is a person registered in Canada as Indian under the Canadian Indian Act, can sponsor the immigrating person.
The sponsor must be at least 18 years of age and be able to financially support the immigrating person and provide the basic needs of food, clothing, and shelter. Sponsors must meet financial guidelines and must agree to sponsor their family member from the day they arrive for up to 20 years – this number may vary based on certain criteria like the age of the person immigrating and what their relation to the sponsor is.
3. Express entry
People moving to Canada via express entry are chosen based on the skills they can bring to the job market and how they could contribute to the Canadian economy. There are three different express entry programs: Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, and Canadian Experience Class.
All of these programs require English or French CLB (Canadian Language Benchmarks) of 5 or higher, and they also all require the applicant to have some amount of experience. Overall, however, each program is different and has unique requirements for eligibility.
4. Self-employed person
Moving to Canada as a self-employed person is another legal way to enter the country and ultimately become a resident of Canada. The application fee costs at least $1,540, but this number may vary, and the application can take up to 24 months. Selection is based on experience, education, age, language abilities, and adaptability.
Applicants and their families must also undergo medical examinations and security checks, and must be able to prove that they can financial support themselves and their family upon their arrival in Canada.
5. Quebec-selected skilled workers
Skilled workers who want to move to Canada and live in Quebec can apply to move to Canada under the Quebec-selected skill workers process. This process can take up to a year and a half to complete and will cost about $1,000 to apply for. First, candidates must first apply to the Government of Quebec for a Quebec Selection Certificate.
Once that has been received, then the candidate must apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for permanent residence. This process also provides immigrants with a number of resources to help them get settled and adapt to Canadian life.
