CANADIAN PROVINCES & TERRITORIES LOOKING FOR YOU
In addition to the federal-level immigration programs, Canada’s provinces and territories offer different ways to come to the country and enjoy the diversity offered from coast to coast and north to south. These are known as Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP). As the world’s second largest country, the regions within Canada are quite unique and different from each other. You’ll want to know more about each one before choosing a part of the country to immigrate to.
Each province’s PNP processing time and eligibility criteria varies. For example the BC PNP processing time and eligibility may be different from the Ontario PNP processing time and eligibility. We can help determine how long your application might take once we know more about you and what province or territory you’re interested in. Plus, we can recommend the PNP programs you qualify for.
The PNP programs were established to allow each province to attract the kind of skills needed to take its economy forward and benefit both new immigrants and the provinces or territories. For a person with the right skills, a PNP program can be a faster way to come to Canada, especially if the province is a great fit for the dreams you have of living in Canada.
ATLANTIC CANADA IS LOOKING FOR SKILLED WORKERS
Atlantic Canada is a unique part of the country with its own distinct vibe and way of doing things. Here, the people are more relaxed, things move a little slower and there’s certainly not a lot of rush hour, even in the urban centres. To welcome immigrants to this eastern part of Canada, the Atlantic provinces have created three special pilot programs to encourage the types of workers needed in the area to promote growth and economic advancement for the four Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
These provinces have relied most heavily on natural resources in the past but in-demand jobs include those in services, health, sciences, IT, tourism and finance among others. These are the types of jobs that will give Atlantic Canada a greater economic base to draw upon.
The Atlantic immigration pilot program is designed for intermediate and high-skilled workers as well as those who have graduated from a minimum two-year program from a recognized, publicly funded institution in any of the Atlantic Provinces. Those applying to any programs within the Atlantic Immigration pilot program have to meet the language requirements:
Recently (within the last two years) met the Canadian Language Benchmark of at least level 4 in listening, speaking, reading and writing in either English or French
Language results must be from a designated institution approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Applicants must also prove sufficient funds to support themselves and their families after arriving in Canada. This is not necessary if the applicant is already working in Canada with a valid work permit.
CANADIAN RURAL COMMUNITIES LOOKING FOR SKILLED WORKERS
The Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot is a community-driven program. It’s designed to spread the benefits of economic immigration to smaller communities by creating a path to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers who want to work and live in 1 of the participating communities.
This program is designed to help meet local labour market needs and support regional economic development, create welcoming environments to support new immigrants staying in rural communities
This program will help to increase long-term retention of skilled newcomers to rural areas by working with community-based partners, other federal government partners, provincial and territorial governments
As a candidate, you need to find a job with an employer in 1 of the participating communities. If a community recommends you and you’re successful in applying for permanent residence, you’ll then move there to work and live. The application process for eligible candidates will begin as early as fall 2019. We’ll provide more information at that time.
Please contact us for more detailed information.
LIMITED TIME PATHWAY TO PR FOR IN-HOME CAREGIVERS AND THEIR FAMILIES
The Interim Pathway for Caregivers is a limited time pathway to permanent residence for qualifying in-home caregivers and their families. If you have work experience in Canada as a home child care provider or home support worker, you may be able to apply for permanent residence.
To be eligible to apply, you must have status in Canada, relevant work experience, required language levels and qualifying education. You must also plan to live outside the province of Quebec.
When you apply, you must have a valid work permit or have applied to extend your work permit and be waiting on a decision or have applied to restore your status as a worker
Work experience
To be eligible, your qualifying work experience must have been gained while working in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. This means your employer would have needed to get a Labour Market Impact Assessment before hiring you.
Since November 30, 2014, you must have gained at least 12 months of full-time work experience in Canada as a
For this work experience
Full-time work means at least 30 hours of paid work per week
You can have breaks in employment (for example, on sick leave or parental leave)
Any work experience you had while you were a full-time student doesn’t count
In your application, you’ll have to include documents to show proof of your work experience
Home child care provider
Your work must match the description of a home child care provider
You must have cared for children under the age of 18, in your own home or in your employer’s home
You don’t need to have lived in your employer’s home to qualify
Experience as a foster parent doesn’t count
Home support worker
Your work must match the description of a home support worker
Only home support workers are eligible under 4412
Experience as a housekeeper doesn’t count
Language levels
You need to take a language test to prove you meet the minimum language skills that are required. To measure your English or French levels, you should have :
The minimum language skill is CLB 5 in English or NLCL 5 in French for all 4 language skills:
Education
You must have a Canadian high school diploma or a non-Canadian educational diploma, certificate or credential that’s equal to a Canadian secondary school (high school) diploma.
PERMANENT RESIDENCE FOR CAREGIVERS
As of June 18, 2019, you may be able to apply for permanent residence through the Home Child Care Provider Pilot or Home Support Worker Pilot if you meet the eligibility requirements and have a job offer to work in one of these occupations.
Through these program, you’ll get an open work permit to come to Canada and work temporarily. This work permit is occupation-restricted (so you have to work in that specific occupation), doesn’t need a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), lets you get the work experience you need to be eligible for permanent residence
If you recently worked as a home child care provider or support worker, your experience may count towards your eligibility for permanent residence.
You can apply for the Interim Pathway for Caregivers if you have at least 1 year or work experience as a home child provider or a home support worker and meet minimum language and education requirements
SELF EMPLOYED AND SELF CONFIDENT
To be eligible for this program, applicants must have relevant experience and the intention and ability to be self-employed and to make a significant contribution to specific economic activities in Canada.
Relevant Experience:
Applicants must have at least two years’ experience within five years in one of the following areas:
Cultural Activities
Athletics
Purchase and management of a farm
Experience is applicable only if the applicants have participated in cultural activities or athletics at a world-class level or been self-employed in cultural activities or athletics or have experience managing a farm.
Intention and Ability
Applicants must show the intention and ability to establish a business that will create self-employment for them as well as make a significant contribution to the Canadian economy.
Selection Criteria
Applicants are assessed through a point system and must obtain at least 35 points out of 100 on:
Age: Up to 10 points.
Education: Up to 25 points for formal education.
Language Skills: Up to 24 points (16-first official language, 8-second official language).
Business Experience: Up to 35 points for 5 years of relevant experience.
Adaptability: Up 6 points for a number of factors to show that the candidate is adaptable to successfully settle in Canada.
Applicants must show that they have sufficient funds to support themselves and their families for at least one year after arriving in Canada.
A HORIZON OF BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
Canada is a country of diversity whether it’s the people who live here, the geography or the opportunities – it’s a common theme across this land. Many immigrants have come here with hopes for a better future for themselves and their families along with a desire to make Canada their home and contribute to the country. From agriculture to tech, healthcare to hospitality, the options for starting a business in Canada are limited only by the imagination.
Canada welcomes business- minded immigrants to come and share their skills and expertise while becoming a contributing part of the country. A certain amount of work must be done before applying to the program to ensure the right funding and opportunities are available and we can help get the process started. Programs are offered both federally and provincially.
The Business Immigration program is available federally for establishing anywhere in the country (except the province of Quebec which has its own program) and offers three ways for immigrants to bring their dreams of operating a business to Canada. Through the Start-up Visa program, prospective immigrants with an innovative business idea and the skills to run their own business need a letter of support from the organization providing funds to get the business going. In the Self-Employed program, prospective immigrants who have purchased and managed a farm for at least two years or those who have achieved world-class levels in cultural activities or athletics are eligible. The Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Pilot Program is for those who have significant net worth and the ability to contribute to the Canadian economy.
Each province and territory also offers a business immigration program within their Provincial Nomination Programs.
If you think one of these options is right for you, we would love to hear from you.
YOU & YOUR FAMILY, TOGETHER IN CANADA
While you’re excited about coming to a new country, it’s only natural to want to have your family join you. Fortunately, through the Canadian Family Class sponsorship, this dream of bringing your family together in Canada is possible.
There are a number of programs that allow for you to reunite your family because the Canadian government believes in the importance of the family unit and knows success in a new country is made easier with a family support system.
Programs that make this possible are: Spouse or Common-Law Partner, Parent and Grandparent Family Class, Parent and Grandparent Super Visa and Dependent Child Sponsorship. We can help determine which program is right for your family and help you make your dreams of reunification in Canada possible. Each family member involved (the sponsor in Canada and the sponsored family member) must meet immigration requirements for the program you are applying under. Ask us how we can help.
SPOUSE OR COMMON LAW PARTNER
Requirements for the sponsor are:
The sponsor must be at least 18 years of age; a Canadian permanent resident living in Canada, a Canadian citizen, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act; cannot be in prison, bankrupt, under a removal order (if a permanent resident) or charged with a serious offense; and cannot have been sponsored to Canada as a spouse within the last 5 years.
Requirements for the sponsored person (spouse or common-law partner) are:
The sponsored person must be at least 18 years of age and must not be too closely related by blood to the sponsor.
Requirements for the nature of the relationship include:
The relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored person must qualify under one of these three categories:
Spouse: The Sponsor and the Sponsored Person are legally married. For those married within Canada, a Certificate of Marriage from the province or territory where the marriage took place will show that the marriage is valid. Note that same-sex marriages performed within Canada are valid for spousal sponsorship. If the marriage took place outside of Canada, it must be valid under the law of the country where it took place as well as under Canadian federal law. Same-sex marriages that took place outside of Canada are not valid for spousal sponsorship, but an application can be made under either the common-law partner or conjugal partner categories if such a relationship can be proven.
Common-law partner: In order to establish a common-law relationship, the Sponsor and the Sponsored Person must cohabit continuously for at least one year, excluding brief absences for business or family reasons.
Conjugal partner: Conjugal partners can be of either opposite-sex or same-sex. A sponsored person is defined as a conjugal partner if:
Exceptional circumstances beyond their control have prevented the applicants from qualifying as common-law partners or spouses, such as immigration barriers or legal restrictions limiting divorce or same-sex relationships; and the applicants have had a mutually dependent relationship for at least one year with the same level of commitment as a marriage or a common-law union. This can require a demonstration of emotional ties and intimacy, financial closeness, such as joint ownership of assets or mutual financial support, and efforts to spend time together and reunite.
There are things that will prevent someone from sponsoring an individual from coming to Canada. These include if he or she:
Did not pay an immigration loan, a performance bond and/or family support payments.
Failed to support a previously-sponsored relative, which resulted in the sponsored individual seeking social assistance to meet his or her basic needs.
Is under a removal order.
Is in a penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison.
Receives social assistance for reasons other than a disability.
Have filed for bankruptcy and have not received an ‘order of discharge’ by the court (he or she is still going through the process of bankruptcy).
Were sponsored and held permanent resident status for less than five years.
Sponsored another spouse/partner previously and three years have not passed since the sponsored spouse/partner became a Canadian permanent resident.
Have already submitted an application to sponsor his or her current spouse/partner/child and a decision was not yet made on his or her submitted application.
Were convicted of a violent or sexual offense or an offense that caused, attempted to cause or threatened to cause bodily harm to a relative.
DEPENDENT CHILDREN
Dependent Child Sponsorship
This program is about reuniting parents and children in Canada. Both natural and adopted dependent children can be sponsored to come to Canada as permanent residents. Both the sponsor and the child must be approved by IRCC.
Requirements for the sponsor are:
The sponsor must be 18 years of age; must be a Canadian permanent resident living in Canada or a Canadian citizen; and cannot be in prison, bankrupt, under a removal order (if a permanent resident) or charged with a serious offense.
Requirements for the sponsored person (dependent child) are:
That they must be in one of the following situations of dependency: Less than 22 years of age and is a biological or adopted child; or is 22 years of age or older and has depended substantially on the financial support of the parent since before the age of 22 and is unable to be financially self-supporting due to a physical or mental condition.
Requirements for the nature of the relationship are:
The Sponsored Person must be either the biological child of the parent if the child has not been adopted by a person other than the spouse or common-law partner; or the adopted child of the parent.
PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS
This program is now based on an “interest to sponsor” web-form submission where sponsors complete a request to bring loved ones to Canada. From these submissions, draws are made and invitations are issued to eligible sponsored immigrants. Once the invitation to submit an application is received, the sponsor has 60 days to submit a complete application. The materials required are extensive, so it’s advisable to prepare the documents before the invitation is received. We can help you get everything together.
Requirements for the sponsor are:
The sponsor and their relative must sign a sponsorship agreement that commits the sponsor to provide financial support to their relative, if necessary and must meet the minimum income threshold for this program, which we can explain. If sponsoring a person coming to the Province of Quebec, an “undertaking” with the Province must be signed.
The sponsor must also be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident age 18 or older, sign an undertaking to repay an provincial social assistance benefits paid to the sponsor and accompanying family members for a period of 20 years and if the sponsor resides in Quebec, they must also sign another “undertaking” for that province.
The sponsor must exceed the minimum income level for the program (which can be combined income if married or common-law) and promise to provide financial support for the relative and any other eligible relatives accompanying them for a period of 20 years. The time period begins the day the parent or grandparent becomes a permanent resident.
Requirements for the sponsored person (parent or grandparent) are simply that they much be the parent(s) or grandparent(s) of the sponsor:
Not everyone will fit into the requirements for the parent and grandparent Family Class Sponsorship, so the government of Canada has created the Super Visa which is a two year visa for parents and grandparents to come as visitors to Canada for an extended period of time. It’s ideal when residents of Canada want to be together with their family for longer periods of time like when a new baby is born, they are traveling and need help at home or simply want to spend more time with their parents and/or grandparents.
SUPER VISA
With the Super Visa, parents and grandparents are able to move freely throughout Canada for up to two years. Unlike a traditional visitor visa, the Super Visa is valid for up to 10 years or the validity of the passport. The first visit on the Super Visa can be for up to two years and subsequent visits will be limited to 12 months.
Requirements for the sponsor of a parent or grandparent Super Visa are:
The sponsor must be the child or grandchild of the sponsored person; must provide a written commitment of financial support; and must meet the minimum income threshold for this program.
Requirements for the sponsored person (parent or grandparent) are:
The sponsored person must be the parent or grandparent of the sponsor; must be admissible to Canada as a visitor; must prove that he or she has bought Canadian medical insurance coverage for at least one year; and must undergo an Immigration Medical Examination.
SPONSOR YOUR RELATIVE
You may be eligible to sponsor some of your relatives to Canada who do not fall under the above two mentioned categories.
Orphaned close relatives: An orphaned close relative who is under the age of 18 and without a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner may be sponsored. They need to be related to you by blood or adoption (siblings, nephews, nieces, grandchildren).
Other relatives: You may sponsor one relative of any age who is blood-related or adopted under the condition that you don’t have a living relative you could sponsor instead, such as a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, son or daughter, parent, grandparent, sibling, uncle or aunt and nephew or niece. These relatives should not already be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada.
To sponsor a relative to become a permanent resident of Canada, you must meet set income guidelines, and should be able to financially support them beginning on the date they become permanent resident until the age of 20. The person who is being sponsored also has a responsibility to make an effort to support themselves.