Immigrating to Canada may seem daunting, but if you’re willing to do your research and follow these 10 simple steps, you’ll be well on your way in no time at all. Many people dream of immigrating to Canada, but how many actually take the steps necessary to make their dream a reality? Let us help you turn your dream into reality by following these 10 tips, so that you can successfully make your move to Canada!
1) Check If You’re Eligible
You need to check if you are eligible for Canadian citizenship. If you are a citizen of another country, but have lived and worked in Canada for three of the last five years, then you can apply for permanent residence and become eligible after three years. If you are not a citizen of another country, but have lived and worked in Canada for four out of the last six years, then you can apply for permanent residence and become eligible after four years.
If one or both parents were born outside of Canada, but have been living here for at least 10 years continuously (five if they are citizens), then they can apply to be considered citizens as long as their children live with them.
2) Choose Your Immigration Program
To immigrate to Canada permanently, you will need a permanent resident visa. There are many different types of visas, but the most common is the economic class. The economic class includes skilled workers and investors who want to come to Canada permanently. There are two streams within the economic class: the Federal Skilled Worker Program and the Canadian Experience Class. The Federal Skilled Worker Program selects skilled workers without a job offer in Canada, while the Canadian Experience Class selects highly-skilled immigrants with at least one year of experience.
3) Get Your Documents Ready
Before you can apply for Canadian citizenship, you'll need to complete the following steps:
- Determine if you are eligible to immigrate and live permanently in Canada. You may be eligible if you have a valid offer of employment or study permit, or if you're sponsored by close family members who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada.
- Get your documents ready. This includes proving your identity, such as with a passport and driver's licence; proving that you've completed high school; and obtaining any other documents required by the visa office responsible for your region.
- Complete an application form, including photos of yourself, copies of all your documents, and fees (which vary depending on the type of application)
4) Submit Your Application
First, you need to have a job offer from a Canadian company. This is not only the first step towards immigrating, but it also means that you are eligible for a work permit. If you are currently living outside of Canada and plan on applying for permanent residency, your employer will need to sponsor you with a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or an Intra-Company Transfer. The LMIA assesses if hiring someone from outside of Canada will have a negative impact on the local labour market while an Intra-Company Transfer is when a Canadian company hires someone from another office within their organization. Next, prepare all the required documents as this process can take several months.
5) Attend Your Interview
In order to apply for Canadian citizenship, you'll need to attend an interview. The interviewer will ask questions about your background, including where you live and the activities you do on a daily basis. If you have any relatives who are Canadian citizens or residents, the interviewer may ask about your family connections. Be prepared for some questions that might feel personal—it's important for the interviewer to get a sense of who you are as a person.
6) Pass Your Medical Examinations
The medical examination is the first step in immigrating to Canada. It assesses whether you are eligible for immigrant status based on your physical and mental health. To pass, you need to meet certain conditions related to various diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, leprosy and syphilis.
Here are some steps you can take before the test: Get a complete blood count and full blood chemistry panel; Find out if there are any vaccinations required (such as tetanus); Find out if there are any medications prohibited by Canadian law (such as cold medicines containing pseudoephedrine).
7) Get Your Police Certificate
The first thing you will need to do is find out if you are eligible for a Canadian police certificate. The following is a list of people who are eligible:
- citizens or permanent residents of the U.S., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Germany and any country within the European Union (EU)
- citizens of Germany who have been living in the EU for less than one year
- people from Mexico who have either been granted refugee status or temporary resident status (LPS) as well as their accompanying dependents
- refugees and protected persons who have been residing outside Canada for less than five years
8) Give Biometrics
If you're a permanent resident of Canada (live here for at least two years and pass the Immigration Points Test), it may seem like your next steps are clear: get citizenship. Not so fast! If you have children under 18, they must first go through the process of becoming a Canadian citizen before they can sponsor their parents to become citizens.
9) Wait for the Decision on Your Application
- If you’ve been approved for an application, congratulations! You can now continue with these next steps:
- You will receive a letter of invitation from the Canadian government inviting you to apply for permanent residence
- You can then submit your application online and pay the fee
- Once you submit your application, it will be processed by the visa office that has jurisdiction over the country where you live
- If this is done successfully, a visa officer will review your application and contact you if any additional information is needed or if there are any issues with your application 6.
10) Get Ready to Move
- Search for and compare Canadian immigration programs that are right for you.
- Collect the documents you need and make copies of them.
- Gather up your passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate if applicable, proof of employment or income if applicable, bank statements, photo ID document etc., so that you can have all your important papers organized before submitting an application to a visa office abroad or before meeting with a Canadian visa officer at a port-of-entry in Canada
- Attend an interview with your spouse or common law partner (if applicable)
- Complete the forms and submit your application 6.