Economic Immigration Programs
Canada’s Economic Immigration Programs are known as benchmark for almost every country in this world to attract skilled people due to its merit-based approach. There has been number of economic immigration programs, such as the Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades, Caregiver Class, Quebec skilled worker and Experience class and various Provincial Nominee Programs, for the people who wish to immigrate to Canada based on their technical or management skills. These programs have their own eligibility criteria and requirements that the applicant needs to fulfill in order to be eligible.
This is one of the most popular ways of immigration to Canada and it paves the way for the maximum number of people applying for the Permanent Residency and consequently, the Citizenship of Canada. RedBird Immigration is here to help you at every step of the process in achieving your immigration goals. Contact us today to start the process to meet your immigration needs in a cost-effective way!
Express Entry is an online application management system developed by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada. It is currently in use for permanent residency through three streams under economic class and certain provincial streams under Provincial Nomination Programs. The three economic immigration streams are:
- Federal Skilled Worker Program
- Federal Skilled Trades Program
- Canadian Experience Class
Applicants need to create a profile online and need to meet minimum requirements of at least one program out of three programs to submit the profile into the express entry pool. Profiles will remain in the express entry pool for up to one year and will exit if no selection is made. Express Entry works on the Comprehensive Ranking System that takes in to account following factors and ranks the applicants according to these factors:
- Human Capital Factors which include age, education, official languages and Canadian work experience of applicants and their spouse or common law partner.
- Skill Transferability which is based on mix of Canadian or foreign work experience, Canadian or foreign education, language ability and Certificate of Qualification for Tradespersons.
- Additional Factors such as Provincial Nomination, Arranged Employment depending upon the 00 or 0, A, B NOC jobs, Education in Canada, Eligible relative who is Canadian citizen or PR and knowledge of French.
Applicants have to score points out of total available 1200 points under comprehensive ranking system (CRS). The highest ranked applicants who meet the minimum threshold set for each draw in the Express Entry pool will receive an “Invitation to Apply” (ITA). Applicants can update their profile any time during the year, for example, if they got a new diploma or degree or have improved their IELTS scores. Their points will be decreased automatically on their birth date as per the age factor.
They might also get invitation from a province and be covered under Provincial Nominee Program and get 600 points. The selected applicants will have 60 days to complete their PR application. There is no fee to create an Express Entry Profile, but the applicants, if given ITA, must pay the processing fee related to permanent residency application while applying.
If applicants do not have secured job offer they can register themselves with the Canada Job Bank. It is always better to promote to prospective employers so as to increase their chances of being invited for a job.
There are generally 26 draws in a calendar year. Once selected, applicants will receive an “Invitation to Apply” for Permanent Residence. They will have 60 days in order to provide all the necessary information and documentation so that their application is finally processed for PR.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), aims to process majority of the applications within six months time. This time varies sometimes as it depends upon the pending cases and the normal work load the department.
One of the most popular immigration programs that people choose, the Federal Skilled Worker program is the cheapest and quickest way to settle permanently in Canada. This program has been around for quite some time and has undergone many revisions over the years. Many restrictions have been applied and it has now become a part of the Express Entry system. It will keep on becoming even more popular for a good reason; the program allows a person to immigrate to Canada while working as a skilled worker.
There are many requirements that must be fulfilled to become eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker Program. All of these requirements are updated regularly and changed with new requirements being added and the old ones being deleted from the list. However, currently, to become eligible for migration under the Skilled Worker Program, you must fulfill the following requirements:
- You must have at least one year of continuous full-time or an equal amount of part-time experience as a skilled worker. This includes working a total of 1,560 hours or working 30 hours a week.
- The work must be paid for. Volunteer work or unpaid internships do not count as working hours.
- The work experience must be in the same job.
- You must have worked in the last 10 years.
- The work must be at skill type 0, or skill levels A or B according to the 2011 National Occupational Classifications.
These above requirements must be met and shown in the lead statement of the occupational description in the National Occupational Classification. You should have included all the essential duties and a majority of the main duties that are listed.
If you fulfill the above requirements, the application that you submit will be screened on the basis of some selection factors that have been assigned in the Federal Skilled Worker program. These selection factors include:
- Language skills in English or French,
- Education level,
- Amount of work experience,
- Age,
- A prior valid job offer, and
- Adaptability to the lifestyle of Canada.
The above factors account for a total of 100 points, out of which the current pass mark is 67 points. If you qualify under all the conditions, you will enter the Express Entry pool and your rank in the pool will be decided on the basis of the points that your profile has secured. The profile with the highest rank is selected first and invited to be a Permanent Resident of Canada.
If your application is accepted by the Canadian government, you will have the privilege of becoming a Permanent Resident of the country. The privileges that you can enjoy as a Permanent Resident include all which are enjoyed by a Canadian Citizen, except the right to vote or join the military. Apart from that, you will also be eligible to apply for a Canadian Citizenship after you have become a Permanent Resident of the country.
The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is a permanent resident category that was developed specifically with an aim to provide a pathway to temporary foreign workers and foreign graduates with qualifying Canadian work experience. These individuals have already settled into Canadian society and established important networks in their communities and their careers that makes them the ideal candidates for Canadian permanent residency. The CEC Program is quite new when compared to the other programs for Canadian Immigration.
CEC application can be made from inside the Canada or from outside Canada. To become eligible under the Canadian Experience Class program, an applicant needs to fulfill following requirements:
- Applicant must have at least One(1) year of skilled work experience in Canada, in the last three(3) years before they apply. The work was full-time Oran equal amount in part-time work.
- The work experience must have been gained on a proper work authorization (had Temporary Resident Status).
- The work must be at skill type 0, or skill level A or B according to the 2011 National Occupational Classification.
- The work must be paid for. Self Employed work, Volunteer work or Co-op work do not count as work experience.
- Applicant must have CLB Level 7 for NOC type 0 or NOC Level A jobs and CLB Level 5 for NOC Level B jobs in one of the official languages in all four language abilities with in last two years from an approved agency.
- Applicant must be admissible to Canada i.e. Police clearance and Medical Clearance.
Work experience must meet the lead statement of the occupational description in the National Occupational Classification and it should have included all the essential duties and most of the main duties that are listed on NOC profile.
There are no stringent educational or proof of funds requirements to be eligible under the CEC program. The CEC application that applicant submit will be screened based on a pass/fail system where they must meet the minimum qualifying requirements for each criterion.
If applicant qualify for CEC, they will enter the Express Entry pool and their rank in the pool will be decided based on the points that their profile has secured on a comprehensive ranking system. The profile with the highest rank is selected first and invited to apply to be Permanent Resident of Canada.
While, there are no stringent educational requirements under CEC program, applicant can improve their rank in the pool by either having went to a secondary or post-secondary school in Canada or having completed a foreign credential and getting an Educational Credential Assessment report from an approved agency equal to a diploma or a degree from a Canadian secondary school or post-secondary school.
If Permanent Resident application is accepted by the Canadian government, they will have the privilege of becoming a Permanent Resident of the country. The privileges that they can enjoy as a Permanent Resident include all which are enjoyed by a Canadian Citizen, except the right to vote or join the military. Apart from that, they will also be eligible to apply for a Canadian Citizenship after fulfilling the eligibility requirements as a Permanent Resident of the country.
The Federal Skilled Trades Program includes the following requirements for an applicant:
- Applicant must have at least two(2) years of full-time work experience (or an equal amount of part-time work experience) in a skilled trade within the five(5) years before they apply,
- Applicant must meet all the job requirements for that skilled trade as set out in the National Occupational Classification, except for needing a certificate of qualificationfrom a provincial or territorial body.
- Applicant have a valid job offer (Positive LMIA)from up to two employers for a total period of at leastone(1) yearof full-time employment or a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial or federal authority.
- Applicant must have CLB Level 5 for speaking and listening and CLB Level 4 for reading and writing in one of the official languages with in last two years from an approved agency.
- Applicant must be admissible to Canada i.e. Police clearance and Medical Clearance.
- Applicant must have intention to stay in any province except Quebec.
Work experience must meet the lead statement of the occupational description in the National Occupational Classification and it should have included all the essential duties and most of the main duties that are listed on NOC profile.
Skilled trades for the Federal Skilled Trades Program are organized under these groups of the National Occupational Classification (NOC):
- Major Group 72, industrial, electrical and construction trades.
- Major Group 73, maintenance and equipment operation trades.
- Major Group 82, supervisors and technical jobs in natural resources, agriculture and related production.
- Major Group 92, processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators.
- Minor Group 632, chefs and cooks.
- Minor Group 633, butchers and bakers.
There are no educational or proof of funds requirements to be eligible under the FST program. The FST applications are assessed based on an applicant's ability to become economically established upon immigration to Canada.
If applicant qualify for FST, they will enter the Express Entry pool and their rank in the pool will be decided based on the points that their profile has secured on a comprehensive ranking system. The profile with the highest rank is selected first and invited to apply to be Permanent Resident of Canada.
If Permanent Resident application is accepted by the Canadian government, they will have the privilege of becoming a Permanent Resident of the country. The privileges that they can enjoy as a Permanent Resident include all which are enjoyed by a Canadian Citizen, except the right to vote or join the military. Apart from that, they will also be eligible to apply for a Canadian Citizenship after fulfilling the eligibility requirements as a Permanent Resident of the country.
- Caring for Children Program.
- NOC 4411 - Home child care providers.
- Foster parents are not eligible.
- Applicants must have cared for children under the age of 18, in their own home or in their employer’s home. They do not need to have lived in their employer’s home to qualify.
- Caring for People with High Medical Needs Program.
- NOC 3012 - Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses.
- NOC 3233 - Licensed practical nurses.
- NOC 3413 - Nurse aides, orderlies and patient service associates.
- NOC 4412 - Home support workers are eligible under 4412. Housekeepers are not eligible.
- NOC 3012 and 3233 applicants must prove that:
- They are licensed to practice in Canada.
- They are registered with the regulatory body, as required, in their province or territory at the time of application.
- Live-in Caregiver Program.
- The Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) is closed to new applicants. An applicant can only apply for permanent residence under the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) if they:
- are already working in Canada with an LCP work permit, or
- were approved for their first LCP work permit based on an employer's positive Labour Market Impact Assessment application submitted on or before November 30, 2014
- The Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) is closed to new applicants. An applicant can only apply for permanent residence under the Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) if they:
Caring for Children and Caring for People with High Medical Needs program are also referred as In-Home Caregiver program. There are common requirements to met for these two streams, applicants must:
- Have at least 24 months of full-time work experience in Canadian the four years (48 months) before the date of application.
- full-time work means at least 30 hours of paid work per week.
- can have breaks in employment (for example, periods where they were not employed, sick leave, parental leave).
- any work experience that was gained while being a full-time student does not count.
- Have work experience that meet the lead statement of the occupational description in the National Occupational Classification and it should have included all the essential duties and most of the main duties that are listed on NOC profile.
- Have CLB Level 7 for NOC 3012 and CLB Level 5 for all other NOC jobs in caregiver streams in one of the official languages in all four language abilities with in last two years from an approved agency.
- Have Canadian post-secondary degree, diploma or certificate of at least one year or equivalent foreign education with an Educational Credential Assessment report from an approved agency.
- Be admissible to Canada i.e. Police clearance and Medical Clearance.
- Have intention to stay in any province except Quebec.
The In-Home Caregiver Program is scheduled to expire on November 29, 2019. If applicants have the work experience as a caregiver in the past two years and are eligible under the program, they must go ahead and submit the application before the date is past. After the program expires, there might be another program which will replace it, allowing the caregivers to have a way to apply for a permanent residency in Canada.
If Permanent Resident application is accepted by the Canadian government, they will have the privilege of becoming a Permanent Resident of the country. The privileges that they can enjoy as a Permanent Resident include all which are enjoyed by a Canadian Citizen, except the right to vote or join the military. Apart from that, they will also be eligible to apply for a Canadian Citizenship after fulfilling the eligibility requirements as a Permanent Resident of the country.
The Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSPW)is for skilled worker who intend to stay in Quebec other than any province of Canada. The Province of Quebec enjoys a special agreement with the Government of Canada when it comes to immigration into the province. Its official name is Regular Skilled Worker program introduced by Quebec government as an alternative to Federal Skilled Worker Program of Canadian government.
The applicant must first apply to two agencies, the Government of Quebec for the issuance of the Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ), and the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residency of Canada. The latter has to be applied only once applicant get the CSQ from the Government of Quebec.
All potential applicants to the QSWP must first submit an expression of interest for free by completing a profile using the Arrima portal. The Arrima portal will remain open year-round and individuals looking to immigrate to Quebec under the QSWP will be able to submit an expression of interest profile at any time.
The Government of Quebec will assess applications on the basis of a number of factors. These factors cumulatively account for 103/120 points (without/with spouse) and each factor has its own points set against it. The minimum pass mark is 50/59 (without/with spouse) to be eligible to receive the invitation. The application will secure a final score and on the basis of its score, the application will be ranked in the pool and the highest-ranking applications will be invited to live and adapt in the Province of Quebec.
The score that evaluates the rank of the application has the following factors:- Education
- Area of Training
- Validated Employment Offer
- Work Experience
- Age (Minimum age of 18 year is required to start the process)
- Language Proficiency
- Stay and Family in Quebec
- Spouse/Common-law partner Characteristics
- Presence of Accompanying Children
- Financial Self-Sufficiency
Applicants invited to apply for immigration to Quebec through the QSWP must use the secure Mon projet Québec portal in order to submit an application. Mon projet Québec allows applicants to complete their application for a CSQ, make their payment online, follow the status of their application, make changes to their application, and access personal electronic messaging throughout the process.
The process also includes the applicant to undergo a medical exam and get police certificates as well. After the Quebec Government approves the application, it goes to the Federal Government for a security check and medical requirements under the Federal Mandate.
If Permanent Resident application is accepted by the Canadian government, they will have the privilege of becoming a Permanent Resident of the country. The privileges that they can enjoy as a Permanent Resident include all which are enjoyed by a Canadian Citizen, except the right to vote or join the military. Apart from that, they will also be eligible to apply for a Canadian Citizenship after fulfilling the eligibility requirements as a Permanent Resident of the country.
The Quebec Experience Class Program was brought into existence as an alternative for the Canadian Experience Class Program for Quebec graduates and temporary foreign workers who meet certain conditions and wanted to immigrate to Quebec specifically. The Province of Quebec enjoys a special agreement with the Government of Canada when it comes to immigration into the province. There are certain exemptions and allowances under this program which are applicable on an application of a person immigrating to Quebec and not any other province in Canada.
Under the Quebec Experience Class program, applicant must first apply to two agencies, the Government of Quebec for the issuance of the Certificate de selection du Québec (CSQ), and the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residency of Canada. The latter must be applied only once applicant get the CSQ from the Government of Quebec.
Apart from that, there are some other stringent requirements that the applicant must fulfill to be eligible under the program. There are two streams under PEQ:
- Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ) – Québec graduate
- Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ) – Temporary Foreign Workers
Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ) – Québec graduate:
Under this program, the applicant must:
- Intend to settle in Québec to hold a job.
- Have stayed temporarily in Québec for the primary purpose of studying and have respected the conditions of stay.
- Have stayed in Québec for at least half the duration of the study program.
- Hold an eligible Québec diploma.
- Demonstrate advanced intermediate knowledge of oral French.
- Undertake to provide for their basic needs and, where applicable, those of their spouse or de facto spouse and dependent children included in their application for permanent selection, for a minimum period of three months.
- Be at least 18 years old, hold a valid passport and, if they are applying from Québec, be legally in Québec at the time of application.
Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ) – Temporary Foreign Workers
Under this program, the applicant must:
- Intend to settle in Québec to hold a job.
- Have stayed temporarily in Québec for the primary purpose of working there and have respected the conditions of their stay.
- Be legally in Québec as a temporary foreign worker or under a youth exchange program (e.g., through a Working Holiday, Young Professionals or International Co-op Internship permit).
- Have been employed full-time for at least 12 of the 24 months preceding the submission of their application.
- Full time work means minimum of 30 hours of paid work per week.
- Not allowed -any part-time work, self-employment, or entrepreneurial work under the PEQ.
- Demonstrate advanced intermediate knowledge of oral French.
- Undertake to provide for their basic needs and, if applicable, those of their spouse or de facto spouse and dependent children included in their application for a Certificate de selection du Québec, for a minimum period of three months.
- Be at least 18 years old and hold a valid passport.
The process also includes the applicant to undergo a medical exam and get police certificates as well. After the Quebec Government approves the application, it goes to the Federal Government for a security check and medical requirements under the Federal Mandate.
If Permanent Resident application is accepted by the Canadian government, they will have the privilege of becoming a Permanent Resident of the country. The privileges that they can enjoy as a Permanent Resident include all which are enjoyed by a Canadian Citizen, except the right to vote or join the military. Apart from that, they will also be eligible to apply for a Canadian Citizenship after fulfilling the eligibility requirements as a Permanent Resident of the country.
The immigration process is under the control of the Government of Canada, except for the province of Quebec and under certain provincial programs. There are provisions for the different provinces to nominate applicants for immigration to their province. The programs under which these nominations are considered are known as the Provincial Nominee Programs or simply, PNP. There are quite a lot of programs under which the Provinces can nominate immigrants. The most famous category is the Worker Stream, under which the provinces nominate the applicants for the Skilled Worker program. These applicants can take up work in the designated categories and if they wish to change their job in the province or move to the province for a job under the list, the Provincial Nominee Programs play a huge role in this transition.
The past has clearly reflected that the PNP route for immigration has a high success rate and even though it is an extra step in the immigration, some categories have shown a higher success rate through the provincial immigration rather than the Federal immigration. The requirements for the PNP Worker Stream are different for each province and are also constantly changing to accommodate the requirements of the local economy of each province. For the requirements of each of the province, you can visit the websites for the immigration on the provincial websites and know about all the current eligibility criteria under the PNP Worker Stream for any particular province.
The PNP programs are a great way of immigration to Canada if the applicant, for some reason, is not able to qualify under the Federal program. These programs are a great way to become eligible under the Permanent Residency program, which allows the Permanent Residents to enjoy all the rights as a Canadian citizen, except for the right to vote or join the military. If the Permanent Resident meets the physical residency requirement, he or she also becomes eligible to apply for the Canadian Citizenship.
