1. Family Sponsorship
If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, age 18 or over, you can sponsor certain family members to become Canadian permanent residents. If you become a permanent resident, you can live, study and work in Canada. If you sponsor a relative to come to Canada as a permanent resident, you are responsible for supporting your relative financially when he or she arrives.
You Can Sponsor Your:
- Spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner
- Dependent child (or child you plan to adopt): must be 21 and younger
- Parents and Grandparents: father, mother, grandfather or grandmother
- Orphaned Relatives: brother, sister, nephew, niece, grandson or granddaughter, who are orphaned, under the age of 18, and not married or in a common-law relationship
- Other relative: *only Lonely Canadians are eligible to sponsor (have no other family living in Canada)
Basic Requirements for Family Sponsorship To be a Sponsor:
- You must be 18 years of age or older
- You and the sponsored relative must sign a sponsorship agreement that commits you to provide financial support for your relative, if necessary. This agreement also says the person becoming a permanent resident will make every effort to support her or himself
- You must provide financial support for a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner for three years from the date they become a permanent resident
- You must provide financial support for a dependent child for 10 years, or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first.
Sponsors Living Outside Canada
Canadian citizens living outside of Canada may sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent children without dependent children of their own, who have not been convicted of an offence causing bodily harm, provided that they are able to demonstrate that they will reside in Canada after their sponsored landings.
Need Help?
Contact us for more information about immigrating to Canada or for assistance in applying for permanent residency under the category that suits you the most.
2. Express Entry
Express Entry is a selection system the Canadian Government implemented to expedite the Permanent Resident visa process for various Economic Immigration Programs. It is an electronic process with online submissions which allows for quicker processing times, averaging around 6 months.
The following programs are processed by Express Entry:
- Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
- Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
- Federal Skilled Trades Class (FSTC)
- Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) – some programs.
Eligibility to Apply Under Express Entry
You must meet the eligibility requirements for one of the Immigration Programs that are processed by Express Entry. Each program has its own eligibility requirements. If you meet the requirements, an expression of interest to apply can be made by creating a profile detailing personal information including skills, work experience, language ability (test scores), education.
If candidates who meet the eligibility requirements to apply with be placed into a pool and are ranked using a Comprehensive Ranking System. Periodically, a certain number of the highest ranked applicants will be invited to apply for Permanent Residence. Once a candidate receives an Invitation to Apply (ITA), they have 90 days to apply for permanent residence with ALL necessary accompanying documents. After completing the process, successful candidates and their dependents (spouse and children) can land in Canada as Permanent Residents and be on their way to becoming Canadian Citizens.
Candidates who are in the Express Entry pool and have yet to receive an ITA (invitation to apply), will remain in the pool for 12 months and may be selected at a future date. If a candidate is not selected after being in the pool for 12 months, a new expression of interested can be made by creating another profile.
Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS)
The CRS ranks eligible candidates for immigration to Canada through Express Entry. The CRS ranks candidates based of the following factors:
- Core human factors
- Accompanying spouse or common-law partner factors
- Skill transferability factors
- Factors relating to a provincial nomination or a qualifying offer of arranged employment.
Need Help?
Contact us for more information about immigrating to Canada or for assistance in applying for permanent residency under the category that suits you the most.
3. Provincial Nominees
PNP programs are another option to immigrate to Canada if you do not have enough points to be selected under Express Entry or not eligible for any other immigration category. Provinces with PNP programs each have their own selection criteria to find immigrants with skills that the province needs which they cannot hire locally. The selection criteria and occupations vary across provinces from information technology, medical, agriculture, trades, business, investors, and people who have ties to Canada.
Benefits of Applying Under PNP Program
Once a Provincial Nominee Certificate is granted, you receive 600 point that goes towards your Express Entry score which means you are guaranteed to get an ITA!
Need Help?
Contact us for more information about immigrating to Canada or for assistance in applying for permanent residency under the category that suits you the most.
4. Caregivers
As a caregiver, you have options to come to Canada to become a permanent resident or work temporarily.
- Home Childcare Provider (NOC 4411)
- Home Support Worker (NOC 4412)
Through these pilots, 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.
Need Help?
Contact us for more information about immigrating to Canada or for assistance in applying for permanent residency under the category that suits you the most.
5. Rural & Northern Immigration Pilot
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 one of the participating communities.
About the Process
There are 4 steps to applying for permanent residence under this pilot.
Check that you meet both IRCC eligibility requirements and the community-specific requirements.
- Find an eligible job with an employer in one of the participating communities.
- Once you have a job offer, submit your application for recommendation to the community.
- If a community recommends you, apply for permanent residence.
Participating communities - North Bay, ON
- Sudbury, ON
- Timmins, ON
- Sault Ste. Marie, ON
- Thunder Bay, ON
- Brandon, MB
- Altona/Rhineland, MB
- Moose Jaw, SK
- Claresholm, AB
- Vernon, BC
- West Kootenay (Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Nelson), BC
Need Help?
Contact us for more information about immigrating to Canada or for assistance in applying for permanent residency under the category that suits you the most.
6. Atlantic Immigration Pilot
The Atlantic Immigration Pilot is a pathway to permanent residence for skilled foreign workers and international graduates who want to work and live in one of Canada’s 4 Atlantic Provinces:
As of June 1, 2019, your spouse or common-law partner can apply for an open work permit if:
- you have a work permit through the Atlantic Immigration Pilot, and
- your job is listed as Skill Type 0, or Skill Level A, B or C in the National Occupation Classification.
This is an employer-driven program designed to help employers in Atlantic Canada hire qualified candidates for jobs they have been unable to fill locally.
Need Help?
Contact us for more information about immigrating to Canada or for assistance in applying for permanent residency under the category that suits you the most.