This blog post hopes to establish a blueprint, describing the application procedures, requirements, processes, and forms required for Canadian immigration. I have painstakingly gone through the post to ensure each and every bit of the Canada visa immigration process is explained. I have also provided my contact information at the end of the post, so if you require further assistance, do not hesitate to get in touch.
Canada is a lovely country and unlike many other countries, Canada provides a very easy path to permanent migration. Of course, by easy, I do not mean you will literally walk into Canada without going through a scrupulous vetting process. However, I believe all the stages required for a successful permanent visa application to Canada are easily attainable and if you are diligent and dedicated to the course, you should be able to migrate within 1 year.
Before we get started, it is imperative that I explain some of the perplexing terminologies about Canadian immigration, especially when it involves permanent residence visa application and immigration. I believe knowledge of these keywords would ease your understanding of the immigration process and make you better prepared.
Important information for Canada Permanent Visa Application
Express Entry (EE): Express entry, also known as EE, is the new selection system for Canadian Permanent Immigration. It was designed to select the BEST skilled workers for immigration to Canada. Except for the refugees and asylum seekers who get into the country using dubious means, the Express Entry system is now considered the only formal process for permanent immigration to Canada.
In addition, unlike the previous system where you will need to fill out a lot of paper based Canada visa application forms before posting to the nearest Visa office, Express Entry is completely an electronic process and it requires no paperwork other than your passport request. That being said, if at any point, the Visa consulate finds it difficult to verify your submitted scanned documents, you might be requested to present the original copy of that document at any of the nearest visa offices close to you.
Lastly, it is important to note that sending in an application through the Express entry is just to show an expression of interest. The application you sent in is not been officially reviewed by anyone but the computer. For instance, you cannot apply for Express Entry for a permanent migration visa application to Canada and go to sleep. It is only a preliminary stage for permanent migration.
Having said that, your application needs to be approved by the system before you are allowed to proceed. An approved application on the system will only last for a year. After a year, you will be required to reapply for a new express entry application because most likely, your condition would have (or is expected to have) changed.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): The Canadian Provincial Nominee Program, also known as the PNP, allows provinces and territories to nominate prospective immigrants who will live and work in a specific province in Canada. Typically, these immigrants will have the skills, education, and work experience that benefit the relevant provinces.
Besides this, one of the major requirements for nomination by a province is that you must show or have an intention of living in that province. For instance, you cannot decide to live in other cities or provinces once your permanent migration visa application to Canada has been approved. There is no penalty for not living in the province that selected you for a permanent residence. However, for ethical reasons, you are required to live within that province.
This is why the PNP procedure often gives a higher preference for those that have a strong tie (relations, family, or friends) or those that manage to get a job in the province. In addition, each province’s eligibility, requirements, and application procedures can be different. Nonetheless, the most important requirement for nomination by a province is that you have an approved express entry application form in the system and you are eligible for one of the paths for permanent migration to Canada.
Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS): Now this is where it gets a little bit complicated. If migrating to Canada was a walk in the park, everyone would be in Canada. This is why the government of Canada introduced a Comprehensive Ranking System also known as CRS. The Comprehensive Ranking System ranks eligible candidates for immigration to Canada through the Express Entry process.
All candidates will be assessed based on a number of criteria, and the highest-ranking candidates will be invited to apply to immigrate to Canada. Your CRS rank will come as points. Your CRS total points are the number one determinant factor that decides whether you get to formally apply for a Canada Visa Permanent Application or not.
Depending on your profile, you can claim up to 1,200 points with at least 600 points coming from a Job offer in Canada or the Provincial nomination programme (as described previously). The criteria for CRS varies and can be seen from the eligibility requirements for a Canadian permanent migration visa as discussed in the next point below.
What are the Eligibility Requirements for a Canadian permanent migration visa?
Sadly, not everyone is eligible to apply for permanent Canada Immigration through the Express Entry system. You will be required to meet certain expectations and be assessed through ranking criteria such as Age, Language ability, relations in Canada, education, work experience, and any potential job offer in Canada. These criteria are what will be used to determine your CRS points.
For instance, you will get higher points if you are young, speak good English, have an advanced education, have good work experience, are married to an educated spouse, and most importantly have a job offer in Canada.
There are three schemes you can be eligible to apply to. They are: 1) Federal Skilled Worker Program also known as FSW/FSWP, 2) Federal Skilled Trades also known as FST or 3) Canadian Experience Class also known as CEC.
Here is a deal breaker for Canadian permanent immigration: You will be rejected by the Express Entry system if you do not possess the minimum language skill requirement or work experience (either Canadian Experience or International Work experience) or a training certificate for a specialized skill. i.e. Plumbing, Electrician, or Rig Worker.
Explanation: The first deal breaker is your language level and ability. To migrate to Canada, you will need to be able to listen, speak, read, and write in perfect English language. The standard criteria are CLB 7 in all aspects, i.e. you must take a test of English such as IELTS and you must get at least 6.0 in all of the tests (speak, read, write, and listen) – anything below 6 is an automatic rejection.
The second deal breaker is the number of years of work experience (either at the international level or Canadian work experience) you have in a specific area of occupation (see primary NOC below). For FSWP, you are required to have at least one-year full-time (or the equivalent of part-time) experience coupled with your language ability described above.
On the other hand, the Canadian Experience Class is different. It allows those with Canadian work experience to become permanent residents. You must have at least 12 months of full-time (or the equivalent in part-time) skilled work experience in Canada with the proper authorization. For instance, the part-time work you did as a student will not count towards a one-year Canada experience. As a foreign immigrant willing to migrate to Canada, this might be very hard to get if you have never lived in Canada before.
Primary NOC: The primary National Occupational Classification also known as the NOC is a crucial factor used to determine the work experience relevant to the federal skilled worker program. In order to get approved by the Express Entry system for the FSW category, you will need to have at least one-year of work experience in NOC A, B and O.
Typically, the occupation under these classifications include Engineers, Scientists, Analysts, Operations, Managers, and Management. For instance, you will be approved by the system if you have at least one-year full-time work experience as a Civil Engineer, Chemical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Surgeon, Doctor, Professor, Lawyer, Programmer, System Analyst, Developer, Human Resource Coordinator among other jobs.
Job Bank: The Canadian job bank is a dedicated Government website for people looking for work, deciding on a career, exploring learning options, or dealing with a workplace issue. The Job Bank can help you make well-informed decisions about where to live and work by producing a report that contains information on the job. It was strategically incorporated into the express entry so as to help prospective migrants decide which province they want to live in when they come to Canada.
Upon acceptance of your application by the express entry system, a unique express entry ID and Job Bank registration code will be provided to you. You will be required to register on Job Bank immediately after your Express Entry application gets approved. For this reason, your express entry application will be automatically deleted unless you have completed and validated your Job Bank registration.
Invitation to Apply (ITA): The invitation to apply also known as the ITA, is a request from the Canadian Government that allows you to formally apply for a permanent migration visa. This is the main application form and it will be reviewed by a representative of the Canadian Government hence, it is important you take it seriously. It will ask you to provide all the evidence of the details you provided on your Express entry application form. If you have incorrectly provided a statement in your express entry application form, the best thing to do is to reject the invitation. A new request will be sent to you provided your CRS points fall within the range of profiles chosen to make an official application form.
This is where it gets really interesting. ITA is one of the biggest hurdle to hinder your immigration process as it is only issued at least once every month. In most cases, an ITA will be issued twice. The ITA is based on your overall CRS points. In order to have a good chance of getting an ITA, you need to have a highly-ranked Express Entry profile, have a valid job offer or must have been nominated by a province.
If you accept the invitation and submitted your ITA successfully, your application will be processed in 6 months or less.
What are the Documents Required for Canada Immigration Visa Application?
Having gone through some of the necessary terms for a permanent migration visa Application to Canada, I can now confidently go through the documents required, as well as the process of application without sounding too ambiguous with the terminologies.
See below some of the most important documents you will need to submit once you have received your ITA:
1) Language test results such as IELTS.
2) Education Assessment and evaluation report (WES Assessment Result).
3) Employer Reference letters for all the companies you have worked.
4) Bank Statement (Proof of Financial funds) – up to $17,000 CAD for a single applicant.
5) Police Clearance Certificates – for all countries you have lived for more than 6 months.
6) Birth Certificates (If you have a child/children).
7) Marriage Certificate (If you are married).
8) Educational Certificates (Regardless of your ECA report).
9) Medical Report (Not required until the application form has been submitted).
10) Nigeria International Passport (Not required until the application has been pre-approved).
Further Clarification regarding documents required:
I have introduced other light terms within the documents required for a successful application. It is important that I explain and clarify these terms as failure to provide the right documents could automatically mean an application rejection.
Education Assessment Report (ECA Report): The educational credential assessment report, also known as the ECA, is a report that evaluates your foreign academic credential and sees what it is worth in the Canadian institutional system. The ECA report is one of the first few documents required in order to complete your express entry application. It is mandatory for all main applicants into the express entry system even if you are presently in Canada doing a Masters. To assess your education, you will need to send your educational qualifications to a designated Canadian approved organization. There are several organizations that can help you with the assessment. One of the most recognized organizations is the World Education Services (WES).
Any qualification received in Canada do not require external assessment. Only education obtains outside of Canada needs assessment for the permanent migration programme. It is important you send all your transcript as indicated by the preliminary questionnaire in order to get the maximum point under education. In addition, if you are married, it might also be necessary to let your spouse evaluate their Canadian education equivalent because it can give you more points on the comprehensive ranking system (CRS).
The process for the assessment of a certificate is quite straightforward. Although the majority of the delays will be as a result of a slow response for sending a transcript to WES from your previous place of study. For this reason, it is important you follow up on a daily or weekly basis in order to expedite the process. If you require more information about WES, see the reference link at the end of this post.
Proof of Funds (POF): Proof of funds also known as POF is a crucial requirement for a successful permanent migration visa application. This is one of the intermediary steps between applying for express entry and waiting to be called for application (ITA). Unless you are currently authorized to work in Canada and have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada, or you have been invited to apply under the Canadian Experience Class, you must show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family after you get to Canada. You necessarily do not have to get a bank statement or money ready before you apply.
However, once you make an express entry application, it is important you start saving up (or gathering the necessary documents for your proof of funds). For instance, you might want to sell your shares, cars, landed properties, or anything that can give you the equivalent minimum proof of funds required depending on the family size.
Starting from an individual applicant, the POF required is $12,164 and up to $32,191 for a family of seven (as of the time of writing this post). The amount requires increases as the family size increases. It is better to overestimate the amount required as the Canadian government tends to increase these requirements every year.
In addition, it is important to note that you cannot borrow this proof of funds. It must come from you. However, if your parents or a member of your family or well-wisher decides to provide you with these funds, they must document (either in writing or otherwise) that this is not a loan and you will not be required to pay back this money given to you under any circumstances.
Employers Reference Letters: The employment reference letter is a document that shows the history of all your employment records, especially the ones you are claiming a CRS point under. The employment letter MUST describe the job title or position, duties and responsibilities, the start and end date, the hours required to work per day, and how much you earn for this role. Of course, not all appointment letters carry these details, however, you are required to contact your previous company to provide you a reference stating all the details above with a signature from HR or your supervisor. Canadian government will call to verify these details. Failure to provide the necessary information can hinder the progress of your application.
In addition, it is essential to note that the reference letter provided by your present employer will only be valid for a year, while a reference letter from your previous employer can be used indefinitely.
Medical Examination Report: The medical examination report is to prove to the Canadian government that you are fit to live in Canada. It is also one of the most important stages during the process, as any failure with your system can lead to rejection. For instance, if you have a contagious disease such as tuberculosis or a permanent disability that will result in re-occurring expenses for Canadian government, the officer can decide to reject your application as it might cause a burden.
Everyone coming to Canada under you must undergo the medical examination process. The medical examination cannot be done privately. You must make use of available medical doctors as recommended by the Canadian government. After the tests are completed, you will get a medical form that you can upload along with the other documents on the checklist. For this reason, you can decide to do your medical right away or wait till you have been called for medicals.
Police Clearance Certificates: The police clearance certificate also known as the PCC is a document required to prove that you have had no criminal conviction since you became an adult. When you apply to become a permanent resident or a Canadian citizen, you and your family members must include a police certificate. This certificate is required for all applicants and family members over the age of 18.
Typically, you are required to produce a police clearance certificate from your original country, current country of residence, and all other countries you have lived in continuously for a period of 6 months or more. The process of getting a foreign police clearance certificate can be extensively long due to the process, hence, it is imperative to be proactive in order to avoid delays.
Technically, the Police certificate issued by a foreign country is valid indefinitely for as long as you did not go back to that country. However, for the country in which you reside the police clearance would have an expiry date. It is important you apply and use a valid police certificate at the time of submitting your application.
In addition, the address on the police clearance certificate must match the address of your home address or wherever you live based on your documentation of where you have lived since the age of 18 years. Details on these sections will be found on the ITA application form.
Temporary Resident Visa (TRV): A temporary resident visa also known as TRV is a conditional authorization granted by a Canada to enter and temporarily remain within, or to leave Canada. Often coming as a form of a sticker on an international passport, the Temporary Resident Visa is the only evidence required to be seen by an immigration officer within the original country of residence before you leave that country.
The authenticity of a Temporary Resident Visa cannot be proved without passing through some advanced technologies hence, a TRV is therefore subjected to entry permission by an immigration office within the country of interest, at the time of actual entry and can be revoked at any time. To put it in short words, a Temporary Resident Visa to Canada does not guarantee automatic entry to Canada.
For a permanent resident application to Canada, you do not necessarily have to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa, once your application has been approved, your passport will be requested and most likely, your Temporary Resident Visa will be granted. It is not until you get to Canada that you will receive a permanent residence permit.
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