Pathways to Become a Permanent Resident Canada
Permanent residents of Canada can claim rewarding job opportunities and a wide range of benefits including public healthcare, subsidized education, political and economic stability, and a multicultural social fabric. There is a range of easily accessible pathways for achieving permanent resident Canada status.
Express Entry Program
Skilled workers can move to Canada through a merit-based selection system known as the Express Entry Program, which identifies suitable candidates from a pool of applicants based on their skills and ability to fill skills shortages in Canada’s labor market that cannot be filled locally.
Provincial Nominee Program
Skilled and semi-skilled workers, entrepreneurs and investors can apply for one of the 11 Provincial Nominee Programs, under which a Canadian province or territory can nominate eligible candidates for permanent residence (PR), based on their demonstrated contribution to the local economy.
This program is run by local authorities in combination with the federal government. Nominees must apply for permanent residence to the federal authority through a paper-based process or online via the Canada Express Entry process.
Start-up Visa Program
Entrepreneurs who have the skills and potential to establish an innovative business that can compete on a global scale and generate employment in Canada, can migrate through this pathway.
Self-employed Persons Program
People with relevant experience, who are willing and able to significantly contribute to athletics or cultural activities in Canada, can permanently immigrate to the country as self-employed persons.
Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program
This Canada PR process allows employers in the four Atlantic provinces of Canada – Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island – to hire international students who have graduated from a college/university in Atlantic Canada and foreign skilled workers, in order to fill job vacancies in occupations that are facing workforce shortages in these areas. In turn, the employee is granted PR status.
Family Sponsorship
Eligible family members of Canadian citizens or permanent residents can be sponsored by their relative in Canada, allowing them to permanently live, work or study in the country.
Each of the afore-mentioned programs has distinct eligibility requirements and application procedures. Choosing the most suitable immigration pathway for one’s own profile and purpose is the first step in the journey towards becoming a permanent resident Canada.