Mont Orford National Parc, Quebec
Year after year, Canadian towns are featured on the lists of the world’s most pleasant towns to live in. Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are amongst the most popular cities and with good reasons.
Canada keeps attracting millions of students, workers and visitors, who dream of settling in this beautiful country that never fails to impress, with its rich culture, its abundant nature that offers a wide range of outdoors activities no matter the season, as well as a good dose of big cities fun.
However, moving to North America is not a piece of cake and if you wish to emigrate to Canada, I suggest you roll up your sleeves and enroll in a yoga class to sharpen your patience; because depending on the type of visa you wish to obtain, the process can be long, stressful and complicated.
STUDY IN CANADA
McMaster University, Hamilton
The easiest way to emigrate to Canada is to complete your academic curriculum there. You basically enroll in a Canadian Universityand if your application is approved, you are granted a student permit that is delivered in no time and renewed every year. Once you’ve completed your studies and you possess a degree from a Canadian University, you can easily get a work permit and apply for Permanent Residency in the meantime.
WORK IN CANADA
Yonge Street, Toronto
Get a temporary work permit through International Experience Canada:
Once you get the temporary work permit, which is quicker to obtain then the permanent one, you can apply for permanent residency.
IEC is a program that enables young workers and students to complete an internship or work temporarily in Canada.
“IEC is available in countries and territories that have a bilateral youth mobility agreement with Canada. If your country of citizenship does not have an agreement with Canada, you may be able to use a Recognized Organization to come to Canada under IEC.” cic.gc.ca
The program comprises three categories:
- Young Professionals
For this category you have to find a job prior to moving to Canada. Your work permit will be delivered to you upon your arrival at a Canadian airport.
There is a sub category for the Young Professionals: it’s the V.I.E, which is a French program that allows citizens of the European Union, citizens of Norway, Iceland, Monaco and Lichtenstein to work for a French company based in Canada for up to two years. Candidates for the V.I.E must apply under the Young Professionals category.
You can read all about the V.I.E program on a previous article I wrote.
- Working Holiday Visa
The WHV enables you to work in Canada for up to two years. You can come to Canada and start job hunting here.
- International Co-op Internship
Enables students to complete an internship or a work placement in Canada.
To determine your eligibility for any of the IEC categories, and for more info, click here.
Get a permanent work permit through Express Entry:
Three programs enable you to apply for a work permit under Express Entry:
What you need to know:
- Your employer may need to get a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to hire you.
- This is a document from Employment and Social Development Canada/Service Canada that gives your employer permission to hire a foreign worker. Find out if your employer needs an LMIA.
- Your employer may need to pay an employer compliance fee and submit an offer of employment form to Citizenship and Immigration Canada through the Employer Portal.
- If you are exempt from the LMIA process, your employer must take this step before you can apply for a work permit.
- You do not have to submit any documents from an employer if you are applying for an open work permit.
- If you are exempt from the LMIA process and are approved for an open work permit, you will be able to work for any Canadian employer that is not on the list of ineligible employers.
- You must meet the requirements to:
- enter the country,
- stay in Canada and
- get a work permit. This means you may also need a visitor visa.
- A work permit does not let you live in Canada permanently.
- To do so, you must qualify under an immigration category as a permanent resident.
- Your spouse or common-law partner and your dependent children may apply to come to Canada with you, and, if they wish, apply for a study or work permit.
See eligibility requirements here.
Side note: the province of Quebec has its own rules when it comes to delivering work permits. You will have to apply for a CSQ (Certificate of Selection of Quebec) from Immigration Quebec. Once you obtain it, you will apply to the Federal authority of Citizenship and Immigration Canada to obtain your work permit.
Head here for more information.
TOURISTS
Quebec City
If you’re on a tourist visa, you are allowed to stay in the country up to 6 months, then you will have to apply for a 6-month visa extension (even if you’re from a country that doesn’t require a visa), renewable as many times as you want. In your application, you have to attach a letter explaining why you wish to stay in Canada longer and prove that you have sufficient funds to support yourself during your stay. The processing varies according to the type of visa you wish to extend.
YOUR VISA IS ABOUT TO EXPIRE
Citizenship and Immigration Canada advises you to apply for visa extension a month before your visa expires. While they process your application, you have what is called implied status and you can’t get out of the country, otherwise you run the risk of being refused reentry.
Tip: Paper applications are processed faster than electronic ones.
YOUR VISA HAS EXPIRED
You have up to 90 days post visa expiration to apply for a visa extension, wether it is a work permit, a student permit or a visitor permit extension.
I STRONGLY recommend that you apply for visa extension a month or two prior to your visa expiration.
I hope this was helpful, there is so much information to digest when it comes to emigration, I wanted to make a short article with the most important information that pointed towards the right links for further details.
