Canada visas and immigration policy

Immigration to canada

In recent past years, Canada has become one the few popular destinations for international immigrants, especially skilled workers and professionals. The country’s immigration system offers more than 80 legitimate ways of immigration to Canada . The three main categories include economic and business immigration options, family sponsorship, and humanitarian and refugee immigrations.

The fastest and the best way for immigration to Canada is to apply through Express Way. Canada has used the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) since 1960s, which is an objective points system that uses age, education, language skills and work experience to determine the eligibility of candidates who wish to become Canadian permanent residents. Nearly half of all Express Entry immigration to Canada done by FSWP candidates, the other half arrive via Canadian Experience class (CEC), Provincial Nominee program (PNP) and Federal Skilled Trades Program.

Under its 2021 to 2023 immigration levels plan, Canada is aiming to welcome 400,000 new immigrants each year. The Canadian government uses Express Entry application system to manage FSWP in six months or less. Express Entry Immigrants become permanent residents (PR) of Canada. They have the necessary human characteristics desired by Canadian employers, so they are very likely to find a job and be very successful in the job market.

Both Canadian public and the government support immigration to Canada and multiculturalism. For almost half a century, Canada has welcomed immigrants from all over the world, and it promotes and embraces diversity as part of national identity. Canadians view government’s immigration policies and immigrants necessary for country’s well-being. This favorable view of immigration is partly due to the fact that Canada has never had to deal with large scale unauthorized migration seen in Europe and the united states. 

Canadian visa policy

The number of people who want to travel to Canada, for various reasons, has increased in recent past years. Some of them may wonder how Canadian visa policy works.

The Canadian visa is simply a stamp on your passport that means you have the permission to enter the country premises and stay for a specific period of time. You get the visa from the Canadian government diplomatic office or embassy in your home country before you arrive at the Canadian border or customs, but once there it is up to the officers at the port of entry to decide whether you are fit to enter.

People from certain countries may not need a visa travel, work or study in Canada, but they will have to present some document that grants them entry. Those are the countries that enjoy a visa exemption or have signed Electronic Travel Authorization agreement  (eTA) with Canada. But, if they intend to stay for a longer period not included in the visa exempt or eTA, they too need to apply for an embassy visa. Citizens of other countries do need to obtain a visa for entry.

There are two general types of visas: permanent Canada visas and temporary Canada visas and.

Permanent Canada visas

 A permanent Canada visa, also called an immigration visa, means you are given a permanent resident status. It allows you to live, work or study permanently in any province in Canada, but you are not a Canadian citizen.

Temporary Canada visas

A temporary Canada visa means you are allowed to enter and stay in Canada under what is called Temporary Residence for Canada for a limited period of time, usually 6 months. Depending on the purpose of the travel, temporary Canada visa allows you to enter the country and complete what you have planned to do during your stay. After the time is over, you must return to your home country unless you apply for a permanent Canada visa.

Suggested Article :  Canadian Work visa

Temporary Canada visas are valid for the time period you have planned to stay. It is possible to get a temporary Canada visa with a long-term validity, but they won’t let you stay continuously longer than 6 months, meaning you have to leave to leave the country after 6 months and return back again. Different types of temporary Canada visas include tourist visa, work visa, business visa, student visa, transit visa, or temporary resident visas.

Temporary Work Visa or Work permit

Canada is a developed country that offers many job opportunities with good salaries. Every year, the country issues over 300,000 work permits to eligible foreign workers to come and work in the country for a specific period of time. The temporary work visa is ideal for agricultural workers, students, a business people, seasonal worker and caregivers in the Live-in program.

The temporary work visa is mandatory for almost every foreign national who wants to work in Canada. In some cases, you can work without being required to obtain a work permit.   

Understanding how Temporary Work Visa works

A Temporary Work Visa includes a temporary resident visa (TRV) and a work permit. They respectively allow you to stay and find a job in Canada. There are three broad categories of Canadian temporary work visas:

1) Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) or LMIA Work Permits

This program requires a job offer from a Canadian employer. The steps taken are as follows:

1. a) You receive a job offer from an employer who intends to hire a foreign national. b) The employer must obtain a market impact assessment (LMIA) from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) indicating that they couldn’t find a qualified Canadian citizen or permanent resident for the position.
2. c) ESDC then decides whether the employer can go ahead with hiring the foreign applicant.

2) International Mobility Program (IMP) or LMIA-Exempt Work Permit

This program allows Canadian employers to hire foreign workers without having to obtain a LMIA first. This is how it works: first, the employer submits an offer of employment via the employment portal, and pays an employer compliance fee. Then, the applicant foreign worker will apply for the work permit.  

3) Open Work Permits (no job offer or LMIA required)

This group of work permits require no job offer or LMIA, and are granted to individuals who lived in Canada (previous education) or may have some connection to someone in Canada (spousal sponsorship). Temporary foreign workers may apply for open work permit while still outside Canada, at the port of entry, or after they arrive in Canada. The permit applies to these categories:

• Post-Graduate Work Permits (PGWP)
• Post-secondary co-op
• Spouses or common partners of eligible foreign students
• International experience Canada (IEC)
• Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP)
• Spouse Accompanying International students

 There are two types of Open Work Permits: unrestricted and restricted

An unrestricted open work permit imposes no limitation on the temporary foreign worker as to the occupation or location. On the other hand, a restricted open permit may restrict the worker to a certain location or occupation, but not to a specific employer.