The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations governing the Economic Class comprises the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Provincial Nominee Class (“PNP”), Quebec Skilled Worker Class, Investor Class, Entrepreneur Class, Self-Employed Person’s Class and the Canada Experience Class.
On May 4, 2013, the Government of Canada introduced substantive changes to the Federal Skilled worker Class. The Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, provides assurances that new federal skilled worker applications, should receive a selection decision within 6-12 months.
The following is a compilation of Frequently Asked Questions prepared by Colin R. Singer, Attorney, summarizing procedures affecting the Economic Class. Mr. Singer appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Citizenship & Immigration as a witness, prior to the implementation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, 2002.
To become a Canadian citizen, you must
be a permanent resident
- have lived in Canada for 3 out of the last 5 years
- have filed your taxes, if you need to
- pass a test on your rights, responsibilities and knowledge of Canada
- prove your language skills
Anyone who plans to visit Canada must apply from outside of Canada before they travel.
What your friend or family member needs depends on:
- the type of travel document they will travel with;
- the country that issued their travel document;
- their nationality; and
- how they will travel to Canada.
- A letter of Invitation from person they will visit in Canada
Your common-law partner:
- isn’t legally married to you
- can be either sex
- is 18 or older
- has been living with you for at least 12 consecutive months, meaning:
- you’ve been living together continuously for one year, without any long periods apart
- if either of you left your home it was for:
- family obligations
- work or business travel
- any time spent away from each other must have been:
- short
- temporary
No. Marrying a Canadian citizen doesn’t give you citizenship.
If you want to become a Canadian citizen, you must follow the same steps as everyone else. There isn’t a special process for spouses of Canadian citizens.
You must meet several requirements to apply for citizenship. You must be physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days during the 5 years right before the date you applied. This includes time as a
- permanent resident
- temporary resident (lawfully authorized to remain in Canada)
- protected person
Your Canadian spouse can sponsor you to become a permanent resident if you
- don’t live in Canada, or
- aren’t a permanent resident
You may apply for citizenship if you
- are a permanent resident
- have been physically present in Canada long enough
- meet the other requirements
There are different rules to determine if children of Canadians born outside Canada have Canadian citizenship.
To be eligible, you must:
- have at least 12 months of full-time (or an equal amount in part-time) skilled work experience in Canada in the three years before you apply, and
- meet or exceed the required language levels needed for the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level of your work experience in each language ability (speaking, reading, writing and listening).
- Have a foreign academic credential evaluation equal to Canadian standards
Express Entry is a system used by the Canadian government to manage Canadian permanent residence applications for filling labour gaps through certain economic immigration programs.
The CRS is a points-based system that we use to assess and score your profile and rank it in the Express Entry pool. It’s used to assess your: skills. education. language ability.
12 months
Your Express Entry profile will remain active in the pool of candidates for 12 months if you are not invited to apply. If after 12 months you have not been selected, you are welcome to resubmit your profile and remain in the pool.
Canada’s provincial nominee programs (PNPs) offer a pathway to Canadian permanent residence for individuals who are interested in immigrating to a specific Canadian province or territory. Each Canadian province and territory operates its own PNP designed to meet its specific economic and demographic needs.
Applicants to the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) who are applying through Express Entr, please note that if a province or territory nominates you through an Express Entry stream, it will be listed on your nomination certificate. You can confirm this with the province or territory.
There are two ways to apply:
- You contact the province or territory and apply for a nomination under their Express Entry stream.
- If the province or territory agrees to nominate you, you create an Express Entry profile (or update your profile if you already have one) and show you have been nominated.
- You get a nomination through your account, which you accept electronically.
OR
- You create an Express Entry profile and show the provinces and territories you are interested in.
- If a province or territory sends you a “notification of interest” to your account, you contact them directly.
- You apply to their Express Entry stream.
- If you are nominated, they will offer it to you through your account, and you accept it electronically.
In both cases, you will need to create an Express Entry profile during the process, so you should do it right from the start.
As it takes 6 months for IRCC to process your application, you should ensure that your IELTS test results are valid for the entire duration. To apply for permanent residency through Express Entry, you need to have a minimum language proficiency of CLB 7, which is a minimum of 6.0 for each section of the IELTS.
