CANADA

Immigration
programs
 Purpose of the document
• Explain the main differences between:
• Canada Express Entry for Skilled Workers or Permanent Residence
• Canada PNP
• Federal Skilled Worker Visa for Canada and Quebec Skilled Worker Visa
• USA Green Card Lottery

• Give insight for the Canada Express Entry process

• Requirements
• Steps
 Canadian
Immigration
programs
 Canada Permanent Residence
• Called also the Express Entry for Skilled workers, is a Federal program that selects using criteria defined by the Canadian federal government.
The program was introduced in 2015 to attract skilled workers in different fields of expertise due to a big shortage in the manpower in Canada.

• The program is based on the Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS). These points are awarded on the basis of-
• Age, education, work experience and language skills of the candidate
• French language ability, Relative living in Canada, etc.
• Nomination from a province, Job offer letter from Canada, etc.

• The process is long, because of all the documents and requirements needed to be prepared before submitting your dossier. Once the entry is
submitted, the process takes between 6 to 8 months

• If selected, the Express Entry grants a permanent residency and after 3 years you can apply for Canadian Citizenship
 Canada PNP
• The Provincial Nominee Program selects immigrants based on criteria for individual provinces.

• Each Province has a Provincial Nominee Program. Every PNP has different process and different requirements

• Although the criteria of the provinces are different from each other, they are all similar in a way that the criteria are all easier to meet than the
federal criteria (Express Entry) in terms of language proficiency and work experience

• If selected, the PNP doesn’t grant a permanent residency automatically. You will need to apply for the Express Entry program with the PNP
approval obtained as a Provincial Nominee.

• The processing time is usually very high : between 1.5 to 2 years

 “Green Card lottery” for USA
• The “Green Card” lottery is called also the “Diversity program lottery”. It’s a lottery, whether you have a PhD or a high school degree, whether
you speak fluent English or not a single word, everyone has an equal chance to win.

• The only requirement for the “Green Card lottery” is having a high school degree

• The registration to the “Green Card lottery” is free

• The quotas are defined per country depending on the current immigrants living already in the USA. For example: there are a lot of Indians
already on American soil, so Indians are not allowed to participate in the lottery. (same for other countries like Nigeria).

• Other countries are not allowed to participate based on some political differences/issues with the US government (like North Korea)
 Express Entry, PNP and Green
Card lottery
Points-based Processing
Free Cons.
system time
Express Entry Too high score require
mostly ranging from 430 to
NO YES Short
450 an approximate nearer
assumptions
PNP Processing time is too high
NO YES High approximately 1.5 years or
even 2 years
Green Card Result based on luck
YES NO High
Lottery
Canada &
Quebec
 Quebec and Canada
Some history
• Quebec is one of the thirteens provinces and territories of
Canada.

• It’s the second most populous province after Ontario, and the
only one to have a predominantly French-speaking population,
with French as the sole provincial official language.

• Quebec independence debates have played a large role in the

politics of the province. Parti Québécois governments held
referendums on sovereignty in 1980 and 1995; both were
rejected by voters, the latter defeated by a very narrow
margin.[13] In 2006, the House of Commons of Canada passed a
symbolic motion recognizing the "Québécois as a nation within a
united Canada“.

• For more information, please visit Wikipedia page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec
 Canada Federal Skilled Worker
vs
Quebec Skilled Worker Visa
• When applying for skilled migration to Canada, it is important to pinpoint where you are planning to live and work in Canada and apply for the
corresponding visa. The Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Visa applies to all territories in Canada except Quebec, which has its own
immigration process and requires a separate Quebec Skilled Worker Visa.

• The Canadian immigration process also varies slightly between the two types of visa. Applications for a Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Visa
are sent to the Canadian High Commission. For the Quebec visa, applications should be sent to the Quebec Immigration Authorities.

• Both the Quebec Skilled Worker Visa and the Canadian Federal Skilled Worker Visa require applicants to pass an English test, called the
International English Language Testing System (IELST) exam, to prove your English language ability.

• To obtain a Quebec Skilled Worker Visa, you must also pass the Test du Evaluation du Francais (TEF) exam or the Test Du Evaluation du
Francais pour le Quebec (TEFaq) exam to prove your French language ability. Once passed, the results are valid for two years for immigration
purposes.

• Once you’ve obtained your Quebec Skilled Worker Visa, you are required to live and work in Quebec for a specific length of time, after which
you can relocate to live and work in any part of Canada.

• The Federal Skilled Worker Visa for Canada allows you to work in any part of Canada except Quebec.
Living in
Canada
 Before applying to any program for
Canada
• You need to be prepared, and know all requirements, lifestyle, environment in which you will be living if you decide to move to Canada.

• The main disadvantage in Canada is the long winter with the low temperatures. Winters can be harsh in many regions of the country,
particularly in the interior and Prairie provinces, which experience a continental climate, where daily average temperatures are near -15
degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) but can drop below -40 degrees Celsius (-40 degrees Fahrenheit) with severe wind chills.

• All citizens and permanent residents are eligible for public health insurance, which covers most medical issues. However, the Canada
Health Act does not cover prescription drugs, homecare or long-term care or dental care, which means most Canadians rely on private
insurance from their employers or the government to pay for those costs.

• If you can, visit the province you would like to live in during winter time. It will help you see and experience the cold in see for yourself the
lifestyle and the environment
WINTER
SUMMER
Permanent
Residence
Process
 Steps
1. French and English Test:
Pass the test for French and English. Even if French and/or English is your mother tongue, you still need to pass the test in a certified center (list
available on the Canadian embassy website)

The score of the test is mandatory to complete your entry

2. Degrees’ equivalence:
Prepare the equivalence of all degrees after high school. In the case of EHTP graduates, you will need the equivalence for the CPGE years and the
engineering school  this way, you will have an equivalence of a Master’s degree

One of the most known organization to help students get degree equivalence for USA and Canada is WES.ORG.

You can visit their web page for more information: https://www.wes.org/

For more information regarding this process, you can check the following YouTube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqloHYgdxtQ
 Steps
3. Professional experience:
For every professional experience (since graduation), join an employer letter describing the period you were working for him + the title of your
position at that time (if you can join also the paystubs it’s a plus)

Requirement: the paystub of the last 6 months.

4. Background check:
For the last 10 years, you need to report:

All the countries you lived in.

All countries where you lived more than 6 months, join the police background check

All the countries visited. Join passport stamp if available

 Steps
5. Funds:
If you register as single, you need to prove that you have a fund of 12,475 CAN: you need to join the bank statements of the last 6 months.

If someone from your family or friend will give you part of this money (it will appear in your bank statement), you need to join a “donation” letter,
where the person states that the money was given to you as donation and not expected to be returned.

Please see below the latest funds required based on your marital situation: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-
citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/proof-funds.html

Number of Family Members Funds Required (in Canadian dollars)

1 $12,475

2 $15,531

3 $19,093

4 $23,181

5 $26,292

6 $29,652

7 $33,014

For each additional family member $3,361

 Steps
6. Registry fee:
The registration fee is 1040 CAN

7. Submit entry:
Once all the above have been collected, you can submit your entry in the system. Your score will be automatically calculated.
 Links
• Express Entry for Canada:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents.html

• Quebec Skilled Workers Visa:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/quebec-skilled-workers.html

http://www.international.gouv.qc.ca/fr/general/immigrer

• WES degree equivalency tool:

https://applications.wes.org/ca/degree-equivalency-tool/poe.asp