Canada continues to top the chart as one of the best countries to immigrate to due to its immigration programs. The country has been intentional about setting more significant immigration objectives and more efficient systems to allow more immigrants.
The Canadian immigration plan for 2022 is set at 411,000 as against the goal of 401,000 in 2021 and the good thing is that it plans to increase the figures to 421,000 in 2023. Canada’s immigration policies aim to boost the economy, reunite families, and assist refugees. In 2021, Canada created six new immigration programs as pathways to permanent residency for essential workers, international student graduates, and French speakers.
The new immigration programs were announced by the immigration minister, Marco Mendicino on April 14, 2021. According to him, the initiatives will make it easier for 90,000 immigrants to become permanent residents of Canada. The goal was to open the door to 20,000 healthcare workers, 30,000 essential workers, and 40,000 international graduates.
The remaining three streams were created for French speakers and there was no limit to the numbers allowed. With French being one of Canada’s official languages, the government is trying to boost the growth of the Francophone communities so these new immigration programs are aimed at that demographic. Seems like there’s no better time than now to brush up on your language skills.
Apart from the new initiatives, Canada has more than 100 immigration programs that offer a variety of options and opportunities for prospective immigrants to choose from. This article highlights four immigration programs you should know about. Are you ready? Let’s get into it.
Pinawa International Entrepreneurship Program
Although this program falls under Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program Business Investor Stream. The International Entrepreneurship Program provides a very fast route for businesses from around the world to set up their operations in the Pinawa region. Program participants will be granted access to a customized network of specialized support, resources, and business development assistance.
Participants of the program will work directly with Pinawa’s Economic Development Office to launch and grow their businesses, while a group of supporting agencies which include North Forge East, the first regional business incubator in Eastern Manitoba, will support the entrepreneurs in the course of their business journeys. Statistics from the targeted number of projects anticipated investment capital is expected to be as high as $20 million. Every candidate/applicant is also anticipated to create local employment opportunities, further stimulating economic growth within the region.
The qualified businesses will be accepted and recommended by the Pinawa Economic Development Office to the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program’s Entrepreneur Pathway, which requires successful candidates to conduct a community visitation trip, provide a thorough business plan, a minimum amount of funds to invest into their business and business ownership experience. This program provides an expedited immigration pathway for business owners and entrepreneurs to settle in the province.
In its first year, the International Entrepreneurship Program is expected to attract between five to eight projects which will account for up to $1.2 million in direct community investment. The program had been in the works for a while and is now active and currently accepting international applicants. The benefit of this program is that it requires low investment, it is faster to process, the exploratory visit and there is no need to wait for any draw.
Federal Skilled Worker Program
In 1967, Canada launched the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) to select immigrants from all over the world. Before the FSWP was introduced, the mode of selection for skilled worker immigrants was subjective. It was largely based on the discretion of individual immigration officers who made a judgment call on whether they thought a candidate could fit into the Canadian job market.
The government, therefore, discovered that the approach was somewhat problematic and a little bit unfair so the world’s first-ever point system was introduced to screen and select immigrants into Canada. The mode of selection thus became objective under the FSWP where candidates were evaluated based on their age, education, language skills, work experience, and occupation, among other factors.
The benefits of the FSWP are quite numerous, however, the most outstanding one is the fact that candidates can get their permanent residents (PR) in 6 months. The reason for this is that the FSWP is managed under the Canadian Express Entry. As much as the FSWP seems very interesting, there are a few things to also note. Candidates/skilled foreign workers who are applying for the FSWP must have at least one year of full-time paid work experience in their home country during the past 10 years in a high-demand occupation categorized as Skill Type 0 (specific management occupations).
Candidates should be Skill Level A (particular professions normally requiring a university degree), or Skill Level B (specific skilled trades or technical jobs often requiring a college education or training as an apprentice) according to Canada’s National Occupational Classification (NOC). The applicants must also score a minimum of 67 points out of 100 points to qualify for the FSWP. In addition to this, there are health and character requirements and other criteria that must be met. There are quite a number of things to know about the FSWP, feel free to reach out to us at Magnum Insight by clicking here to chat with us (Insert link to chat in here).
Family Class Sponsorship Program
Bearing in mind that many of the immigrants in Canada have their families and loved ones across the border, Canada introduced the Family Class Sponsorship Program and just as the name implies, the program allows Canadian citizens, permanent residents, the opportunity to help their family member looking to immigrate to Canada to acquire permanent residency.
Just like other programs, there are selection criteria to look at if you are looking to use the family class sponsorship program. You can sponsor your sibling, spouse, partner, or dependent child. However, you will be subject to certain criteria as the sponsor and the relative being sponsored will also be subject to other criteria.
One hidden fact about this program is that you are not required to provide any income details unless you are sponsoring your spouse and one or more dependent children. Before applying for the family sponsorship program, it is very important to check your eligibility status. If you live and work in Canada as a permanent resident but would like to sponsor your relative, the chances are high but you need to be 18 years old and above, be registered as a Canadian citizen or be a permanent resident.
The categories of people you can sponsor include your spouse (he or she must be legally married to you), your conjugal partner, dependent children, parents and grandparents, orphaned family members, and other siblings. On the other hand, the person you intend to sponsor must be admissible to Canada. Whether it is the Canada spousal sponsorship or sponsorship of independent children or other relatives, they must meet certain criteria that make them eligible to enter the country. The criteria range from things like. In other words, they shouldn’t be banned from entering Canada and should be eligible to enter Canada. You as the sponsor will not be eligible for the program if you have been convicted of a violent or sexual crime, and you are in prison; if you have not paid child support or you are owing child support; if you have been declared bankrupt and so on. Also note that the person being sponsored must provide the necessary forms, supporting documents when submitting their Canada sponsorship application, and any additional information, such as medical exams and biometrics.
Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP)
The government of Canada made an agreement with local provinces which makes provisions for these provinces to nominate immigrants who wish to live in, settle, and work in that particular province or in the long run immigrate to Canada. To be able to receive a visa through the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP), the applicant is expected to choose the specific province they wish to live in and therefore apply for a nomination. The next step is thus for the province to consider the applications based on its own immigration and labor needs, while also assessing the applicant’s intention to settle in the province.
As stated at the beginning of this article, for most provinces, the Canadian immigration program is an important part of not only boosting local economies and development in key sectors but also supporting the country’s aging population.
There are 11 Provincial Nomination Programs (PNP) in Canada and they are listed as follows: Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP), British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP), Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP), New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NW PNP), Newfoundland & Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NL PNP), Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP), Nova Scotia Provincial Nominee Program (NS PNP), Ontario Provincial Nominee Program (OINP), Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEI PNP), Saskatchewan Provincial Nominee Program (SINP) and the Yukon Nominee Program (YNP). Meanwhile, Quebec has its own unique immigration program different from the above-mentioned regions.
At this point, it is very important to note that there are basically two types of PNP programs. They include:
The skilled worker PNP: This program allows accelerated processing for skilled workers that have job offers from a local provincial business in an occupation or business sector that meets local provincial needs.
Business immigration program: This is the second type of PNP. It is basically a program that allows expedited immigration processing in the instance where the applicant does some variation of one of the following in the province: if the applicant establishes a new business; if the applicant invests money, or the applicant enters a joint venture with a local business in the province.
It is important to also note that the provincial processing time can range from two weeks to nine months depending on the province. PNP approval is commonly called being “nominated” by the Provincial Nominee Program. For more information on PNP, do not hesitate to reach out to us at Magnum Insights.
There are a lot more Canadian immigration options, but for the purpose of this article, the above-mentioned programs are some of the most popular ways to immigrate to Canada. If you have got questions or you require an in-depth understanding of how these programs work, please feel free to reach out to us at Magnum Insights.
If you’d like to evaluate your Canadian immigration options, reach out to us and book a consulting session.
