Overview
Work Permits and Study Permits
While most applicants are interested in Canadian permanent resident status, in some cases a good alternative may be for clients to first obtain Temporary Resident status in Canada, then later on convert to Canadian permanent resident status.
A Temporary Resident is a person who is a:
- International Student (Study Permit);
- Temporary Foreign Worker (Work Permit); or
- Visitor (Visitor Record) in Canada.
Some of these options for obtaining immigration status in Canada and which create a route to Canadian permanent resident status are set out in detail below.
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International Students
One approach to open up opportunities for a family to obtain residency status in Canada is by way of anapplicant (or their child) coming to study in Canada.
Applicants who qualify to receive a Study Permit to study at an approved post-secondary institution in Canada also qualify to receive an Open Work Permit, to allow their spouse or partner to work in Canada during the period of their studies. Dependent Children (under the age of 22 years) of the applicants also receive the right to study in Canada, without the need to pay foreign student fees (up to the completion of secondary school).
If an applicant completes at least a one (1) year program of study at an approved Canadian post-secondary school (university; community college; technical school), the applicant is then entitled to receive an Open Post-Graduate Work Permit, allowing them to work in Canada. Once again, if the applicant receives a Post-Graduate Work Permit, their spouse or partner is entitled to receive an Open Work Permit to work in Canada, and children can attend school.
After working for one year in Canada on a Work Permit with a Canadian employer in a skilled job, the applicant becomes eligible to apply for Canadian permanent resident status under the Express System (see above) in the Canadian Experience Class.
With foreign graduating students in Canada being issued with Post-Graduate Work Permits, as noted above which are valid for from one to three years on completion of their studies, many of these foreign students will remain in Canada and become Canadian permanent residents once they have completed their studies and gained one year of work experience in Canada.
Once students graduate and then become Canadian Permanent Residents, they then become eligible for Canadian Citizenship.
Canadian permanent residents and Canadian Citizens are eligible to sponsor their parents and grandparents to become Canadian Permanent Residents in the Family Class (as noted above).
Having a son or daughter study in Canada and successfully graduate can thus be a pathway to Canadian permanent resident status not only for that son or daughter, but eventually for the parents and grandparents as well.
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Mature Students
The Study Permit pathway may also be a means for applicants who are older (over 35 years of age) to qualify with their families for Canadian permanent residence status.
Many applicants over the age of 35 will not be able to qualify for economic immigration to Canada under the Express Entry System (see above). These individuals have good language skills, education, work experience and qualified spouses, but they simply will not receive sufficient points on the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) under the Express Entry System.
An option for these mature individuals is to upgrade their education in Canada. By doing so they can open the door to obtaining a Permanent Resident visa for themselves and their family in 18 – 24 months.
As noted above if one parent studies full-time in Canada on a Study Permit then the other parent qualifies for an Open Work Permit. Children are granted Study Permits so they can attend school for free up until Grade 12.
With a minimum one year of successfully-completed Canadian education and one year of Canadian work experience on a Post-Graduate Work permit (or on an Open Work Permit), a mature student or their spouse can qualify to apply for a Permanent Resident Visa as a Skilled Worker or under the Canadian Experience Class; or even be selected through a Provincial Nomination Program.
The Canadian government has designated international student graduates as a primary source of new permanent residents to Canada. International students are highly valued due to their ability to apply their skills and education directly and quickly fill Canadian labour market shortages. Mature students, with previous work experience, are highly valued assets. Asia and the Middle East have been designated as a priority emerging market in Education under Canada’s Global Markets Action Plan (GMAP). The number of mature students studying in Canada has nearly doubled in the last two years.
Each year over 250,000 Canadians over 40 years of age go back to school to upgrade their skills in order to find higher paying jobs or start new careers. Canada is a very competitive country.
Using expert educational associates in Canada, the right school and the right study program will be selected for a mature student based on their previous work experience. The experts will assist in obtaining a Letter of Acceptance for the selected school program, and prepare the applications for the Study Permit, the Open Work Permit for the Spouse and the Children’s Study Permits (if applicable) to submit to the Canadian Visa Application Centre (VAC).
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Intra-Corporate Transfer Work Permit
Another interesting option to quickly allow an applicant to obtain the ability to live and work in Canada with their families is the Intra-Corporate Transfer Work Permit.
The intra-company Work Permit category permits international companies to temporarily transfer qualified employees of any citizenship to their company in Canada for the purpose of improving management effectiveness, expanding Canadian exports, and enhancing competitiveness in overseas markets.
Companies outside of Canada can transfer Senior Managers or Executives; or Specialized Knowledge Workers to their Canadian branch, affiliate or parent company. It is even possible to transfer employees to new start-up companies in Canada.
The entry of intra-company transferees is guided by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act general provisions and is supplemented by provisions contained in international trade agreements for citizens of signatory countries. It is important to know that:
- Qualified intra-company transferees require Work Permits and are exempted from the Labour Market Impact Assessment(LMIA) requirements under paragraph R205(a) (exemption code C12) as they provide significant economic benefit to Canada through the transfer of their expertise to Canadian businesses. This applies to foreign nationals from any country, including under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).
- Paragraph R204(a) provides for LMIA exemption code T24 for qualified intra-company transferees who are citizens of a country that has signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with Canada, namely NAFTA (and similar FTAs), and supplements the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act general provisions.
Once an Intra-Corporate Transferee client has worked in Canada in a skilled position on a valid Work Permit for a minimum of one (1) year, they may become eligible to enter the Express Entry system for Canadian permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class.
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Spouse Visa
Only the Canada PR visa holders or the citizens only are entitled to sponsor their spouse. The sponsor and sponsored partner should be 18 years above at the time of applying for the sponsorship. The spouse/common law partner can be sponsored staying in Canada. Applicant can’t sponsor someone if he/she is a permanent resident living outside Canada.
The financial stability of the sponsor plays a very important role for inviting his/her partner. The applicant must be able to prove that he/she is not receiving any social assistance.
There is no IELTS requirement under the Spouse category. There is no low-income-cut-off for sponsoring a spouse, partner or dependant. The average processing time for spouse visa varies from country to country.
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Super Visa
This visa helps the parents and grandparents to visit their children/grandchildren in Canada. They can stay in Canada for upto 2 years at a time. It’s a multi-entry visa that provides the multiple entries for a period of upto 10 years.
For applying for a Super Visa one should have a medical insurance of atleast $ 100,000 from a Canadian insurance company. People who have the minimum necessary income can apply for Super Visa for parents/Grandparents.
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Visitor Visa
More than 5 million people visit Canada to explore various opportunities regarding business and travel. For getting the visitor visa an applicant needs to be financially sound to support your stay in Canada. Most visitors can stay for up to 6 months in Canada. Applicants with good travel history generally get the visitor visa without problems. The processing time for the visitor visa varies from country to country.
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