Now that you have decided to start your Permanent Residency application process to move to Canada, here’s a step-by-step guide to understanding the process. This is a simplified version of the information shared by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and is intended to provide you with an overview for your ease of reference.
Click “Learn More” under each step to understand it in detail.
1. Check your eligibility
First things first, you don’t want to begin something that you are not eligible for. It’s good to check your eligibility first before you jump into it. Most of you will be eligible as the criteria isn’t rigid. For example, you may need to have a few years of work experience, or a decent command of English, or a college degree. If you are not sure of some of the questions, just give an approximate answer to find out about your eligibility.
2. Language Testing
You must prove your English or French language abilities by taking one of the approved tests. We took the IELTS General Training test which is one of the most popular English language test taken by applicants across the world. Once you book your test, prepare well and try to get a good score. There are 4 sections in an IELTS test – Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking and each one has its own cut off score.
3. Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)
You will need to get your non-Canadian degrees, diplomas and certificates assessed through designated organizations such as WES. These organizations analyze your degrees and transcripts and assign a Canadian equivalency to them. An important point to note is that a Master’s degree from your home country, may not be considered equivalent to Master’s in Canada. This will directly affect your CRS score. Different agencies may give different evaluations, and their charges as well as timelines may also be different. Ask around and read up on the various designated organizations to know which one works for you. For the assessment, you will need to request for your transcripts in sealed envelopes from your college or university and ask them to ship it to WES Canada. WES will usually send you the results in about a month.
4. Check your NOC
Jobs in Canada can be classified under different categories under the National Occupation Classification (NOC) system. There are 5 broad NOC categories based on the job duties – 0, A, B, C and D. Jobs in 0, A and B categories are considered skilled jobs for the purpose of immigration. These broad categories are further divided into NOC codes, one for each type of job. For example, within NOC category A, there are several different codes for professions in Finance. Financial Manager’s NOC code is 0111, Financial auditors and accountants have the code 1111, while Financial and Investment Analysts are assigned the code 1112. You will need to find the code appropriate for your profession because you will need it for the next step.
5. Create Express Entry profile
Once you have your language test scores, ECA and NOC code, create your Express Entry profile on IRCC’s website. A score will be generated based on the answers you provided and you will enter a pool with the other applicants. Every few weeks, IRCC conducts a draw to select a certain number of applicants above a specific cut off score from this pool. The number of applicants and the cut off scores keep varying with every draw. If your score matches or exceeds the cut off score of the next draw, congratulations, you will be invited to apply. If your CRS score is below the cut off score for that draw, then you will have to wait in the pool until the cut off score is low enough.
Your Express Entry profile will be valid for one year and you will be considered for all the draws in that period. Meanwhile, you may also work on your language skills or education to improve your CRS score. You may also receive a Provincial Nomination at this stage which helps in boosting your score. Some provinces will contact you directly while you will have to apply for some other provinces to get their nomination.
6. Invitation to Apply (ITA)
If your CRS score is above the cut off score, you will get an official Invitation to Apply (ITA) in your Express Entry account. Getting an ITA is the toughest part for most of the applicants and the great majority of them never reach this stage. If you have received an ITA, you are almost certain to become a permanent resident of Canada, unless you misrepresented anything in your profile or documents, or something changes that makes you ineligible to apply for PR.
7. Submit your application
With your ITA, you will be asked to submit a few documents online to prove what you claimed in your Express Entry profile. For example, your IELTS report or your proof of age amongst other things such as police verification and medical exam. You will have 60 days to submit all your documents, otherwise you will lose this opportunity. If you don’t submit your application within that time, you will have to wait for the next draw and it is possible that the next few draws have a higher cut off score than your CRS score. When you submit your application, you will receive an acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) from IRCC in about a day. This means that your application has been successfully received by IRCC and they will start working on it soon.
8. Test your patience
It can take a few weeks to many months to process an application. Every case is different and hence needs a different amount of time to process. There is nothing you can do except bite your nails and wait patiently without thinking about it every single moment. IRCC targets to process 80% of the applications within 6 months of receiving them so it is safe to say that you are very likely to hear back from them within 6 months whether your application gets approved or rejected.
9. Confirmation of PR (COPR)
If your application gets approved, hooray, you are almost a Canadian PR now! You will receive a Confirmation of PR (COPR) letter from your local visa office. You may also receive a one time PR entry visa depending on your country of origin. Now go ahead and start preparing for your arrival in Canada. Your PR visa will have an expiry date and you must land in Canada before the expiry date. This date is usually 365 days from your medical exam date.
10. Preparing for arrival
You are going to get really busy preparing to move and you should start as soon as you get your COPR – there’s a lot to do! When you land in Canada, your passports and COPR will be stamped and you will officially become a Permanent Resident. It is important to make sure you have not misrepresented anything, otherwise your COPR can still be rejected on your arrival. Now head out of the airport and give yourself a pat on your back for you have accomplished something that will change your life forever.