CANADA IMMIGRATION :

This is a general explanation of the Canadian Immigration Act and regulations. For exact definition and explanation of Canadian Immigration Act and regulations refer to legal books OR consult a Canadian lawyer.

A: TEMPORARY OR NON IMMIGRANT VISA:

1. VISITOR VISA.

Purpose:

The purpose of the visitor / tourist visa under the Canadian Immigration Act is to :

• allow the entry of an individual who wishes to visit Canada for the purpose of doing trade with Canadian companies, for tourism and allow other foreigners to foster scientific and international understanding.

• at the same time controlling entry of those who wish to involve in criminal activities in Canada or who are likely to put in danger the health and safety of the Canadian society.

Who is a visitor:

A definition of visitor is given under Sec. 2 (1) of The Immigration Act (Act) as a person who is lawfully in Canada as a visitor or who wishes to come into Canada

for temporary purpose and who is not:

1. a holder of minister’s permit;

2. a Canadian permanent resident and citizen;

3. an immigrant who is admitted into Canada as his/her examination cannot be concluded at the port of entry by the officer.

What is a visitor visa:

A visitor visa is a document or stamp on the passport (in most cases) which allows entry of a person in Canada as that person meets the requirements of the Act for the purpose of visiting Canada.

This visa is issued by a visa officer at the Canadian post abroad.

HOWEVER THERE ARE RESIDENTS AND CITIZENS OF CERTAIN COUNTRIES WHO DO NOT REQUIRE A VISITOR VISA OR IT MAY BE ISSUED AT THE PORT OF ENTRY IN CANADA.

2. Students Authorization ( student visa).

There are more than 85 universities in Canada which provide high level of education to students coming from around the world. Canada has some of the finest private English schools from grade 1-12 for local as well as international students. The Canadian government spends 9.5 % of their GDP in the education system. Many Canadian education institutions are funded by the government and therefore they have some of the best facilities.

Basic process for obtaining student authorization is as follows:

1. Foreign students must apply to a Canadian education institute and obtain admission in such an institute. This institute must be certified by the immigration authority for the issuance of the student authorization / visa. This is generally mentioned in the prospectus of the school. If is not mentioned students must ask the institute directly whether admission in that particular institute will qualify him / her for student authorization.

2. Once the admission is secured, the student is required to make application to the Canadian immigration office for student authorization and visa.

3. The student can make this application while in Canada or outside of Canada.

There are also many student exchange programs, student working visa programs and such other programs for students of certain countries.

Our kit will also include, apart from our regular forms and instructions, a list of Canadian educational institutions and a list of special student exchange and student working visa programs.

3. Applying for Employment authorization: ( Work permit ).

Any person who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada needs employment authorization ( work permit) to work in Canada.

Basic process for obtaining employment authorization:

1. The applicant must have a job offer from a Canadian employer who is ready to sponsor him / her.

2. The employer must apply to the Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) for job validation ( labor certification ) . However there are certain cases where labor certification is not necessary such as hiring software programmers and their spouses, corporate executives, etc.

3. Once the labor certification is obtained , the applicant may make an application to a Canadian immigration office for obtaining employment authorization.

4. This application may be made while the applicant is in Canada or from outside Canada.

AS PER THE LATEST REGULATION ( OCT. 1998) SPOUSES OF EXECUTIVES , PROFESSIONALS AND SOFTWARE PROGRAMMERS ON WORK PERMIT VISAS ARE ELIGIBLE TO WORK IN CANADA. SUCH SPOUSES NEED TO HAVE A JOB OFFER AND NO JOB VALIDATION IS NECESSARY

If you have come to Canada ON :-

1. VISITOR VISA;

2. STUDENT AUTHORIZATION;

3. EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION;

you may apply for extension of your visa while you are WITHIN Canada.

OR

an individual may apply for any of the following types of visas and change his/her visa status. This may lead the way to obtaining permanent immigration of Canada.

1. APPLYING FOR IMMIGRANT VISA OF CANADA AS A CONVENTIONAL REFUGEE (Political asylum).

One can seek and make an application for political asylum in Canada, if that person has well founded fear that he /she will be prosecuted because of his / her religion, race, nationality, membership of a particular social group and political opinion and such a person cannot go back to his home country or cannot get protection from this country.

2. Applying for work permit visa as a Live-in-Caregiver (Nanny or Domestic help or Au pair).

This program has been introduced to meet the of shortage of domestic help in Canada.

Basic process for obtaining employment authorization ( work permit) in this program is as follows;

1. The applicant must obtain a job offer from a prospective employer in Canada;

2. Once the job offer is made, the employer must make an application in Canada for approval of the sponsorship;

3. After the sponsorship is approved, the applicant must apply for employment authorization to the Canadian immigration office.

4. This application can be made while in Canada and also when the applicant is out of Canada.

5. Work permit is issued for a period of two years and after that time period the applicant can make an application for permanent immigration to Canada.

3. APPLYING FOR IMMIGRANT VISA OF CANADA AS A SPOUSE.

A person may apply under this class if he/she gets married in Canada while on a temporary visa in Canada.

Under this class the individual may have come on a visitor visa and while in Canada may have found a loved one with whom he/she wishes to get married.

4. APPLYING FOR IMMIGRANT VISA OF CANADA UNDER THE HUMANITARIAN AND COMPASSIONATE REASONS.

Under this class application is made on the basis that if visa is not issued, the applicant will suffer undue hardships.

B: PERMANENT IMMIGRATION TO CANADA:

Under this class one can make an application for PERMANENT IMMIGRATION TO CANADA under the following three categories when he/she is OUTSIDE of Canada.

1. Applying for immigrant visa of Canada under the independent class.

Canada is a country of immigrants and the government has identified that liberalized immigration process for skilled workers and professionals is essential for the economic and cultural development of Canada.

To serve this objective and facilitate the entry of skilled workers and professionals into Canada, Human Resources Development Canada ( Labor Department of Canada ) has produced a list of occupations known as National Occupation Classification (NOC).

Based on this list, Immigration Department of Canada has formulated immigration regulations for issuing immigrant visa to skilled workers and professionals and their families.

Before one makes an application under this class the applicant must make sure that your occupation / profession is on this NOC list with skill St of O, A and B.

Application under this class is decided on the basis of points system on the following criteria.

1. Education = 25 points

2. Work Experience = 21 points

3. Age = 10 points

4. Arrange Employment = 10 points

5. Knowledge of English and/or French language= 16+8 points

6. Close relative in Canada, job offer from Canada, Canadian Education for 2 years at graduate/master level, One year full time Canadian legal experience OR spouse's education = 10 points (5 points for each factor)

If you score 67 points out of 100 then you are eligible for getting PR visa of Canada. For calculation of your points you need to submit your resume. This regulation came in to effect on 28th Sep. 2003.
To submit your information or resume click here.

2. APPLYING FOR IMMIGRANT VISA OF CANADA UNDER THE ENTREPRENEUR CLASS AND SELF-EMPLOYED CLASS .

This class is also known as business immigration class. The applicant should make an application under the entrepreneur class and self employed class if he/she wishes to start a business in Canada.

The entrepreneur class is defined as follows:

Any individual who has -

1. Required net assets to start a business in Canada,

2. Has one year managerial experience to run and manage the business,

3. Has viable business plan to open up a business in Canada and will hire more than one Canadian in that business.

As a general rule, if the applicant has some business outside of Canada and has 300,000 CD$ to start a business and settle in Canada, he/she is likely to qualify for this program. However, every thing must be well documented.

For the self employed class, the requirements are same as the entrepreneur class but the applicant is not required to employ any person in the business. This type of visa is issued to people who will start a business venture in the area of arts , music and culture or farming.

You should make AN application under THE investor class if you DO NOT wish to start a business in CANADA.

The investor class is also known as business immigration class and is defined as:

Any individual who has -

1. Successfully operated and controlled a business outside Canada,

2. Made a minimum investment of 400,000 CD$ or 800,000 CD$ in a government approved program for a period of five years,

3. Accumulated the above mentioned net worth by his/her own business endeavors.

UNDER THIS PROGRAM THERE ARE MANY CANADIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVED FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS WHICH ARE LICENCED TO MANAGE SUCH PROGRAMS. THESE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS PROVIDE A MONETARY LOAN IF THE INVESTOR DOES NOT WISH TO MAKE A FULL INVESTMENT OF 400,000 CD$ ( This is the most preferred program).
WE CAN HELP THE INVESTOR TO GET A LOAN UPTO 280,000 CD$. THE INVESTOR WILL BE REQUIRED TO INVEST ONLY 120,000 CD$. HOWEVER, AT THE END OF 5 YEARS THE INVESTOR WILL NOT RECEIVE BACK HIS /HER 120,000 CD$. IN OTHER WORDS, THE INVESTOR CAN BUY CANADAIAN PERMANENT RESIDENT VISA FOR 120,000 CD$ .

3. APPYING FOR IMMIGRANT VISA OF CANADA UNDER THE FAMILY CLASS OR SPONSORSHIP BY A CANADIAN CITIZEN OR PERMANENT RESIDENT

A Canadian citizen or permanent resident may make an application to sponsor their relatives under one of the following classes-

1. Family class relatives;

2. Private sponsorship of refugees;

If a person has close relatives in Canada and wishes to immigrate to Canada, he/she may apply under this class for family sponsorship. In other words, if an individual is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada he/she can sponsor some of his/her close relatives to obtain Canadian immigration.

One can sponsor the following relatives only under the family class.

1. one’s spouse;

2. one’s spouse’s dependent children;

3. one’s mother & father;

4. one’s grandparents;

5. one’s brother , sister, nephew, niece, grandson & granddaughter who is an orphan;

6. one’s fiance(e);

7. one’s child who has been adopted;

If an individual does not have any of the above mentioned relatives, then he/she can sponsor one another relative.

All other relatives and relations who do not satisfy the family class requirement need to apply under other class(es).

Brief process in applying under the family class is as follows-

1. A Canadian citizen or permanent resident may apply within Canada to sponsor his/ her relative.

2. Once the sponsorship is approved, the immigration office in Canada will inform the Canadian High Commission office of the country in which the relative is staying.

3. Canadian High Commission will ask the relative to provide all the necessary documents and may call for him/her for an interview;

4. After medical and security clearance, the relative will get PR of Canada.

C : APPLICATION BY A PERMANENT RESIDENT OF CANADA FOR :

1. Returning Resident Permit : A person may make this application if he/she is a permanent resident of Canada and wishes to or has to stay out of Canada for more than six months.

2. Application to change the Immigration record of landing or IMM 1000 form: An individual may make this application if he/she finds that there is a clerical error in the record of landing / permanent immigration visa or some other data has been changed .

D: CANADIAN CITIZENSHIP:

1. As a general principle one may apply for Canadian citizenship provided one is a permanent resident of Canada for more than three years.

2. Applying to find proof of citizenship, also called Citizenship Certificate. This maybe undertaken while the person is in Canada or outside of Canada .

3. Applying for search for citizenship record.