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How to immigrate to Canada?

Canadian immigration? This is a crash introductory course in the main categories of Canadian programs for immigration which can lead to permanent residency. Simplified and easy to understand for anyone considering making Canada their future home.


To make it easy to understand, Canadian immigration is split into these categories which can lead to permanent residency. Some of them start with temporary residencies and lead to PR, and some are direct PR. There are over 100 programs across Federal, provincial, and Regional programs – however, they are just repetitions of each other specific to provinces or regions. We have trickled them all down to 6 main categories – which is a different way than the government has explained it on their website, but ours is simpler to understand. 


If you’re interested in immigrating to Canada for Studies, Work, Sponsorship, or Business, get a FREE email assessment with one of our licensed immigration consultants, we have successfully helped applicants from over 49 different countries! Fill out our form, click here.



Study in Canada

As you know more than 800,000 international students enter Canada every year to study and many of them become eligible for work permits if they study at an eligible academic program, which would allow them to stay and convert to PR through the various skilled immigration programs.


If you're looking for options to stay and eventually become a PR in Canada? You're at the right place. At INGWE we have licensed immigration consultants that are willing to help. Get a FREE email assessment with us, click the link.


Asylum in Canada

Conventional refugee category where the Canadian government has specific programs in place to help protect persons who are being persecuted.


Self-Employed for occupations in culture/sports/arts

This is a direct PR stream for ‘world class’ recognized applicants who have experience being self-employed in occupations related to sports, art, and culture. 


Canada Family Sponsorship

This is where Canadian PR or Citizens can sponsor their common-law or spouses, and dependent children who are either overseas or inside Canada and not yet permanent residents. This is one of the highest approval rate programs for Canadian PR.


If you’re interested in applying for the Canada PR through the Spousal Sponsorship program, at INGWE we are here to help you. We have successfully supported applicants from +49 nationalities! Get a FREE email assessment with us, fill out our form, click here. 


Skilled Immigration

This category has provincial and Federal programs, and it relates to both temporary residents who receive work permits to come and work for a Canadian employer. Some of the programs such as the Provincial Nominee Program and Atlantic Immigration Program or the Rural Northern Pilot Program are work permit and PR streams combined. Other programs include the caregiver program and the Agri-Food pilot. They typically all require an offer of employment from an eligible Canadian employer, except for a rare few programs such as the Saskatchewan Skilled Immigration program. 


Most of the skilled immigration programs start with a job offer, a points-based system, and a work permit letter of support and permanent residency application. 

Express Entry is also in this category which is the Federal skilled immigration points-based system that does not require an offer of employment, but is very competitive and applicants from outside Canada don’t have a whole lot of chances to be invited for PR through this stream.


Do you want to become a PR in Canada? At INGWE we could support you! Get a FREE email assessment with one of our licensed immigration consultants. We speak over +8 languages and we have helped applicants from +49 countries in their immigration path to Canada. Fill out our form, click here.


Business Immigration to Canada

This is our specialty. Business and Investment category for permanent and temporary residency in Canada. This category can be split into 2 categories. 


The Federal program which is the Startup Visa program that leads to direct PR, and the LMIA exempt entrepreneurial and self-employed work permits such as the C10 and Intra-Company Transfer C61/62/63. These LMIA-exempt work permits do not lead to direct permanent residency but allow investors and business persons to arrive in Canada and either buy or start a brand new business or even a branch or subsidiary of their overseas company. With these work permits you could potentially issue yourself a job offer after you meet certain eligibility criteria from inside Canada, and then hop on one of the skilled immigration programs to convert to PR. 


The 2nd branch of the Canadian business immigration programs are provincial programs. They are all typically called Entrepreneur programs which start with a work permit and lead to direct PR after you have implemented your business inside the province and met the conditions stated on your business performance agreement. Provincial Entrepreneur programs are all based on your profile, allocate points to you, and require a net worth audit, interview, and exploratory trip. It’s a slower process, but more certain because you don’t need to invest in anything in Canada before you are invited and approved for a work permit – unlike the Startup Visa and Federal LMIA exempt work permits which require you to take steps before you are approved. 

Last but not least is the Quebec Immigrant Investor Program which is the only passive investment immigration program in all of Canada – where you pay a certain amount to the Quebec government and after 4 years would be processed for PR, unless you are a francophone in which case you are fast-tracked. 



This is where it gets tricky. Consider all these 6 categories that can potentially convert you to a permanent resident of Canada, you can combine or mix & match these programs to achieve your goal of Permanent Residency. So, for example, you would start through the education programs as an international student, but then you could convert to a skilled immigration program after graduation to obtain PR, or family sponsorship if you fall in love with a Canadian or hop over to an international graduate entrepreneur program to start your own business after graduating and being nominated by the province for PR. 

How about the Federal LMIA exempt work permits which can be combined with Skilled Immigration streams of the provinces such as the PNPs or the Federal Express Entry. For the Federal self-employed applicants in arts/culture/or sports, we apply for an LMIA-exempt work permit for them while they apply for a PR under this Federal program – which means we utilize 2 programs. And not to make your head spin, but the Canadian government even has its own mix & match program with the Economic Mobility Pathway Program which allows Canadian employers to sponsor overseas designated refugees as skilled workers through either the Provincial Nominee Programs or a newly announced Federal stream.


The key is to consider all these programs, and sub-streams of Canadian immigration as tools to help you combine them to achieve your goals. Just like any complicated and long-term project, you need tools to complete this project. Either you can do it yourself if you’re the DIY type or you contract it out to professionals who know the inside and outs of these immigration tools.

Whichever route you select, make sure you read the fine print. In immigration, the devis is in the details!


At INGWE, we are experts in Business Immigration. If you’re interested in immigrating with your family through business, you’re at the right place. Get a FREE email assessment with us, and we will support you throughout the process. Fill out our form, click here.


Get a FREE email assessment

If you’re thinking about immigrating whether permanently or temporarily - you’re at the right place! Our team speaks over +9 languages, and we help applicants from over 49 different countries during their immigration process. Get a FREE email assessment, click here.

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