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We were all in our 20s at some point in life but not anymore. Let’s face it. If you are over 40 and are looking to apply for Canada immigration then you are at a natural disadvantage. You will be discriminated against by the embassy and all IRCC’s departments, including on how the immigration programs were designed in the first place. However, there are still some available options for you.
In this article we will cover the most realistic alternatives for those over the age of 40, and deliver a cost-benefit analysis.
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You’re over 40, even 45, or 50 or older. What options do you have? Of course, if you are from a visa-exempt country like Europe, Chile, Mexico, Israel, or even Brazilians with valid US visas, then you are in a much better position with the same options BUT an easier and less challenging path than the rest of the world.
As an applicant over 40 years old looking to immigrate to Canada, you need to consider your options with the Federal programs, provincial & regional programs to pinpoint the right program just for you and your family. You did know that Canada has over +75 immigration programs, right? The amusing part is that there are so many programs but so few options. Why? Well, we will look at studying, working, and bonus points in Express Entry, Regional and Provincial program options for you today.
Let’s first look at the Study Options as somebody who is over the age of 40. It’s been over 15-20 years since you last studied or want to study. Huge education gap and unlikely to be approved by the embassy even if you wanted to study. Here are your realistic options:
*Consider your partner or spouse to be the student if they have a better profile in terms of education gap, highest completed degree, language ability and/or travel history & employment history. If he/she can study, then you of course will receive an open work permit.
*Obtain a visitor visa to Canada and convert to a study permit from inside Canada by meeting the regulations (i.e., completing a pre-requisite such as a language pathway) to continue to an academic program at a college or university. The approval rate from inside Canada is 99% if you apply correctly no matter how old you are or your education gap.
*If none of the above are viable for you, then you need to create travel history for you and/or your partner/spouse to at least obtain a visitor visa. Remember that travel history is based on actual travel in the past 3 years to countries such as the UK/Europe/Australia/New Zealand and the US. If you have a valid US visa, you’re in good shape because your approval rate just jumped by 10x. If you haven’t traveled anywhere, and you are a mature student, I highly recommend the visitor visa route first.
*After you have received your study permit of course you have the public college option which can lead to a Post-Graduate Work Permit, which you guessed it, will lead you back to Express Entry or the Job offer Provincial programs. Or you can go for a Masters’s program in Ontario, British Columbia, or Newfoundland and have a direct path to PR without a job offer or absolutely any work experience. It’s a good path and many of our clients prefer that option if they are interested in a Masters. The college programs are easier in terms of admission, studies, and academic pressure vs Masters, but the path after college to PR is a bit longer post-pandemic.
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Now let’s look at the infamous Express Entry program which is a skilled immigration point-based system that Canada copied/pasted from Australia back in 2014. Of course, this is where you lose points on age for every birthday after the age of 29. As of 45 and above, you receive zero points for your age which puts you at a serious disadvantage. If you have the following profile, which I will describe for 3 various scenarios, with no Canadian work experience, you literally have no chance with the basic Express Entry route:
*You are over 40 with a bachelor’s degree and language score of 7-8
*You are over 40 with a Masters or even PhD with language score of 7-8
*Any of the above profiles with lower English or French language scores is even worse.
*Even if your spouse can give you some additional points, it’s not enough in your case.
If you really want to use Express Entry for your PR and have the above profiles which I just described being over 40, there are only a very few options that you may not like:
1: Receive an offer of employment for bonus of 50 points in Express Entry based on an LMIA.
2: If you can’t find an employer, and you can afford it, issue yourself a job offer from your own company inside Canada. You can obtain 50 or 200 points based on the size of the business meaning how many Canadians are employed there. This option can work either with an LMIA or without one if you are inside Canada on the payroll for 12 months on full-time basis.
3: Receive a nomination certificate from the Provinces through their own programs which we will explain in the next section.
4: Literally these are the only options to boost your points. If this is not done, then get out of Express Entry since you’ll just drown in the pool and will never get out.
How about the Provincial Nomination Program options? It’s important to understand that the provincial nominee programs are typically either for skilled workers or entrepreneurs. Most provinces accept only skilled workers with local employers who sponsor them with an offer of employment. There are a few provinces that also offer the following options which don’t require offers of employment from Canada:
*Points-based skilled worker programs such as the SINP (Saskatchewan Immigration Nominee Program). But if you don’t have a Masters or higher degree, a high language score, and 10 years of continuous experience in one profession or you’re at a very young age with ties to Saskatchewan, then you won’t have a chance. It’s also very occupation-specific.
The Atlantic provinces come out once in a while and select and invite specific occupations from the Express Entry pool who have selected ‘open to all provinces’, this is now much scarcer since the pandemic. Ontario also has a Human Capital PNP which selects high-demand professionals with specific scores and NOC codes. If you have below 430 points, it’s unlikely you have a chance at this either. If you are a French speaker, there are more options for you in this respect on the PNP side.
*You can also buy less than 10% shares in a Canadian company and issue yourself an owner/operator LMIA job offer and apply through one of the specific PNP skilled worker streams.
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The same goes for the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP) – which is based on offers of employment. The rural programs are even more strict so don’t keep your hopes high if you have no ties or connections to the community with an employer willing to sponsor you.
And of course, you have the business immigration options which are both available on a federal and provincial level – which we have covered in our previous videos.
And remember, if you are a world-class artist, or professional in culture or sports, you have the Federal Self-Employed program available to you which is not completely age-dependent but has other factors to consider about your work & profile. You can refer to our previously posted YouTube video which describes the key elements of this program, click here.
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