We provide the following services to our clients residing overseas.
1. Business Immigration
Canada’s Business Immigration Programs seek to attract experienced individuals with business and managerial experience who will contribute to the development of the Canadian economy.
a) Investors
The Immigrant Investor Program seeks experienced business people to invest C$800,000 into Canada’s economy and become permanent residents.
Investors must:
- have, alone or with accompanying spouse, net assets of at least $1,600,000 CAN that was legally obtained, and be willing to make an investment of C$800,000;
- have at least two (2) years of business or management experience acquired in the last five (5) years.
Note: As of July 1, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has temporarily stopped accepting new applications for the Federal Investor program while the program is under revision. This pause on new applications will continue until further notice.
Under the Canada-Quebec Accord, the province of Quebec has its own Immigrant Investor program. Those investors must intend to live in Quebec and be selected by the province. As for the Federal Investor Program, Investors under the Quebec program must invest CDN $800,000 and have a net worth of CDN $1,600,000.
Note: No new applications will be accepted by Quebec Immigration till March 31, 2013
Your investment is managed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and is guaranteed by the Canadian or Quebec Government. CIC will return your investment, without interest, about five years and two months after payment. Financial institutions offer finance options to assist investors.
b) Entrepreneurs
The Entrepreneur Program seeks to attract experienced business persons who will own and actively manage businesses in Canada that contribute to the economy and create jobs.
The Federal Entrepreneur program is currently closed and is under review.
Quebec Immigration has also suspended the intake of applications for Entrepreneurs until March 31, 2013.
c) Self-employed persons
The Self-Employed Persons Program seeks to attract individuals who intend and have the ability to become self-employed in Canada. Self-employed persons must have either:
- Relevant experience that will make a significant contribution to the cultural or athletic life of Canada, or
- Experience in farm management and the intention and ability to purchase and manage a farm in Canada.
2. Skilled workers & Professionals
Skilled worker applicants are assessed based upon a series of factors, designed to indicate the likelihood of becoming economically established in Canada. Through filling vacancies in the labor market, Skilled Workers directly contribute to the Canadian economy.
A higher education is not the only factor assessed; trades and professions can also qualify you for one of the skilled worker programs.
a) Federal skilled workers
Federal skilled worker applications are assessed for eligibility according to the criteria set out below.
For your application to be eligible for processing, you must:
- have a valid offer of arranged employment, OR
- be an international student enrolled in a PhD program in Canada (or graduated from a Canadian PhD program within the past 12 months) and meet certain criteria.
Note: As of July 1, 2012, CIC has temporarily stopped accepting applications for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP). This temporary pause does not apply to those with a qualifying job offer or applying under the PhD stream. Application intake is likely to resume again when the revised FSWP selection criteria take effect. Proposed FSWP changes should come into force in early 2013.
If you meet the above minimum requirements, your application will be processed according to the six selection factors in the skilled worker points grid, which are: education, abilities in English and/or French, work experience, age, whether you have arranged employment in Canada and your adaptability.
b) Quebec skilled workers
Under the Canada-Quebec Accord on Immigration, Quebec establishes its own immigration requirements and selects immigrants who will adapt well to living in Quebec. If you want to come to Quebec as a skilled worker, two streams of applications are available: Regular selection program and Quebec experience program (PEQ).
Regular Selection Program:
You can submit an immigration application as a skilled worker only if one of the following situations applies to you:
- You or your accompanying spouse hold a diploma awarded by a teaching institution in an area of training allowing you to get 6, 12 or 16 points under the area of training criterion of the selection grid for skilled workers.
- You reside temporarily in Quebec as a foreign student, you are eligible to apply for a selection certificate under the regular program for skilled workers and you are submitting your application in Québec.
- You reside temporarily in Quebec within the framework of a youth exchange program subject to an international agreement, such as a work holiday program. You are working full time in Québec, you are eligible to apply for a selection certificate under the regular program for skilled workers and you are submitting your application in Quebec.
- You or your accompanying spouse hold a Quebec diploma or a diploma treated as a Quebec diploma that sanctions at least one year of full-time studies.
- You or your accompanying spouse hold an employment offer made by a Quebec employer and validated by the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles.
Québec experience program – PEQ
PEQ – Québec graduate
This program is aimed at you if you have obtained an eligible Québec diploma, or you are in the process of doing so, and you have an intermediate knowledge of oral French.
PEQ – Temporary worker
This program applies to you if you are currently employed, if you have held a skilled job in Québec for at least 12 of the last 24 months and if you have an intermediate knowledge of oral French.
c) Canadian Experience Class
This program is designed for temporary foreign workers or foreign students who graduated in Canada.
You must meet these minimum requirements to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class. You must:
- plan to live outside the province of Quebec
- be either: a temporary foreign worker with at least two years of full-time (or equivalent) skilled work experience in Canada, or a foreign graduate from a Canadian post-secondary institution with at least one year of full-time (or equivalent) skilled work experience in Canada
- have gained your experience in Canada with the proper work or study authorization
- apply while working in Canada – or – within one year of leaving your job in Canada
- include the results of an independent language test (from an agency designated by CIC) with your application.
3. Family Sponsorship
Citizenship and Immigration Canada knows the importance of providing opportunities for families to reunite in Canada. A Canadian citizen or permanent resident, can sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, dependent child or other eligible relatives (such as parents or grandparents) to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents.
The basic requirements to qualify as a sponsor are that a person must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, be at least 18 years old, reside in Canada, and, in certain instances have a sufficient income to support their relatives once they arrive in Canada.
4. Temporary stays in Canada
Our firm can represent clients overseas in all applications for temporary stays in Canada, such as visitor, student and work visas.