Different people may arrive at different meanings when you talk about immigration but in this post, we try to make you understand what we actually mean and also provide you with information you need to achieve your aim.
You can move to Canada and begin living and working there very quickly with a temporary work visa. But such a visa does not allow you to stay here forever. If, however, by “immigrate” you mean move to Canada forever, then the timing will usually be significantly longer.
We have already mentioned previously that most immigration to Canada involves a two-step process. Usually immigrants get a temporary work visa first, and then get their permanent immigrant status.
The quickest temporary visas that will get you into Canada are the work visas for professionals under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). If you are a citizen of the United States or Mexico, such a visa can be obtained within a few weeks or even sooner. Other quick visas include working visas for executives and managers transferring from an affiliated company outside Canada to an affiliate in Canada.
These might take a couple of weeks. Then there are the high tech executive and managerial employee visas as well as entertainment and sports visas that again will take a few weeks as well. Again, these are all non-immigrant working visas that will allow you and your family to move to Canada, and include the right for your children to attend Canadian schools. Spouses can work on these visas in many instances.
Applicants who can demonstrate a significant benefit to Canada in their application to work here will be given work visas quickly. Two other excellent visas for Canada are the caregiver visa and student visa both of which provide fast access to the country for those who are qualified.
The quickest permanent immigration applications are those dealing with close family members, independent immigrants and the business categories which include investors, entrepreneurs and self employed immigrants. Canada’s immigration policy is governed by a point system in which would-be immigrants are assessed by scoring various points for desirable traits according to Canadian immigration law.
Probably the most popular way of immigrating to Canada is to apply as a skilled worker immigrant if you can score enough points to qualify. Skilled worker applicants must score 67 out of a possible 100 points. The business applicants are also assessed on a modified point evaluation system.
The timing for these applications varies but can stretch from say six months to several years. Spouses and fiances have special fast track consideration. Business immigrants tend to get status sooner than independent applicants.
