A complete guide to get a Canada PR visa in 2021

Don’t you love to immigrate to Canada? If you do, we have an update on Canada immigration as to the steps to be taken to successfully move to this country. We will try to understand the steps, procedures, processes, and best practices involved in one of the most life-changing decisions you would have made seeking a Canada immigration visa.

So, when we talk about immigration Canada has a very exclusive system called the Express Entry that works to manage new immigrants arriving in Canada. It’s Express Entry that organizes and does the processing of applications of potential immigrants.

Now, applying to Express Entry requires some preparation and clarity on your part. That clarity can be achieved in the following ways:

Find your NOC

In brief, NOC is a systematic classification and coding of all jobs that are available in the Canadian labor market. These include several in-demand jobs which you can track if they are suitable to your skills, experience, and qualification.

There are levels by skill type that are set by NOC. They go by codes like 0, A, B, C, and D. When you choose a line of work and occupation to go for in Canada, you will know which stream to go under. It’s up to you to check what skill level is required for eligibility under the particular stream you have chosen to immigrate to.

Get your ECA done

If you have no experience of studying in Canada, it becomes necessary that your current qualifications be assessed for compatibility with a Canadian qualification. The IRCC has approved third-party service providers who do that job for you.

Once your educational credentials match up to the Canadian qualification required, you get through and become eligible on this front to apply for a Canada PR.

Take English/French language tests

This is very important! To immigrate to Canada, you must have a certain level of practical skill in the English or French language. To prove it, you can take a test like IELTS or CELPIP for English and TEF Canada or TCF Canada for French.

Get the necessary bands or do better and prove that you are eligible for Canadian immigration.

Check your eligibility to Express Entry

Here’s where some other factors apart from education and language proficiency play an important role in deciding your eligibility. Your profile created in the Express Entry system is ranked by CRS for factors like work experience and language proficiency also.

Requirements per immigration program vary and involves variables like proof of sufficient funds.

Calculate your CRS score

You don’t have to sweat with a pencil and paper for this as there are enough automated tools online to find your CRS score based on your inputs. By understanding your CRS scores before applying for a Canada PR visa, you can achieve clarity. You can make the right decision as to which stream and what immigration program you must utilize to move to Canada.

Now that the prep talk is done, let’s get down to the real process of getting a Canada PR visa.

The first step to take to apply to Express Entry is to submit your profile. For that, have these documents ready with you:

• Result of your language test
• Report of ECA assessment
• A travel document like a passport

After you submit your profile, the ranking it got with CRS could lead to your getting an ITA for PR in Canada. Then, you will have to file a complete application backed with all necessary additional documents to obtain your Canada PR visa. These documents include:

• Police clearance certificates
• Reference letters
• Additional documents of identity
• Medical examination results

Any candidate with degrees/certificates from college/university and having experience in skilled occupation with at least moderate language proficiency in English/French is considered an ideal candidate for immigrating to Canada. The candidate could also be eligible to apply under the Express Entry programs of FSTP, FSWP, and CEC.

Express Entry for Skilled Workers

As a skilled worker trying to immigrate and work in Canada through the Express Entry system and its pathways, you must:

• Have experience working in a continuous full-time skilled job (or equivalent part-time job) of at least a year in the last 10 years
• Be able to demonstrate your language skill in English or French in an approved language test and at least have a CLB score of 7 in either of these languages
• Have completed your post-secondary education that will be subject to assessment against Canadian standards with an ECA

With these minimum requirements fulfilled, you, as a skilled worker, can apply to the Express Entry.

Picturing the ideal Express Entry candidate

You already have the sense of how your CRS score and ranking decide the candidate’s chances of being chosen for immigration. But still certain common trends we can observe can help us identify the ideal candidate for Express Entry. Going by that observation, an ideal Express Entry candidate is:

• Under 30 years old
• One with a minimum of 2 Bachelor’s/Masters degrees
• Able to demonstrate moderate to high proficiency in English/French (with a CLB score of at least 8)
• One with skilled work experience of at least 3 years

If you think you can do better at the CRS score, you probably know these score boosters already:

• Higher proficiency in English/French language
• Mastery in English and French
• A Master’s degree or Ph.D.
• An experience of working or studying in Canada
• A Canadian sibling currently living in Canada
• An offer for an arranged employment from a Canadian employer
• A nomination that came to you via PNP

So, how much does Express Entry cost?

Well, here are the costs involved in Express Entry:

• $300 (Average cost) for Language tests
• $200 (Average cost) for ECA
• $85/person for Biometrics
• $1,325 for an adult and $225 for a child as Government fees
• $450 for an adult and $250 for a child (average cost) as Medical examination fees
• $100 per country (average cost) for Police clearance certificates

Your initial submission of an Express Entry profile won’t cost you anything. You will have to pay a fee only when you apply for a Canada PR after receiving an ITA. If you are nominated by a Canadian province, you will have to pay a provincial immigration fee over and above the processing fees to the government.

Unless you are applying under CEC or have a valid offer for employment, you will have to demonstrate that you have enough funds to support yourself after you immigrate to Canada. Here’s a table that shows the funds required as per family size as of January 3, 2021:

Family size	Funds needed
7	$34,299
6	$30,806
5	$27,315
4	$24,083
3	$19,836
2	$16,135
1	$12,960

For every extra family member, you must have $3,492.

Job-offer for Express Entry

You won’t need to be offered a job to participate in Express Entry. If you have a job offered in Canada, it could add 50 to 200 points to your application for Express Entry. The points will be awarded when you have a positive LMIA. The job offer has to a formal one and points won’t be awarded to your Express Entry profile if that’s not the case. Neither should such an informal job offer be mentioned in your application.

Will it be a long wait for the Express Entry process to complete?

Express Entry process can take 6 months to process in normal cases. This is the time taken from the submission of your profile to issuing your Canada PR visa. Here are some things you would want to know:

• A profile will stay active in the pool of Express Entry candidates for 12 months in case you aren’t issued an ITA.
• If you received an ITA, you must file the full application with the required documents within 90 days.
• Once IRCC receives your complete application, your Canada PR visa will in all normal cases get processed in 6 months or lesser.

Becoming a permanent resident in Canada is a process you can invest your time and effort in to reap long-term gains. You will be welcomed in Canada for the resourceful person you are and you can find a great standard of life and career opportunities that will set your future bright.

If you found this blog engaging, you may also like…

Canada’s provincial immigration draws in Jan 2021 – A look-back

Note:

NOC – National Occupational Classification

ECA – Educational Credential Assessment

PR – Permanent Residence

ITA – Invitation to Apply

FSTP – Federal Skilled Trades Program

FSWP – Federal Skilled Worker Program

CEC – Canadian Experience Class

LMIA - Labour Market Impact Assessment