Immigrate to Canada as an International Student

International students in Canada wish to permanently immigrate to Canada since there are a lot of opportunities available.

Most of the international students in Canada are from Asian countries and comparatively, the lack of economic growth back in those developing countries is quite disturbing for them to face.

Hopefully, there are a lot of different pathways available through which international students can make a legal transition to Canadian Permanent Residence.

Along with the eligibility of getting a job in Canada, there are hundreds of different perks that come along with Canadian Permanent Residence. The protection under Canadian Law, access to Canadian healthcare and other social services, the ability to apply for Canadian Citizenship (when conditions are met), and the right to live, work and study in Canada.

There are certain programs that may provide a great opportunity for international students to become permanent Canadian residents. However, every program holds different criteria of operation and requires much more than just completing the studies. Let’s have a look at them in a brief guide.

Canadian Experience Class

The Canadian Experience Class (CEC) is a program that allows individuals who have worked in Canada and foreign graduates with qualifying Canadian work experience for at least one year to immigrate permanently

This program is managed by the Express Entry immigration system. Express Entry is basically the fastest pathway for internationals who are seeking to get Canadian permanent residence. There are certain parameters you need to focus on before applying for the Canadian Experience Class. Since it’s operated by Express Entry, there are certain requirements by them as well.

Now, talking specifically about the Canadian Experience Class, here are some of the requirement

• Prove that within the previous three years, they’ve at least 12 months of full-time, continuous, skilled work experience in Canada. Keep in mind that the work experience gained during the full-time study in Canada, won’t count towards these 12 months. Once the studies are completed, students are eligible to get a post-graduation work permit which further allows them to gain the experience required by the Canadian Experience Class program.
• Submission of your language test result
• Educational assessment report or transcript
• All other requirements by the Express Entry program (Identity documents, police certificate, medical test etc.)

Provincial Nominee Programs

Every territory and province has structured their own immigration programs that are quite different than each other depending on the scope of an immigrant. For international students who are studying in a specific province, that province provides a lot of preferences as a privilege of completing the study courses. These customized preferences within a province fall under Provincial Nominee Programs. The PNP is focused mainly on providing convenience to the residents of its province. Do check for the PNP which your province offers and sometimes these programs can make your immigration process quite efficient.

Quebec Provincial Immigration Services

Quebec, being one of the economically well-developed provinces, offers two main immigration options. The first one is Quebec Experience Program which requires an advanced intermediate fluency in oral French. Along with the language barrier, one would have to complete his/her study within 6 months of completing their studies.

The second one is the Quebec Skilled Worker program and it doesn’t have a French-language restriction. However, a candidate should meet a minimum score on the program’s assessment point grid. Quebec’s immigration programs are designed especially for international students to get maximum opportunities of getting a permanent residence in Canada.

Post-Graduation Work Permits

After completing graduation, the international students in Canada would be eligible to get a post-graduation work permit. These permits don’t give you any guarantee of becoming a permanent resident of Canada. However, they do help you get eligible for various other immigration programs. The majority of the immigration programs in Canada require post-graduation work permits as a basic requirement for being eligible.

Federal skilled worker

If you studied in Canada but did not apply for a work permit, you can still apply for the federal skilled worker program. Similar to the Canadian Experience Class, the FSW is managed by Express Entry.

As long as you meet the Express Entry requirements, you can apply for your permanent residency inside or outside Canada.

Watch our video on how to immigrate to Canada as an international student