Applying for Permanent Residency in Canada

According to the United Nations, Canada ranks as one of the most popular settling grounds for immigrants in any given year. To some, immigrating to Canada is a dream come true as Canada has much to offer in terms of job opportunity, education, healthcare and overall living standards.

Immigrating to Canada is therefore the first step in the right direction however there are other steps that need to be taken in order to fully integrate yourself into the country. After obtaining a visa to come to Canada and emigrating from your own country, you will still remain a citizen of your home country unless you apply for permanent residency (PR) in Canada.

How to apply for Permanent Residency

On an annual basis, Canada welcomes over 200,000 people as permanent residents. The process of obtaining permanent residency is not a simple or easy one and it has been described as a time-consuming and frustrating process due to constant legislation improvements and changes in foreign policy in Canada.

In order to apply for PR, you need to apply under one of the following six categories:

· Skilled Worker Class Immigration

· Business Class Immigration

· Provincial Nomination

· Family Class Immigration

· Quebec-Selected Immigration

· International Adoption

Please note that if you are in Canada temporarily as a student, tourist or foreign worker, you will not be classified as a permanent resident. Only once you have been approved, will you then be classified as a permanent resident who has achieved this status by immigrating to Canada from another country.

Permanent Residency Card

After being approved, you will be issued a PR card which will serve as proof that you are indeed a permanent resident. This is especially important if you wish to travel outside Canada and re-enter at a later stage as a failure to produce this card may cause difficulty for your re-entry into Canada. The card does have an expiration period, but your permanent residency status will not be lost.

If you get your PR card, you will be able to live outside of the country, provided that you have been living in Canada for at least two years out of five — or you’ll risk losing your PR status.

Permanent Resident Provisions

As a permanent resident, you’ll have the liberty to live, work or study anywhere in Canada and get most social benefits that Canadian citizens receive, including health care coverage and protection under Canadian law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. You may also want to apply for Canadian citizenship and you are welcome to do so. Conversely, there are a few things you are prohibited from doing such as voting or running for political office or attaining a job that needs a high-level security clearance.

You may lose your permanent resident status if:

· An adjudicator determines that you are no longer a permanent resident following an inquiry

· A visa officer determines you do not meet the required residency when you apply for a permanent resident travel document or temporary resident travel document

You may lose your permanent resident status in one of the ways described above if:

· You do not live in Canada for two out of five years

· You are convicted of a serious crime and told to leave Canada

· You become a Canadian citizen

· You do not lose your permanent resident status if your PR card expires

Thousands of people decide to make the move to Canada, do you want to be one of them? Apply with us today and start your Canadian Visa application here.