FAQ

To become a Canadian citizen, you must

1) be a permanent resident
2) have lived in Canada for 3 out of the last 5 years
3) have filed your taxes, if you need to
4) pass a test on your rights, responsibilities and knowledge of Canada
5) prove your language skills

Depending on your situation, there may be additional requirements.

If your citizenship application is received after June 10, 2015, any paid representatives you may have hired must be authorized to do so. This would include members of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, lawyers or notaries including paralegals and students at law.

No. You may only have one profile at a time. This is set out in Canada’s immigration law.

Creating more than one profile will not give you a better chance at being invited or allow you to be invited under a different program.

Yes. Depending on the information in your profile, you may be eligible for more than one program through Express Entry.

In that case, you will be invited to apply for one program based on this order:

Canadian Experience Class (CEC),
Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), then
Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

For example:

If you met the criteria for all three programs, the system would send you an invitation to apply for the CEC.

If you met the criteria for CEC and FSWP, you would also get an invitation to apply under the CEC.

If you met the criteria for FSWP and FSTP, you would get an invitation to apply under FSWP.

You can’t choose which program you are invited to apply for. The system will sort profiles based on the information you enter.

If you decline the invitation, the system will not re-invite you under the next program. You will go back in the pool, and if we invite you again, the same order will apply.

To be awarded 600 points under the Comprehensive Ranking System for having a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) nomination, you must have a provincial nomination certificate that:

a) was issued after January 1, 2015,
b) was issued for a PNP Express Entry stream,
c) is valid (i.e., not expired) when you submit your application for permanent residence, and,
d) is accepted in the system by both you and the province or territory.

You will be asked to enter in your Express Entry profile the amount of money you will have to help you settle in Canada. This is to show that you can support yourself and any family who come with you to Canada, and helps us assess which programs you may be eligible for.

You will only need to meet the settlement fund requirement if it applies to the program you are invited to apply under.

If you are invited to apply under the Federal Skilled Worker Program or Federal Skilled Trades Program, you will need to show that you meet the settlement funds requirement unless you:

a) are currently authorized to work in Canada, and
b) have a valid job offer from an employer in Canada.

For proof, you must get official letters from any banks or financial institutions where you are keeping money.

Letter(s) must list:

a) all current bank and investment accounts
b) outstanding debts such as credit card debts and loans

This term describes people who are not allowed to enter or stay in Canada because they have committed or been convicted of a crime. That crime may have occurred in or outside Canada.

It depends. If you received a Canadian record suspension or pardon (as it was formerly called), you are no longer inadmissible because of that conviction and can likely enter Canada.

To qualify for the Start-up Visa Program, you must meet all 4 eligibility requirements, as well as the admissibility requirements to enter Canada.

Eligibility requirements for the Start-up Visa Program

You must:

a) have a qualifying business
b) have a letter of support from a designated organization
c) meet the language requirements, and
d) have enough money to settle and live in Canada before you make money from your business

Admissibility requirements to enter Canada

To be eligible to come to Canada, you must meet the admissibility requirements to enter Canada. These apply to all applicants, not just Start-up Visa Program applicants.