How to move to Canada in 2022

In 2021, 401,000 people became residents of Canada. But in 2022 there will be even more — 411,000 people. Canada was also officially recognized in 2021 as the best country in the world.

I hope you are already rested after the New Year holidays, because if you are serious about immigrating to Canada, the earlier you start preparing, the better.

First I will talk about the main ways to immigrate to Canada, and then what you need to do right now to get a permanent residence permit.

Ways to immigrate to Canada

Canada has over 120 immigration programs. The main way to get permanent residence has always been the federal programs, which work through the Express Entry system, because they allow you to move to any Canadian province except Quebec. But not in 2022. The fact is that the federal program for skilled, which has been the most popular, hasn't had selections since 2020.

Right now, only those with experience in Canada and those immigrating through provincial programs who also work through Express Entry are moving on Express Entry. So I wouldn't get my hopes up for the skilled trades program to reopen, but look for other options. Plus, only young qualified candidates with high English usually have a chance in Express Entry.

In provincial immigration programs, the requirements are usually lower, even if these programs also work through Express Entry. Older applicants with intermediate or even high school-level English can already get permanent residency there. But there are usually additional requirements in provincial programs.

First, they only allow you to immigrate to one province. Don't be frightened, because once you get a permanent residence permit, you can leave. Second, with provincial programs, regions of Canada attract the immigrants they want. For example, those who have a certain profession, who have got a job offer in the province or graduated from a university in the province, who speak French and so on. I will give you examples of specific provincial programs later.

Immigration in 2022

The two most important ways to immigrate in 2022 are through employment and through education. Canada's immigration system is gradually moving toward attracting only those people who will be in demand in the job market.

I will explain why this is so. The problem with Express Entry was that people with skilled trades, fluent English, and a master's degree were called there. But then these people just couldn't find jobs. Imagine that you are just such a young and educated candidate, but you work in Russia as an accountant. Your knowledge of how to do accounting in Russia is absolutely useless in Canada. And you will end up either going to retrain, or looking for a low-skilled job that does not require education.

If you went to a Canadian university and studied accounting, you can easily find a job afterwards. Or if you have a profession in demand in Canada for which you do not need to retrain, and you find an employer before you move, you immigrate and start working right away, rather than wasting the time and money you brought with you.

Now let me give you some examples. If you are ready to look for a job in Canada, you can qualify for a huge number of immigration programs. For example:

• British Columbia's technical program, which calls for IT workers and holds selections every two weeks;
• flow for skilled professionals British Columbia, where there are no priority occupations;
• stream for skilled professionals New Brunswick, where there are no occupational restrictions either;
• stream for foreign workers Ontario — it's easy to score a passing grade and has regular selections;
• stream for in-demand professionals Nova Scotia, which is suitable for workers in the transport sector, catering and handymen;
• Saskatchewan's pilot stream for in-demand professionals, there's a big list of suitable work occupations, I think it will be one of the most popular options in 2022;
• pilot program for immigration to rural and northern areas, which requires finding a job in one of 11 rural towns;
• Atlantic immigration program, which is in great demand and allows you to move to one of the four Atlantic provinces.

These are not all of the programs; there are many more. If you get a job offer and fly to Canada on a work visa, more programs will open up for you after a while because you will have Canadian work experience. For example, the federal work experience program requires 1 year of experience in Canada, some programs require 2 years, others require a few months.

Immigration through employment

The main difficulty with immigration through employment is finding a job. The Canadian labour market is closed, and an employer to hire a foreigner needs to file a LMIA, which means proving to the government that he has not found a Canadian citizen or resident for his vacancy, and also paying a fee of $1,000 CAD. A number of immigration programs have simplified hiring requirements, such as the Atlantic LMIA program does not have to do. But the Atlantic program is being relaunched and won't start accepting applications until March.

To find a job, you have to, first of all, prepare a good Canadian-format resume, and second, constantly monitor vacancies in your profession and send out feedback. It's hard, it's long, but you need to do it.

Immigration through education

If you don't want to waste time looking for a job, you might consider going through education. Getting into a Canadian university is easier than finding an employer who will agree to take you. The main difficulty is the English language test IELTS, but you don't have to take it if you take language courses before admission. But here it's all about money. A year of study at a Canadian university costs on average $15,000 CAD, and you need to take another $10,000 CAD to live in Canada.

After training for you, again, will open a large number of immigration programs, and plus you get permit to work in Canada and be able to build up the Canadian experience. There are also some points here, for example, you should not choose the cheapest college or any program you like, but the one that is related to your education or your job. If you need help with admission and visas, contact our immigration company.

What to do now?

First of all, start learning at least English. Almost all programs have language requirements, and the higher they are, the better your chances of being invited. If you know two languages, many programs will give you extra points.

There are several ways to move to Canada without the language, but you should understand that you cannot live and work there properly if you do not speak English at all. Our immigration company is a partner of a Canadian language school where you can study online. By the way, if you immigrate with your spouse, your partner can help you get more points if he or she learns the language too.

The second thing is to save money. The more money you have in your account, the more choices you have for immigration programs. Some require $3,000 CAD per person, some require $13,000, and some require $22,000 CAD. Somewhere there are no money requirements, but you still need something to live on after you move.

Two other important steps are to have your diploma certified by the WES organization and to take an IELTS in English or a TEF in French.

You will also need to choose an immigration program for yourself. If programs that do not require a job offer or training in Canada do not suit you, you will need to look for a job or save up money to enrol.

We can find a university and a program of study for you, send you to a language school for English courses, and then apply for a student visa. Soon I plan to release an interview with one of our clients who is studying at a college in downtown Toronto. This college, by the way, is now offering a $6,000 CAD discount if you start your studies in May or September, as well as 12 weeks of free English.

But you will have to look for a job on your own. We do not provide employment services. When you get a job offer, you can apply for the rest of the paperwork and the visa application.

And lastly, be patient. Canada is not a country where everything is done quickly. My family waited more than 5 years for the application process. Now, of course, it's not as long, but as of 2021, there are over a million candidates who have already been invited to Express Entry waiting for their applications to be processed.

Bottom line

To summarize. The two main ways to immigrate to Canada in 2022 are through employment and through a Canadian education. These options are suitable for many candidates, regardless of age, education or profession. My advice is to start learning the language as early as possible and save money to move.

Take a free assessment of your chances of immigration. If your chances are good or excellent, research immigration programs on our website or sign up for a consultation. If your chances are slim, then brush up on your language, save up your money, and try to look for a job in Canada.

Alex Pavlenko, founder of Immigrant.Today