Public statue celebrating Toronto
immigrant communities
by Richard Giddins
If you want to work indefinitely in Canada, you must obtain permanent resident (or “landed immigrant”) status. Many American business people qualify to apply for this status as a “skilled foreign worker”. This option has the most freedom: A permanent resident can work for any employer in Canada and his or her spouse and dependent children may also work or attend school in Canada without authorization. However, an application for permanent residence can take 18 to 24 months to process and complete.
Getting over the hurdle
In terms of eligibility requirements, new immigration targets and restrictions are set each year. Just like immigrants from nearly every other country, U.S. residents applying for permanent residence in Canada are assessed on standard criteria including their education, experience, language skills, ties to Canada, and whether the applicant has that all-important job letter. But perhaps of special interest to Americans may be the fact that independent immigrants – the self employed, investors and entrepreneurs – are assessed on different criteria.
Last year alone, nearly 12,000 people moved here under the federal government’s Immigrant Investor Program, nearly triple the number that took advantage of the program a decade ago, according to Citizenship and Immigration Canada. To qualify, immigrants must have a minimum net worth of at least $1.6 million, and are required to “invest” $800,000 with the government, which is returned after five years.
University of Toronto
by Robert Jack Will
What if you don’t have a job waiting for you in Canada, or Canadian relatives, or a mattress stuffed with money? We took the online eligibility test as Joe Q. American and were rejected; according to the website, “it appears that you are not eligible to immigrate to Canada at this time under a federal program. It is possible that a change in your situation could make you eligible (for instance, if you want to study in Canada you may become eligible if you are accepted into a study program)”.
So there is usually a way around it.
If it’s not immediately apparent how to qualify for a Canadian work permit due to your specific circumstances, don’t despair. A good immigration lawyer can be an invaluable tool, and if the federal government isn’t helping, most provinces have special programs to help people move there. In most cases, you must already have a job offer, an investment plan or work experience in that specific province; but many provinces also recruit workers based on labour shortages. If you belong to a specific trade, for example, you should contact the appropriate regulatory body before you arrive to find out about their academic credential assessment process and what the demand is.
To find out where the best job prospects are for your line of work, in various regions of Canada, check the Canadian government’s Labor Market Information site.
To find out more about working in Ontario, read Working in Ontario with a work permit to find out how to apply.
Interesting fact: In Ontario, the fastest growing areas of the economy are business services, including information technology, finance, tourism and culture. Hunting for beavers, moose and elk is no longer a lucrative venture for most Canadians.
