Immigrating to Canada

There are a number of pathways, both at the provincial and federal levels, that can lead to citizenship for temporary residents. The first step is to attain permanent residency.

The BC Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) offers a great opportunity for many temporary residents in a wide range of occupations who are already in BC on a temporary basis. As of January 1st, 2015, the BC PNP has introduced a BC Express Entry stream to further expedite the process for some applicants. The BC PNP also has a stream that specifically supports international student graduates of high demand occupations on their pathway to permanency in BC. Contact your nearest BC PNP office or explore the BC government's WelcomeBC site for more information.

You may also wish to consult AMSSA's Migrant Worker Hub, which is a centralized hub of resources and tools aimed at improving the working and living conditions of temporary foreign workers in BC. They provide useful factsheets specifically for Students and Temporary Workers regarding available services as well as steps towards becoming a permanent resident.

Once established in their jobs and communities and with the support of their employers, temporary workers also have a wide range of immigration options with the federal government. Express Entry is the federal government system for expediting the immigration process for people with skilled work experience. There are a number of programs specifically designed to transition temporary workers to permanent status, for example:

• Canadian Experience Class - for workers in high skilled occupations with a minimum of 12 months full time Canadian work experience.
• Caregivers - a variety of programs exist to work temporarily or live permanently in Canada.
• Live-in Caregivers - for workers with 24 months of authorized full-time live-in employment 3,900 hours of authorized full-time employment in 22 months.
• Temporary resident to Permanent Resident pathway - for temporary workers in health care and other essential fields, and for international graduates from Canadian schools.

Detailed information on other federal pathways to permanent residency is also available online through the IRCC's Immigrate to Canada webpage.

Once permanent residency has been established, newcomers may decide they want to pursue Canadian citizenship. For more information on how to apply for citizenship, see the IRCC webpage on Canadian Citizenship.

The following local organizations advocate for a variety of issues around immigration policy.   Some may provide support for different categories of migrants to Canada including temporary workers, undocumented migrants, and refugees.

Temporary residents and/or any prospective newcomers to British Columbia are free to seek an authorized representative to support them with their immigration efforts. Full details on who can be an authorized representative can be found on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website. Also, if immigration consultant services are used, prospective immigrants must use a member in good standing of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.