You can immigrate to Canada through one of the Economic Class Programs. Economic Class Program is designed to bring immigrants to Canada who can establish themselves economically in the country. All the programs are routed through Express Entry program which processes applications within 6 months of submission of application. To be eligible to apply you must score 67 points on the IRCC Selection factors

PR Assessment

Find out if you are a good candidate for Permanent Residency by filling up the form:

http://onlineservices-servicesenligne.cic.gc.ca/eapp/eapp.do

If you are eligible to apply then we will help you find the best suited program for you. Book a consultation with us.

Express Entry

Express entry is an online system that is used to manage applications for Permanent Residence. Express entry profile is created for the following streams

FSW – Federal Skilled Worker

To be elegible for FSW, you should meet the following requirements

Have professional work experience of at least one continuous year of full-time paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time continuous employment listed in the National Occupational Classification (O, A or B) in the last 10 years. OR Qualify for Arranged Employment In Canada with a full-time, permanent job offer from a Canadian employer along with a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or without an LMIA if you are exempt.
A Canadian diploma, certificate, or credential AND/OR a foreign educational credential, and an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) by an agency approved by IRCC to show it is equal to a completed Canadian secondary or post-secondary educational credential.
Meet the minimum language score of CLB 7 on the Canadian Language Benchmark, or equivalent.

Have settlement funds to support yourself and your family for six months after arrival in Canada.

How much settlement funds do I need to show

Number of family Members	Funds required (in Canadian dollars)

1	$12,669
2	$15,772
3	$19,390
4	$23,542
5	$26,701
6	$30,114
7	$33,528
For each additional family member	$3,414

FST– Federal Skilled Trade

To be eligible for FSW, you should meet the following requirements

Have offers of employment from up to two employers in Canada of at least one year duration (accompanied by an LMIA) OR a Certificate of Qualification from a provincial or territorial body
Meets the minimum language score of CLB 5 for speaking and listening, CLB 4 for reading and writing.
Have obtained 24 months of qualified work experience in the skilled trade in the last five years
Be qualified to meet the requirements of the job offer(s) or trade in Canada, as defined by the NOC.

What is a Trade Certification

Trade certification in Canada falls under provincial jurisdiction. Each province outlines which professions will be regulated and establishes regulatory bodies where applicable. Provincial certification is often difficult to obtain from outside Canada and accordingly this program will be most beneficial to tradespeople who obtain an approved offer of employment from a recognized employer, or who are already working in Canada as temporary foreign workers. Not all trades are regulated in all of the provinces. Where a trade is not regulated, an offer of employment becomes mandatory.

Tradespeople who obtain an approved offer of employment for one year or more in their trade from a Canadian employer are also eligible to apply. The offer of employment will be evaluated to ensure that it is an eligible trade and that the hiring will have a neutral effect on the Canadian Labour Market.

CEC – Canadian Experience Class

To be eligible for FSW, you should meet the following requirements

Have obtained at least one year of full-time skilled, professional or technical work experience in Canada within 36 months of the application date. Self-Employment or work experience gained while being a full-time student does not count.
The job experience is in a Managerial job (NOC skill level 0), Professional job (NOC skill type A), Technical jobs and skilled trades (NOC skill type B)
Meet the minimum language score of CLB 5 or CLB 7 on the Canadian Language Benchmark, depending on the level of the job
Plan to live and work outside of the province of Quebec (individuals with work experience in Quebec and who plan to reside in Quebec may apply to the Quebec Experience Class).

Compare all Express Entry Programs

Eligibility criteria	Canadian Experience Class	Federal Skilled Worker Program	Federal Skilled Trades Program
Language skills	English or French skills	English or French skills	English or French skills
	CLB 7 if your NOC is 0 or A	CLB 7	CLB 5 for speaking and listening
	CLB 5 if your NOC is B		CLB 4 for reading and writing
Type/Level of work experience	Canadian experience in 1 of these NOCs: O,A,B	Canadian or foreign experience in 1 of these NOCs: O,A,B	Canadian or foreign experience in a skilled trade under key groups of NOC B
Amount of work experience	One year in Canada in the last 3 years (either combination of full-time or part-time work)	One year continuous within the last 10 years (combination of part-time, full-time or more than 1 job in your primary occupation)	Two years within last 5 years (either combination of full-time or part-time work)
Job offer	Not required.	Not required.	Required:
		But you can get selection criteria (FSW) points for having a valid job offer.	A valid job offer of full-time employment for a total period of at least 1 year or
			a certificate of qualification in that skilled trade issued by a Canadian provincial, territorial or federal authority
Education	Not required.	Secondary education required.	Not required.
Education	Not required.	You can get more selection criteria (FSW) points for your post-secondary education.	Not required.

PNP – Provincial Nominee Program

This program is for workers who:

have the skills, education and work experience to contribute to the economy of a specific province or territory
want to live in that province, and
want to become permanent residents of Canada

Each province and territory has its own “streams” (immigration programs that target certain groups) and requirements. For example, in a program stream, provinces and territories may target:

students
business people
skilled workers
semi-skilled workers

Book an appointment with us to find out the best province for you

Language and the IELTS or TEF Exam

All applicants – including those born and raised in English speaking countries – must submit the results of an IELTS exam with the application.

The only acceptable English language tests are the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and the Canada English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP). Note that currently, the CELPIP is only conducted in Vancouver, Edmonton, and Toronto, Canada.

The IELTS is conducted all over the world. You must take the General IELTS exam – NOT the Academic.

You will not receive points for English language ability without submitted the results of an exam, and your application will not be processed. You can no longer provide alternative evidence of language ability as in the past.

For Federal Skilled Worker:

You can score a maximum of 24 points for English (or French) if indicated as your first official language according to the following

chart:

International English Language Testing System (IELTS) – General Training – Test score equivalency chart
CLB Level	Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program (CELPIP) – General Test score equivalency chart
CLB Level	Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
10	8.0	7.5	8.5	7.5
9	7.0	7.0	8.0	7.0
8	6.5	6.5	7.5	6.5
7	6.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
6	5.0	5.5	5.5	5.5
5	4.0	5.0	5.0	5.0
4	3.5	4.0	4.5	4.0
10	10	10	10	10
9	9	9	9	9
8	8	8	8	8
7	7	7	7	7
6	6	6	6	6
5	5	5	5	5
4	4	4	4	4

Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada (TCF Canada) Test score equivalency chart
CLB Level	Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
Test d’évaluation de français pour le Canada (TEF Canada) Test score equivalency chart
CLB Level	Reading	Writing	Listening	Speaking
10 and above	549-699	16-20	549-699	16-20
9	524-548	14-15	523-548	14-15
8	499-523	12-13	503-522	12-13
7	453-498	10-11	458-502	10-11
6	406-452	7-9	398-457	7-9
5	375-405	6	369-397	6
4	342-374	4-5	331-368	4-5
10	263-277	393-415	316-333	393-415
9	248-262	371-392	298-315	371-392
8	233-247	349-370	280-297	349-370
7	207-232	310-348	249-279	310-348
6	181-206	271-309	217-248	271-309
5	151-180	226-270	181-216	226-270
4	121-150	181-225	145-180	181-225

IELTS to CLB Score Conversion (English Test)

Note that if you are testing English as your second language (and French is your first in your application), then you can only score a total of 4 points for a CLB level of 5 and above.

You can also take the Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Program test (the CELPIP-G test) as well.

If you have French speaking ability, you will need to take the Test D’Evaluation de Francais (TEF) that is administered in numerous locations. The grammar and structure portion of the TEF is not required for immigration.

For the TEF, you must submit results for the reading, listening, writing and speaking tests. The grammar and structure test is not required, even if you take it as part of the listing and reading portion.

You can score a total of 24 points of French is indicated as your first official language. TEF results are scored as follows:

TEF to CLB Score Conversion (French Language test)

If French is your second language under which you are applying, you can only score 4 points for CLB 5 and above.

If you have some French ability, it is likely worth your time to take the test, as applicants are often pleasantly surprised by scoring a few points on this exam. Those few points are especially important if you are just at the 67 point threshold.

The maximum you can score for English and French abilities is 28 points.

ECA –Education Credential Assessment

What is ECA

Educational Credential Assessment is a report by an independent company that evaluates your foreign education. For Express Entry, we use this report to make sure that your foreign degree, diploma, certificate (or other proof of your credential) is valid and equal to a Canadian one.

Why getting an ECA can be tricky

There are various bodies that provide ECA and each organisation has its own way and time frame of evaluating credentials. Different bodies equate credentials differently and sometimes applying without information can cost you time and money. At Good Shepherd we will guide you to assessing body most suitable to your credentials.

Where can I get ECA from

You must use an organization on the list. If an organization isn’t on this list, CIC will not accept assessments from them.

For Physicians

Medical Council of Canada

For Pharmacist

Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada

Work Permit

Employer-specific work permits

An employer-specific work permit allows you to work according to the conditions on your work permit, which include:

the name of the employer you can work for
how long you can work
the location where you can work (if applicable)

In most cases, for an employer-specific work permit, a positive LMIA will be required

LMIA

In most cases, employers are required to apply for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) before they can hire foreign workers (see exemptions including NAFTA and GATS). In order to obtain a positive LMIA, a Canadian employer must prove that there is no Canadian or permanent resident worker available to complete the job in question and a foreign worker is therefore required.

Advertising Requirements for LMIA

Employers must advertise all job vacancies across the Canadian job market for at least four weeks before applying for a LMIA. Towards this end, employers are required to prove that they have used at least two other recruitment methods in addition to having posted an advertisement on the Canada Job Bank. Employers must focus advertising efforts on groups of Canadians who are under-represented, such as First Nations or persons with disabilities.

Employers wishing to hire a temporary foreign worker to Canada must pay a processing fee of CAD $1,000 for each request for a Labour Market Impact Assessment.

English and French are the only languages that can be determined as job requirements, both for LMIAs and for job vacancy advertisements, unless the employer can prove that another language is otherwise required for the position.

Open Work Permit

An open work permit does not have restrictions of an Employer Specific Work Permit, which mean you can work for any employer except for an employer in prohibited industry,

You may be eligible for an open work permit if you:

are an international student who graduated from a designated learning institution and are eligible for the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program
are a student who’s no longer able to meet the costs of your studies (destitute student)
have an employer-specific work permit and are being abused or at risk of being abused in relation to your job in Canada
applied for permanent residence in Canada
are a dependent family member of someone who applied for permanent residence
are the spouse or common-law partner of a skilled worker or international student
are the spouse or common-law partner of an applicant of the Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program
are a refugee, refugee claimant, protected person or their family member
are under an unenforceable removal order
are a temporary resident permit holder
are a young worker participating in special programs

Co-op Work Permits

International students pursuing a study program at a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) in Canada that requires a mandatory work placement or internship must apply for a co-op work permit in addition to a Canadian Study Permit.

Post Graduate Work Permit

Once an international student graduates, they can apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit which is an Open Work Permit, allowing them to work in ANY job, without restrictions. An LMIA or a confirmation of job offer are not needed to apply for a Post Graduate Work Permit.

In order to be eligible for a Post Graduate Work Permit you must:

apply for a work permit within 90 days of receiving written confirmation (for example, a transcript or an official letter) from your institution indicating that you have met the requirements for completing your academic program.
have completed and passed the program of study and received a notification that you are eligible to obtain your degree, diploma or certificate.
have a valid study permit when you apply for the work permit.

Bridging open work permit

The bridging open work permit (BOWP) is a way to keep a worker in Canada working while his or her application for permanent residence is being processed.

In-Canada applicants who have made an application to immigrate to Canada under either the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) Class, the Federal Skilled Trades (FST) Class, the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) or one of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP)may be considered for a bridging open work permit if their current work permit is due to expire (within four months). A foreign worker legally working in Canada who has made, or will soon make, an application for permanent residence under one of these immigration programs may then continue to work until a decision is made on his or her application for permanent residence.

This is beneficial for the federal government, Canadian communities and employers, as well as applicants and their families, because otherwise applicants and their dependants (spouse and children) would have to either leave Canada temporarily, stay in Canada under visitor status, or find an employer willing to go through the process of applying for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).

An open work permit, which allows its bearer to work for any employer in Canada, is preferable as it provides applicants with better flexibility to integrate and navigate the Canadian labour market, given that they have already been found eligible for permanent residence and are currently working in Canada.

To be eligible for a bridging open work permit, the following parameters must be met:

The foreign national is currently in Canada
He or she has valid status on a work permit that is due to expire within four months
He or she is the principal applicant on an application for permanent residence under the FSWP, the CEC, the PNP or the FSTP
He or she received a positive eligibility assessment on his or her application
He or she has made an application for an open work permit

Procedural Fairness

Decision-makers are required to follow the rules of procedural fairness throughout the decision-making process.

Procedural fairness requires that applicants:

be provided with a fair and unbiased assessment of their application
be informed of the decision-maker’s concerns and
have a meaningful opportunity to provide a response to concerns about their application

The requirement for procedural fairness applies to all types of immigration and citizenship applications and all aspects of decision-making.

In an event of IRCC sending you a Procedural Fairness Letter (PLI), it is important that you send a detailed response with factual explanation within the stipulated timeline. Most individuals who find themselves in this situation do not appreciate the seriousness of the situation; they decide to respond on their own, usually with a very weak response which leads to a refusal. It is highly recommended to retain professional help to submit a proper response, as there will not be another opportunity provided later. Sometimes, a refused application will also come with serious consequences such as becoming Inadmissible to Canada with a 5-year ban for Misrepresentation.

We at Good Shepherd can help you prepare a detailed response to Procedural Fairness Letter

A PLI is generally issued in any of the following scenarios where there is a question of

Medical Inadmissibility
Genuineness of Relationship
Misrepresentation
Wrong NOC
Insufficient evidence

ATIP and GCMS Notes

Apply for GCMS notes under ATIP

If you have been refused a Visa or processing of the same is taking a very long time, then you should apply for GCMS notes. Global Case Management System(GCMS) is a software system currently used for processing immigration / visa applications by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada(IRCC).The GCMS notes are the only accurate way of providing a detailed record of an applicant’s file, correspondence from and to IRCC, documents received from the applicant, detailed notes from the officers reviewing the file at each stage, thus providing valuable information on the current status and future processing of your application for Canadian Visa cases such as Express Entry applications, tourist visas, Study and Work permits.

How will GCMS notes help me?

As explained before, the Global Case Management System (GCMS) is Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s (CIC’s) single, integrated and worldwide system used internally to process applications for citizenship and immigration services. The GCMS notes are the only accurate way of providing a detailed record of an applicant’s file, including detailed notes on the progress of your application, your case history from the day you have applied for your visa which also includes officers’ analysis, reasoning and notes of your file at each stage. Overall, it provides valuable information on the current status and future processing of your Canadian Visa application.

Is it safe to request GCMS Notes?

Yes, it is 100% safe, legal and a secure way to obtain information. It is stated by law that every GCMS order should be processed unbiased with no restriction and no negative effect on applicant’s situation. It means that any applicant could order GCMS notes as many times as one needs it. In fact, it is the safest and easiest way of tracking of your immigration or visa application status and also help you to prepare for an interview or have necessary documents ready for the upcoming processing stage.

Does ordering GCMS notes delay the file processing?

No, it doesn’t have any negative affect on the processing time of your application. In fact, through GCMS Notes of your visa file, you can take pro-active steps to help speed up your application process such as, submitting additional documents, or misplaced an email sent by CIC for additional steps to be taken.

Immigrate to Canada