Tips on immigration to Canada

The links below are ones that will be useful to you during your immigration.

Processing times

One thing that people want when they are in the process of moving to Canada is to know when they can expect to get their visas. Unfortunately the wait times are long.

If you want to get a rough timescale for your application then the only guide is from the CIC’s web site. Here you can find average processing times for applications processed inside and outside of Canada.

Most people are frustrated by the time it takes for their visas to be processed. It may not be much consolation to know that Canada has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world. That means, as at 2010's figures, around 240,000 to 265,000 immigrants per year. There are quotas for the various classes of immigration and family reunification has become a political issue, with many new immigrants wanting to bring in their relatives.

E-client status

This part of the CIC web site will give you the status of your application.

The service applies to:

• family class sponsorship
• permanent resident applications
• permanent resident card applications (initial, replacement or renewal)
• Canadian citizenship applications.

It does not get updated very often and the status messages are not very informative.

Free Assessments

Christopher Willis, a Certified Canadian Immigration Consultant (CCIC) of Canadian Visa Specialists offers a free immigration assessment. It is a good place to start your research into moving to Canada. A good immigration consultant will know how the current Canadian immigration system applies to your case.

Wildy Immigration offer a free assessment that may well help you if you are just starting out. There are over 50 Canadian immigration programs and if you want to get an idea of which might work for you then this tool could well be of help. It is a service run by real human beings not robots!

Check your points

If you are considering applying for under Skilled Workers visa, then this new online self-assessment tool is your first stop. Fill in the questions and see if you will get enough points to qualify.

Proof of Funds

This is something you might need to consider when looking at the Skilled Worker visa. This CIC web page gives you a table showing you the amount of money you need to be able to support your family.

More general information

The link below is to a web site with information on immigration and a whole lot more.

A Canadian Information Resource - The Onestop information resource for Canada - everything you need for Immigration and living in Canada.