March 7, 2023

How to Immigrate to Canada without a Job Offer

Posted by Michelle Boeriu - Bellissimo Law Group PC

Many people believe that they need a job offer to immigrate to Canada, but this is not always the case. There are many programs that do not require a job offer, to be eligible for immigration to Canada. In fact, the programs that are mostly used to immigrate, do not require a job offer. Here is a list of a few of them: 

1. Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program – processed via Express Entry (EE) system 

2. Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program – processed via Express Entry (EE) system 

3. Federal Skilled Trades (FST) program – processed via Express Entry (EE) system 

4. Many provincial nominees programs (PNP) – processed either via Express Entry (EE) system or separately, non-EE processing 

  • Each province has its own programs that change from time to time, therefore it is advisable that one checks each province separately to know what categories are available at a certain date in time and what are the current requirements. 
  • Most provinces prefer to accept people who have ties to the province, either they studied or worked there, they have relatives to support them during the first few months after becoming a permanent resident (PR) or otherwise are very much interested in establishing themselves in that province. 

5. Family sponsorship program 

  • Spousal / common-law partner category 
  • Dependent children category 
  • Parents and grand-parents category 
  • Other members of the family, if the conditions are met 

For the first four programs listed above, there are a few common conditions: 

  • Have their language abilities tested (English or French or both) by an independent organization approved by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Various programs have different levels of requirements regarding the language knowledge level in the four sections tested: speaking, writing, listening and reading. All tests must be evaluated to the equivalent of the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB). 
  • Have their credentials evaluated by an institution approved by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada; 
  • Have certain amount of work experience in an occupation listed in the National Occupational Classification (NOC) Canada, which includes in a systematic order all the occupations in the Canadian labour market (recently IRCC employs the 2021 NOC). Various programs have different requirements regarding NOC levels (teers); 
  • After registering the profile in EE, IRCC sends successful applicants an Invitation to Apply (ITA), for those that have been selected for the program; 
  • Pass a medical exam and not be inadmissible; 
  • Provide police certificates from all the countries where an applicant has lived continuously for six months or more in those places, since becoming eighteen years of age. 

If you are interesting in learning more please contact us at 416-787-6505 

Thank you for your interest.