Canada, the second largest country in the world, is a collection of ten fairly large provinces and three territories.  Initially Canada was a colony of the United Kingdom but today it is a free nation. Canada represents Federal Constitutional Monarchy with Parliamentary democracy. Toronto is the largest city of the country. The capital is Ottawa . The official languages of the country are English and French. Canada is one of the richest countries of the world. and it is also one of the leading producers of several minerals.

For several years now, Canada has been accepting about quarter of a million new Permanent Residents each year. For people with skills, work experience and a good standard of English or French, qualifying for residence is not a huge barrier.

Once accepted, you can take pleasure from the fact that you will be free to live permanently in a country consistently rated by the UN as the world's best country to live in.

Furthermore, Canada is the world's second biggest country, rich in natural resources including oil reserves second only to Saudi Arabia.

Despite the abundance of natural wealth, real estate in many Canadian locations is cheap compared with other developed countries - although a combination of a rising currency and rapidly rising prices in some cites means this is no longer the case in a number of locations.

If you are bringing children to Canada, it's likely their education will be important to you. The OECD compared the performance of school students in 65 countries in mathematics, reading and science. Canadian students performed better than students from any other English speaking country. "What Students Know and Can Do."

Canada's health care is publicly (tax-payer) funded: payment is generally not required for medical treatment, although depending on the province you live in it's probable you'll pay for pharmaceuticals and dental care. Canada's 34 million residents enjoy virtually unlimited recreational opportunities and you might be forgiven for thinking you have found paradise.

Throughout the world, Canada is known as a prosperous and strong nation valued for its stability, respect for diversity and democratic institutions.  With a huge landmass, a relatively small population and abundant natural resources, it has prospered to the point where a recent United Nations study lists it as the best place in the world to live.  This is why Canada has recently become the destination of choice for many of the world’s immigrants.

Federal Skilled Worker Immigration to Canada

A substantial number of economic immigrants obtain Canadian permanent residency through the Federal Skilled Worker program. The Federal Skilled Worker program selects applicants based on education, work experience, language skills, and other criteria, that have been determined to be helpful indicators as to one's ability to become economically established in Canada. Successful applications allow those coming in under the Federal Skilled Worker program to achieve Canadian permanent residency.

In order to qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, an applicant must meet one of the threshold eligibility requirements:

List of eligible occupations

Have one year of continuous full-time (or equivalent) paid work experience within the last ten years in one or more of the 29 open occupations, OR

Arranged employment / AEOs

In order for arranged employment to allow you to become eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker program, either a Canadian work permit or an Arranged Employment Opinion (AEO) is required. In addition to enabling eligibility, Arranged Employment will provide applicants with up to 15 additional points in support of their application. NOTE: the limit of 10,000 applications does not apply to applicants with arranged employment.

All Canadian immigration applications under the Federal Skilled Worker program are assessed against six selection factors. In order to be eligible for processing, applications must meet the 67 point threshold requirement.

Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration

Like its Federal counterpart, there is a Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program, that does not require a job offer from a Canadian or Quebec employer. This program is designed to select candidates who are likely to become economically established and who have the intention of residing in Quebec.

Quebec is Canada's only Francophone province. The Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program has different qualifying criteria based on Quebec's cultural uniqueness. An applicant can include their spouse (or common-law partner) on their application, as well as any dependent children. In fact, under the Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program, additional points are awarded to applicants with families, especially those with young children.

Unlike the Federal Skilled Worker program, there is no list of eligible occupations. If the other criteria set out by Immigration Quebec is met, individuals will qualify regardless of their field of expertise.

The Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program is different from Canadian immigration programs in that it involves two steps. First, the applicant must apply to Immigration Quebec to obtain their Immigration Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) and then their visa from the Federal government.

Under the Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program an individual requires 49 points or an applicant with a spouse who obtains a minimum of 57 points, to qualify for a Canadian permanent resident visa. If called to a personal selection interview with an immigration Quebec officer, applicants will have the opportunity to earn up to six extra points. After attending a personal interview, individual applicants will require at least 55 points to qualify and applicants with a spouse require at least 63 points to qualify under the Quebec Skilled Worker Immigration program.

Immigrating through the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP)

Saskatchewan is a land of natural attractiveness. It is rich in resources and filled of opportunity for excellence careers, entrepreneurship and learning.

The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) is an alternative program to the Canadian federal immigration program if you want to come to Saskatchewan as a permanent resident of Canada.

If you want to immigrate to Canada under the nominee program, you must have the specific skills, education and work experience that match Saskatchewan's economic needs.  You must also be ready to make Saskatchewan your new home.

The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) operates under an agreement with the federal government allows Saskatchewan to select applicants based on criteria established by the province.  The criteria for this program are different from those of the federal immigration program. 

If you apply and are eligible under the nominee program, the SINP will issue you a nomination letter confirming that you have been selected.  (If your application is not approved, you can request a second review.)  After you receive the nomination letter, you will submit your application and provincial nomination letter to the CIC Centralized Intake Office (CIO) in Sydney, Nova Scotia Canada.  The CIO will receive the application and then transfer it to the appropriate visa office outside of Canada for further processing.

Although Saskatchewan may nominate you, your application for immigration to Canada must be approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). CIC completes health, criminality and security assessments and they make the final decision to issue your visa. 

You may want to apply to this program if:

•             You have family relatives who have been living in Saskatchewan for a minimum of a year;

•             You have a job offer to work in Saskatchewan;

•             You are already working in Saskatchewan;

•             You have completed an educational program in Canada and are currently working on a post graduation work permit in Saskatchewan; or

•             You are planning to start a business or buy and operate a farming operation in Saskatchewan.