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Canadian Immigration (cont.)
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Overview, page 1
Canadian Working Holiday Visa
The Canadian Working Holiday Visa is a program
to allow young people (from the countries that participate in
the program) to visit Canada for up to a year and furthermore
allows them to take up limited employment to fund their travels.
There are limits to the number of people who are awarded the Working
Holiday Visa each year, and places on the program disappear rapidly.
The criteria for eligibility for the Working
Holiday Visa program differs slightly depending on the country
you come from. In essence, people aged between 18 and 30 from
the following countries may apply for the Working Holiday Visa:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland,
Japan, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden and
United Kingdom.
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The program allows for entry
to Canada for up to one year and allows the holder to undertake
short periods of work to fund their stay. When your application
is successful, you'll be sent a Letter of Introduction that you
then present to Canadian immigration when you land in Canada.
This will allow you to be issued with a work visa that allows
you to then live and work in Canada for up to one year. Your Letter
of Introduction is only valid for one year meaning you must present
it to Canadian immigration within one year of it being issued.
It cannot be extended or transferred but it is valid for multiple
entries to and from Canada for the year it is effective for.
While most countries operating under the Working Holiday Visa
scheme have a reciprocal arrangement with each other, the Canadian
government has some restrictions placed on the scheme for different
countries.
For example, if you come from Finland, Ireland or the United Kingdom,
you must be a full-time student in your home country to apply
for the Working Holiday Visa. In all cases you should check with
your local Canadian Embassy or Consul for the latest requirements
for the Working Holiday Visa. It also pays to be aware of when
they are taking applications for the following years intake, as
it’s normally on a first-come, first-served basis - and
places are snapped up quickly.
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Permanent Migrants to Canada
Independent Category - The Points System
Family Category
Business Visa – Investors, Entrepreneurs,
Self-employed
Independent Category
The Independent Category of immigration to Canada is the most
popular and the most easy to understand. It is based on a points
system that allocates a certain amount of points for various attributes
that the applicant has – for example, academic and work
experience, age, investment money etc. There are a minimum number
of points that an applicant must have before they can be considered
for immigration – and the more points you have the stronger
your case for acceptance will be. As of the end of 2003 the minimum
points score was 67. Some attributes carry a greater weight in
terms of points than others, and there are some occupations that
the Canadian immigration authorities will look favourably upon
if the applicant only just meets the minimum requirements. A list
of those occupations can be found on the Canadian
Immigration website.
Family Category
Citizens of other countries may be granted residency in Canada
by the immigration service if they have family members (over the
age of 18) who themselves are Canadian citizens or permanent residents
(whether or not they are physically in Canada). The following
family members may be considered for immigration purposes:
Spouses
Parents
Grandparents
Common-law partners (including same-sex partnerships).
The relationship must have existed for at least one year. Proof
will be required.
Dependent children up to the age of 22 (can be
over this age if they are full-time students, mentally or physically
disabled or are in other ways dependent on their parents)
Adopted children (with the same limitations as
‘dependent children’)
Other family members may be considered if there are special Humanitarian
grounds to the application.
Canadian Business Visa
Canada has special immigration policies to help attract people
who are able to provide investment or other business related advantages
to Canada. Essentially there are three different categories under
which a business migrant may apply for Canadian immigration. They
are:
Investor
Entrepreneur
Self-employed
Investor
This category is known as the Immigrant Investor Program and is
primarily aimed at those people wishing to migrate to Canada but
who do not wish to become involved in the running or daily operations
of any particular business when they arrive.
To qualify for consideration under the Immigrant Investor Program,
the applicant must have adequate business experience, must be
able to invest C$400,000, and must have a net-worth of twice that
amount. The onus is on the applicant to be able to provide sufficient
documentary proof of their experience and financial status. In
addition to this, Investor category applicants are still subject
to a points scoring system, but whereas for the Independent Class
category the passing points score is 67, with the Investor immigration
category the passing score is 35 to qualify. Points are awarded
on such things as education, business experience, age, English
or French language ability, and the general suitability of the
applicant to integrate into Canadian life. The $400,000 investment
is repaid back to the applicant after five years and two months,
and is guaranteed by the Canadian government.
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