Canada Immigration Help Centre — how can we help?

Our services page lists every pathway we take on, grouped by what you are actually trying to do rather than by program code. If you already know your route you can go straight to that page. If you do not, the permanent residence hub sets out the main options side by side so you can compare them before you commit.

Free online calculators can give you a rough direction, but none of them can see the facts that actually decide a file: how your work history maps to a NOC, whether your credential will be assessed the way you expect, or whether a stream is even accepting applications this month. We do a proper, paid file review instead. Send us your situation through the contact form and a licensed RCIC will tell you which routes are realistic and which are not.

Start with what you have rather than what you want: your age, education, language ability, work experience, family in Canada, and any current status. Those five things determine which doors are actually open. Most people qualify for more than one route, and the routes are rarely equal in speed or cost — which is exactly what an assessment is for.

No. You can apply yourself for free, and hiring someone does not guarantee approval or faster processing. Representation earns its keep where the situation is complex, where a refusal is already on file, where timing is tight, or where the evidence needs to be built rather than gathered.

Only licensed RCICs, lawyers in good standing with a provincial law society, and Quebec notaries may represent you for a fee. You can confirm any consultant's standing on the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants public register before you pay anyone.

Your passport, current status documents, any refusal letters, education and language results, and a short timeline of your time in Canada or abroad. Even rough dates help — precision can come later, but the shape of the case comes from the timeline.

Yes. Most matters are handled through guided document collection, secure communication and remote review, so you do not need to be in Ontario — or in Canada — to work with us.

You create a profile, are ranked against everyone else by the Comprehensive Ranking System, and IRCC invites the highest-scoring candidates in periodic rounds. Being in the pool is not an application — the invitation is what lets you apply for permanent residence.

Alongside general and program rounds, IRCC invites candidates in targeted categories such as healthcare, trades, STEM, education, transport and strong French. A category draw can invite at a far lower score than a general round, so which categories are running materially changes your odds.

In rough order of leverage: a provincial nomination (600 points), language retesting to reach CLB 9 or higher, adding Canadian work experience, a further credential, and optimising your spouse's factors. Language is usually the cheapest and fastest gain.

No. Many candidates are invited with no job offer at all. A nomination or a strong core profile matters far more, and arranged employment points are narrower than most applicants assume.

Once you submit a complete application, IRCC aims to process most Express Entry PR applications within about six months. Completeness is the variable you control — incomplete files are what stretch timelines.

A profile lasts twelve months and can be recreated. The better question is why the score was not competitive, and whether a provincial stream, a study or work route, or a language retest changes the picture. Resubmitting the same profile rarely changes the outcome.

Ontario runs its own streams under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program, including employer job offer streams, in-demand skills, masters and PhD graduate streams, and targeted draws from the Express Entry pool. Ontario is the busiest province for nominations, so streams open and close at short notice and each one carries its own separate requirements.

An Express Entry-aligned nomination adds 600 CRS points, which in practice guarantees an invitation in a following round. It is the single largest score change available to any candidate.

The one where your occupation is in demand and where you have a genuine connection — work history, a job offer, study, or family. Chasing the province with the most nominations rarely works if your profile does not fit its streams.

Yes. A nomination carries an intention to settle in that province, and streams look for evidence that the intention is genuine. This is assessed, not assumed.

Enhanced streams are aligned with Express Entry, add 600 CRS points and follow federal timelines. Base streams are a separate paper-based PR process with their own, usually longer, processing times.

You can hold profiles in more than one province's system, but you must be honest with each about your intentions, and some streams require exclusivity. Misrepresenting intent is a serious risk, not a strategy.

Credibility. The officer is asking whether the program makes sense for you, whether your money is real and available, and whether you will leave when required. A coherent story across those three is worth more than volume of paper.

You need first-year tuition, travel, and a set living-cost amount that scales with family size and is updated periodically. Funds must be genuine, available to you, and traceable — large unexplained deposits do more harm than good.

A Provincial or Territorial Attestation Letter, issued by the province, is required with many study permit applications on top of your letter of acceptance. Some categories are exempt, and the exemptions have changed more than once — confirm before you file.

Eligible full-time students at designated institutions can generally work a limited number of hours off-campus during study terms and full-time during scheduled breaks. The permitted hours have changed recently, so check the current limit rather than relying on what a friend did.

Apply to extend before it expires and you can generally keep studying while a decision is pending. If you have finished your program, the question becomes whether a post-graduation work permit applies, and that has its own hard deadline.

Generally 180 days from the written confirmation that you completed your program — the completion letter or final transcript, not your convocation ceremony. You must also have held a valid study permit at some point in that window.

It applies to non-degree programs, such as college diplomas and certificates, where the study permit was applied for on or after November 1, 2024. Bachelor's, master's and doctoral graduates are exempt from the eligible field list.

Every PGWP applicant now needs proof of language ability — generally CLB or NCLC 7 for university degree graduates and 5 for college and other non-degree graduates, across all four abilities, with a test under two years old. Book it early; testing and results take weeks.

Usually the length of your program, up to a maximum of three years. A qualifying master's of at least sixteen months can receive up to three years. A permit cannot be issued beyond your passport's validity, which catches people out.

No. It is a one-time permit. If you have held one, another study program will not produce a second, which is why the first application has to be right and why the PR plan should be built alongside it.

Graduates who meet the conditions and applied before their study permit expired can generally work full-time while a decision is pending. The rules depend on your exact status and timing, so confirm before you start working.

For applications made on or after 1 November 2024: CLB or NCLC 7 in all four abilities if you graduated with a bachelor, master or doctoral degree or from any other university programme, and CLB or NCLC 5 in all four if you graduated from a college, polytechnic or other non-university programme. Graduates of PGWP-eligible flight schools are the exception.

Use our free CLB calculator. It converts CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training, PTE Core, TEF Canada and TCF Canada results into Canadian Language Benchmarks or NCLC, ability by ability, and shows which programme minimums you would meet.

No. Requirements apply to each ability separately, so your usable level is the lowest of your reading, writing, listening and speaking results. All four must also come from a single sitting of one approved test.

International Experience Canada offers working holiday, young professional and international co-op permits to young people from countries that hold a youth mobility agreement with Canada. Places are handed out through random invitation rounds, the age limits are strict, and most categories can only be used once.

If you have already applied for permanent residence and your current permit is running out, a bridging open work permit lets you keep working while IRCC decides the application. It is a different thing from an ordinary work permit extension, and you generally have to apply before your existing permit expires, so the timing matters more than the paperwork.

Sometimes. An open work permit is not tied to one employer. The usual routes are a spousal open work permit, a bridging open work permit while permanent residence is being decided, a Post-Graduation Work Permit after Canadian study, and International Experience Canada for eligible young people from partner countries.

An employer-specific permit authorises you to work for one named employer, usually in one role and location, and often depends on an LMIA. An open permit lets you work for almost any employer, but you can only get one in defined situations such as PGWP, spousal open permits, bridging permits or the vulnerable worker permit.

No, and assuming you do is a costly mistake. Many strong routes are LMIA-exempt: intra-company transfers, free trade agreements such as CUSMA, Francophone Mobility, bridging permits and every open permit category.

If you applied to extend before your current permit expired, you can generally continue working under the same conditions while a decision is pending. Let it lapse first and you lose that protection.

On an open permit, yes. On an employer-specific permit you generally need a new permit, or to qualify under a policy that lets you start sooner. Starting work for a new employer without authorisation is a serious compliance problem.

You are out of status and must stop working. You may have a ninety-day window to apply for restoration, which is time-sensitive and not guaranteed. Act immediately rather than waiting to see what happens.

Once an employer holds a positive labour market impact assessment, the worker still has to apply for an LMIA-based work permit tied to that employer, job and location. That permit application is a separate step with its own requirements, and a positive assessment does not guarantee the permit will be issued.

A clean, documented recruitment record, a wage that aligns with the prevailing wage for the role and region, job duties that match the occupation code, and clear evidence the business is genuine and able to pay. Weakness in any one of those is where files fail.

Decisive. Wage misalignment is one of the most common refusal reasons, and it also determines whether you are in the high-wage or low-wage stream, which changes your obligations entirely.

Employers of employer-specific permit holders are subject to an inspection regime and must keep records, meet the conditions offered, and provide the working conditions promised. Non-compliance can lead to penalties and a ban from the program.

Sometimes. The Global Skills Strategy offers two-week processing for eligible high-skilled roles, and several LMIA-exempt categories avoid the process altogether. Which applies depends on the role, not the urgency.

No. Open permit holders can work for you without one, and many LMIA-exempt categories exist. Checking before you start an LMIA can save months and several thousand dollars.

Almost always for one of four reasons: weak ties to your home country, an unclear or unconvincing purpose, thin or unexplained finances, or limited travel history. Officers are deciding whether you will leave, and the file has to answer that directly.

Visa-required nationals need a temporary resident visa. Visa-exempt travellers flying to Canada generally need an electronic travel authorization instead. Which applies depends on your citizenship and how you are travelling.

It helps, but it is not the application. An invitation without strong ties, a credible purpose and clear finances rarely changes an outcome.

Usually up to six months per entry, but the border officer decides and may authorise less. Check the stamp or any document you receive on arrival rather than assuming six months.

No. Visitor status does not authorise work, and study is limited to short courses. Working without authorisation has consequences that outlast the visit.

It is for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, it allows much longer stays per entry, and it is multi-entry over several years. It also carries requirements a visitor visa does not — notably medical insurance and host income.

Yes. You need eligible medical insurance meeting IRCC's coverage and duration requirements. This is a hard requirement, not a supporting document.

The inviting child or grandchild generally must meet a minimum income threshold that scales with household size, proven with notices of assessment and employment evidence.

Yes — usually on purpose, ties or credibility, or on insufficient proof of income and insurance. Meeting the technical requirements does not remove the officer's discretion.

Apply for a visitor record before your current status ends. A visitor record extends how long you may stay, but it is not a visa, so on its own it does not let you re-enter Canada after leaving. If your status has already lapsed, restoration may still be available for a limited window.

Before your current status expires — ideally thirty days or more ahead. Applying in time is what gives you maintained status; applying late gives you nothing.

If you apply to extend the same type of status before it expires, you can generally stay and continue the same activity under the same conditions until a decision is made. It ends if you leave Canada or the application is refused.

Possibly. Restoration may be available within ninety days of losing status if you still meet the requirements of the status you held. You must stop working or studying immediately in the meantime, and the window is strict.

Sometimes, depending on the category and current public policies. It is not automatic and it is not available to everyone, so confirm before you make plans that depend on it.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents who are at least eighteen, meet the eligibility rules, and can sign an undertaking to support the person sponsored. Some past defaults or convictions can bar you from sponsoring.

Inland can come with an open work permit while you wait but restricts travel practically. Outland is processed through a visa office and suits people who travel or live abroad. The right answer depends on where you both are and how much you need to move.

Consistency across time: communication history, time spent together, financial interdependence, joint responsibilities, and recognition by family and friends. Thin or contradictory evidence is the leading refusal reason in this category.

Someone you have lived with in a conjugal relationship for at least twelve continuous months. Short, temporary separations may be acceptable, but the cohabitation itself has to be documented.

Spouses and partners being sponsored from inside Canada may be able to obtain an open work permit while the application is processed. This is one of the main practical advantages of the inland route.

Often yes. A public policy made under subsection 25(1) of IRPA lets spouses and common-law partners who are living with their Canadian citizen or permanent resident sponsor be processed in the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class even without valid status, so long as a sponsorship undertaking is submitted, the sponsor is eligible, the relationship is genuine and you are living together in Canada.

Overstaying a visa, visitor record, work permit or study permit; working or studying without authorisation; entering Canada without the required visa or document; or entering without a valid passport, provided a valid passport is obtained before permanent residence is granted. It does not cover misrepresentation, returning after removal without authorisation, or criminality and security grounds.

No. Sponsors of a spouse, common-law partner or dependent child do not have to meet the minimum necessary income. Applicants processed in the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class are also exempt from the excessive demand medical inadmissibility ground.

The Canada Border Services Agency agreed to grant a temporary administrative deferral of removal to applicants who qualify under the spousal public policy: the time needed to complete a pre-removal risk assessment, or sixty days where that assessment is waived or unavailable. It is not available where security, criminality, pending charges, outstanding warrants, a previous deferral or a prior deportation are involved, and generally not once the applicant is treated as removal ready. If removal is in play, get advice immediately.

IRCC invites sponsors from a pool in limited annual intakes. Sponsors must meet a minimum necessary income over several tax years and prove it with notices of assessment.

The super visa is the practical alternative. It allows very long visits with multi-entry validity, and it does not depend on winning a place in an intake.

A minimum necessary income for the relevant tax years, which scales with the size of your household including the people you propose to sponsor. Falling short in any one required year is usually fatal to the application.

Canada has moved to home care worker pilots covering child care and home support, which replaced the earlier caregiver pilots. Intake rules and availability change, so the current position should be confirmed as part of any assessment.

Generally a qualifying full-time job offer for care in a private home, language at around CLB or NCLC 4, a secondary school credential or equivalent, and recent relevant experience or training.

Generally no. These pathways target care delivered in a private residence. Facility-based care is usually assessed under different occupation codes and different immigration routes.

Because intakes are capped and can close within days. The applicants who succeed are the ones whose language test, credential assessment and reference letters were ready before the intake opened.

No. Status and the card are different things. An expired card is a proof and travel problem, not automatically a status problem. What puts status at risk is failing the residency obligation.

You must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days in every rolling five-year period. Time accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse abroad, or working abroad full-time for a qualifying Canadian business, can also count.

You will generally need a permanent resident travel document, applied for from outside Canada. Airlines will not board you without valid proof of status, so do not book non-refundable travel first.

Being short is serious but not always fatal. Humanitarian and compassionate factors can be raised, and how the situation is presented materially affects the outcome. Get advice before filing anything.

If you meet the physical presence requirement, often yes. Citizenship ends the renewal cycle and the residency obligation entirely, which is usually the better long-term answer.

You generally need 1,095 days of physical presence within the five years before you apply. Time in Canada before becoming a permanent resident can count as half days, up to a maximum of 365.

You must have filed taxes for the required number of years, meet language and knowledge requirements if you are in the applicable age range, and not be subject to prohibitions.

A citizenship certificate confirming you are already a citizen — commonly needed by people who are citizens by descent and need documentary proof. It is a different application from a grant of citizenship.

An inaccurate travel history is the main one. Inconsistent dates trigger verification, and verification adds months. Build the travel history carefully before you file, not after a request arrives.

Twenty questions, thirty minutes, and fifteen correct answers to pass. Our citizenship test guide sets out what each subject area covers and includes free practice questions with explanations.

The knowledge test applies to applicants aged 18 to 54 at the time the application is submitted. Applicants under 18, and those aged 55 or over, do not sit the test and do not need to prove language ability.

A first failure does not end the application. You are normally offered a second attempt, and if that is also unsuccessful the file is usually referred to a hearing with a citizenship official who assesses your knowledge directly.

No, they are separate hurdles. The knowledge test measures what you know about Canada. The language requirement is met by providing accepted proof of CLB 4 or higher in English or French, and applies to the same 18 to 54 age band.

It is an employer-driven route to permanent residence in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. A designated employer offers you a job, the province endorses the offer, and you then apply for permanent residence.

Yes. A qualifying offer from an employer that already holds provincial designation is the starting point, and there is no way to apply without one.

No. Designation and provincial endorsement take the place of a labour market impact assessment, which removes both cost and delay for the employer.

No. There is no ranking and no cut-off to beat, which is why the AIP is worth examining if your CRS score will never be competitive.

It is an assessment of what you and your family will need to settle in the province, prepared with a designated settlement service provider. The province will not endorse an application without it, and it is the step applicants most often leave too late.

Three. High-Skilled for TEER 0 to 3 offers, Intermediate-Skilled for TEER 4 and 5 offers, and International Graduate for people who studied in Atlantic Canada, which requires no prior work experience.

A discretionary request for permanent residence based on your circumstances — establishment in Canada, family ties, the best interests of any child affected, health, and the hardship of leaving. It is decided on evidence, not on a points grid.

Yes. Many H&C applicants are out of status. It is a factor an officer weighs, not an automatic bar. What matters is the overall picture and how well it is documented.

No. You generally cannot have both in process at once, and a bar commonly applies for a period after a negative refugee decision. Getting this sequencing wrong can cost you the option entirely.

Not automatically. If enforcement is a live concern in your case, that has to be addressed separately and urgently. Tell your representative immediately if CBSA has contacted you.

Criminality, misrepresentation, medical grounds, security concerns, and non-compliance with immigration law. An old or minor conviction abroad can be enough, and Canadian law — not the law where it happened — decides how it is classified.

A discretionary permit allowing an inadmissible person to enter or stay for a limited time and purpose, where the need to be in Canada outweighs the risk. It does not erase the inadmissibility.

Yes. Impaired driving is generally treated as serious criminality in Canada, which makes many people inadmissible even for a single old offence. It is one of the most common reasons travellers are turned away.

The permanent fix. Once enough time has passed since your sentence was completed you may apply to have the inadmissibility resolved for good. For a single non-serious offence, enough elapsed time can even resolve it automatically.

An officer can refuse you entry and record it, which makes every future application harder. Address inadmissibility before you travel, not at the counter.

There is an open work permit for vulnerable workers. It is fee-exempt, processed on a priority basis, and your employer is not asked for permission. It exists precisely because employer-specific permits can trap people.

Yes. Financial abuse is expressly included — withheld or unpaid wages, illegal deductions, or being charged for your job. Many workers endure this far longer than they need to because they do not realise it qualifies.

There is a dedicated fee-exempt permit for people in Canada experiencing family violence, which can come with an open work permit and healthcare coverage. Dependent children in Canada can often be included.

These measures exist because status is being used as leverage. Applications are handled with that reality in mind, and where contact with another party is ever unavoidable you would know in advance.

Call 911. Provincial crisis lines and local shelters operate around the clock. Immigration can be handled once you are safe, and your status can usually be protected.

Generally yes. Once your claim is referred to the Refugee Protection Division you can apply for an open work permit, usually with no processing fee. The immigration medical exam is normally what gates issuance.

Almost always the medical exam. It must be completed by a designated panel physician, and appointments plus results take time. Booking early is the single most effective thing you can do.

Yes, but on a Canadian refugee travel document rather than a passport from the country you fled. Obtaining or using that country's passport can be treated as re-availing yourself of its protection and can put your status at risk.

A Canadian travel document for permanent residents who are stateless or otherwise unable to obtain a passport from any country, and who are not protected persons.

A permanent resident travel document, applied for from outside Canada, that lets a PR without a valid card board a flight home. Your residency obligation is assessed as part of it.

No. It specifically excludes the country you were protected from, and attempting that travel can lead to your protected status being reassessed.

Often yes. Every country sets its own entry rules, and requirements for holders of these documents can differ from those for passport holders. Check each destination before booking.

Rarely. A fast reapplication with the same weaknesses usually produces the same refusal, and a second refusal makes the third attempt harder. Fix the identified concern first.

They are the officer's internal notes on your file, obtainable through an access to information request. They often reveal the real concern, which is frequently narrower or different from what the refusal letter suggests.

Reconsideration is discretionary and never guaranteed. A focused request addressing a specific error can succeed, but it is not an appeal and should not be treated as one.

Where a decision appears unreasonable or procedurally unfair. Deadlines at the Federal Court are short and strict, and this is legal work requiring a lawyer rather than a consultant.

A warning and an opportunity. The officer has a concern serious enough to refuse — often credibility or misrepresentation — and is giving you a chance to respond. Treat the deadline as absolute and the response as the most important document in the file.

Either works. A Sign-In Partner uses your online banking credentials; GCKey is a standalone username and password. Whichever you choose, keep the recovery questions somewhere safe — losing access mid-application is a common and avoidable problem.

IRCC runs several: the secure account for most temporary applications, the permanent residence portal, and the representative portal. Applying in the wrong one causes returns and delays, so confirm before starting.

Usually a size or format problem. Reduce the file size, use the accepted format, and combine related pages into one clear PDF rather than many images. If the field still rejects it, that is worth resolving before submitting rather than working around.

Minor corrections can often be submitted through a webform, and address changes have their own tool. Substantive changes are harder and sometimes require withdrawing and refiling, so accuracy at submission matters.

Yes, promptly. Missed correspondence is one of the most damaging and most preventable problems in an immigration file — particularly for requests with deadlines.

They are averages based on recently completed cases, and they move. Treat them as planning estimates, not commitments — your file can be faster or considerably slower depending on completeness and background checks.

You can submit a webform enquiry once you are genuinely beyond the published time. Enquiring earlier rarely helps and does not move you up any queue.

In limited circumstances, and it must be justified with evidence — a medical emergency, a death in the family, or job loss, for example. A general desire to travel is not urgency.

Submitting a complete, internally consistent application the first time. Missing documents and contradictions are the leading causes of extra requests, and every request adds weeks.

Typically a processing fee for the application itself, a biometrics fee where applicable, and for permanent residence a separate right of permanent residence fee. Some applications — including several protection-related permits — are fee-exempt.

Refunds are possible in defined situations, such as a service not being provided or an overpayment. A refusal is not generally a refundable event, because the service was provided.

Keep the receipt and the transaction reference, and resolve it before assuming your application was submitted. An unpaid fee usually means the application is not properly filed.

No. Language tests, credential assessments, medical exams, police certificates, translations and biometrics collection are paid separately to those providers. Budget for them from the start.

Start the replacement immediately rather than waiting until you need to travel. A permanent resident card is replaced through IRCC, a lost confirmation of permanent residence needs a verification of status request, and travel documents follow their own route. Replacing any of these takes far longer than most people expect.

After you apply and pay the fee, IRCC sends a biometric instruction letter with a deadline and collection locations. Give them promptly — the file usually does not advance until you do.

For temporary residence applications they are generally valid for a set number of years, so you may not need to repeat them for a new application within that period.

Commonly for permanent residence, for longer temporary stays, for certain occupations such as healthcare and childcare, and for refugee claimants. It must be done by an IRCC-designated panel physician who sends results directly.

Usually for permanent residence, and sometimes for temporary applications, covering countries where you have lived for a defined period. They take time to obtain, so start early.

Anything not in English or French generally needs a translation, often certified, accompanied by the original. Poor or uncertified translations are a common cause of requests for more information.