On that date the Federal Skilled Worker program was changed, and since then it is not anymore open for almost everyone. Now the new prerequisites make a lot of people just ineligible under this immigration class, making them look for other ways to immigrate to Canada.

What are the options to immigrate ? 

A foreign national can become a permanent resident of Canada by going through the immigration process. Depending on his particular situation, he should choose appropriate immigration program or class to apply.

There are federal immigration program and provincial immigration programs.

Federal programs include Skilled Worker program and Canadian Experience class.

Provincial programs are very diverse and there are a lot of them, while they mostly target the needs of particular provinces and usually require that an applicant has some connection with the province.

Altogether, provincial and federal immigration programs do include quite similar requirements (for example – work experience in Canada or an offer of employment in Canada), hardly accomplishable by great number of applicants.

This is the reason why two-stage immigration process should be considered.

Becoming eligible for the immigration program 

When a two-stage immigration is considered, the first stage is required for the applicant to become eligible under some particular immigration program that he will apply under in future.

A well-known example is a “study-then-immigrate” scenario.

A prospective immigrant first comes to Canada for a paid study course. Depending on the immigration program to be used in future, a one or two-year study course may be chosen. So the first stage in this scenario is to get the valuable Canadian education – an asset that will not only make the applicant eligible for immigration, but also help him to live and work in the country.

After the requirements of the selected immigration program are met, the applicant may submit an application for permanent residence. Different scenarios assume either that he continues to study, or proceeds to work or even leave Canada for the time of processing.

The advantage of such scheme is that an applicant can come to Canada within just months after making up his mind to begin his study course. Canadian visa offices usually readily issue study permits for foreign students, since they do bring their money to Canada, and generally they have a legal and straightforward opportunity to obtain permanent resident status, thus not arising suspicion about dual intent.

The “study-then-immigrate” scenario, while being advantageous, does have some drawbacks, too. The most important one is the fact that significant expenses are incurred: not only applicant must pay for the study course, but also for his living in the country during the course.

Also there are other two-stage immigration scenarios, all having their advantages and drawbacks. Some of them may be much cheaper but harder to arrange. Every aspect of the applicant’s situation must be carefully considered before choosing the right scenario.