600 plain-language Q&As about immigration. Browse below, or search the whole library.
Yes, generally, the federal self-employed persons class is a standalone permanent residence category that exists entirely outside the Express Entry…
Read the full answer →Relevant experience for the federal self-employed persons class is assessed against defined participation criteria in cultural activities, athletics,…
Read the full answer →The Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) is a federal Express Entry stream aimed at workers in skilled trade occupations — think electricians,…
Read the full answer →Yes, and in many cases this is exactly the safer approach. A reconsideration request and a leave application for judicial review are separate…
Read the full answer →Not automatically — a significant financial gap between spouses is something IRCC may take into account as one factor in a genuineness assessment, but…
Read the full answer →An officer looks at what the person actually did — the essential facts and elements of the foreign offence — and asks what Canadian offence those same…
Read the full answer →Yes. Foreign workers employed in Ontario have the same rights under provincial employment and workplace laws as Canadian citizens and permanent…
Read the full answer →It can. Frequent international travel, particularly patterns that are difficult to reconcile cleanly with the days of physical presence declared on a…
Read the full answer →GCMS notes are the internal case-processing notes an officer records while assessing an application, and they often set out the specific reasoning…
Read the full answer →Genuineness of the relationship is one of IRCC's central concerns in spousal sponsorship. Officers look at whether the relationship is genuine — that…
Read the full answer →A ghost consultant is someone who prepares or substantially advises on an immigration application for a fee, or otherwise takes a controlling role in…
Read the full answer →The Global Talent Stream (GTS) is a specialized stream within Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program that offers expedited LMIA processing for…
Read the full answer →No, not automatically. Simply having worked for a foreign government or one of its agencies is not, by itself, a basis for inadmissibility — the…
Read the full answer →Whether you can work while your PGWP application is being processed depends on your situation when you applied. If you applied for the PGWP while your…
Read the full answer →Yes — a super visa is available to grandparents just as it is to parents, and using it while waiting to see whether a family is selected in a Parent…
Read the full answer →Having a Canadian-born child is often one of the more significant factors in an H&C application by non-status parents, because it directly triggers the…
Read the full answer →No. Filing an H&C application does not, by itself, pause or stop an enforceable removal order, which is one of the most important and most commonly…
Read the full answer →There's no fixed minimum period of time in Canada required before you're legally allowed to file an H&C application — it can technically be submitted…
Read the full answer →Yes, generally you can still file an H&C application even after a removal order has been issued against you. Having an enforceable removal order…
Read the full answer →Generally, someone with a refugee claim actively pending before the Refugee Protection Division is not eligible to also have an H&C application…
Read the full answer →The best interests of any child directly affected, including a Canadian-born child, must be identified, considered, and given substantial weight in an…
Read the full answer →General country condition evidence alone is generally not enough on its own for a successful H&C application — decision-makers expect that broader…
Read the full answer →On its own, ordinary financial or job-related hardship, of the kind many people would face if they had to return to their home country, is generally…
Read the full answer →Establishment generally covers the depth and quality of the ties someone has built in Canada, going well beyond simply how long they have been…
Read the full answer →Generally, yes, even when a family applies together on one H&C application, each family member's specific circumstances are meant to be genuinely…
Read the full answer →These are two parallel federal pilot pathways with a similar structure, but they cover different kinds of caregiving work. The Home Child Care Provider…
Read the full answer →The biggest difference is that the Home Child Care Provider Pilot generally does not require you to live in your employer's home, while the older…
Read the full answer →Study permit applications are submitted to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) — this is a federal process, not an Ontario one. You…
Read the full answer →For most federal skilled worker and Express Entry-based permanent residence applications, you need an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) if your…
Read the full answer →Processing times for permanent residence vary significantly depending on the program you apply through, the completeness of your application, and…
Read the full answer →Processing times for spousal sponsorship vary and IRCC updates them regularly. Because immigration is a federal matter, processing is handled centrally…
Read the full answer →Processing times for Canadian work permits vary considerably depending on the stream, where you apply, and current IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and…
Read the full answer →A study permit is typically issued for the length of your program plus a short additional period — often 90 days after your program end date. The exact…
Read the full answer →The length of a PGWP depends on the length of the program you completed. For programs that are at least two years long, the PGWP is generally issued…
Read the full answer →Sponsorship processing times for parents and grandparents under the federal Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) are among the longest in the…
Read the full answer →The number of days required in Canada before you can apply for citizenship is set by federal law under the Citizenship Act. The requirement is a…
Read the full answer →Whether you can appeal a refused permanent residence application depends on how the application was refused and which program it was under. Appeals for…
Read the full answer →In many circumstances, a permanent resident who receives a removal order has the right to appeal to the IAD of the IRB. The appeal must be filed within…
Read the full answer →Applying for Canadian citizenship is a federal process governed by the Citizenship Act and administered by IRCC — it is entirely separate from…
Read the full answer →An employer applies for an LMIA through Service Canada / Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). The process is a federal one and the…
Read the full answer →Qualifying for a provincial nomination generally requires matching the specific criteria of a stream that a province has designed for its labour…
Read the full answer →A procedural fairness letter (PFL) is a notice from IRCC indicating that the officer reviewing your application has concerns and is giving you an…
Read the full answer →If an appellant does not pursue their Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) appeal as required — for example, by missing filing steps, failing to appear at…
Read the full answer →Filing an appeal at the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) does not automatically secure release from detention, but it is a relevant factor considered…
Read the full answer →Yes, and this is one of the most important features of an Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) appeal where the right of appeal applies. There are two…
Read the full answer →Both types of appeal use the same basic two-ground framework at the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD): whether the original decision was legally or…
Read the full answer →A "stay" from the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) pauses enforcement of a removal order for a period of time, but it is not a final decision…
Read the full answer →Yes, generally, for an intra-company transfer, the Canadian company must be shown to be actively and currently doing business — being incorporated or…
Read the full answer →Yes, generally, dependents of an intra-company transferee can apply for their own status in Canada alongside the transferee, and in many cases they can…
Read the full answer →A "new office" intra-company transfer, where the Canadian entity is newly established or has only been operating for a short time, faces extra scrutiny…
Read the full answer →There is no single universal fixed percentage that IRCC applies across every intra-company transfer case — instead of a percentage threshold, the…
Read the full answer →A qualifying relationship for an intra-company transfer means the foreign company and the Canadian company must be related through common ownership or…
Read the full answer →No, generally not — an intra-company transfer is not renewed indefinitely just because the Canadian office continues to grow. Each renewal application…
Read the full answer →Yes, generally, the specialized knowledge category of intra-company transfer has a defined maximum stay built into its structure, and it is not…
Read the full answer →The specialized knowledge and executive/managerial categories under an intra-company transfer are aimed at different kinds of employees and use…
Read the full answer →Both immigration lawyers and Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) are authorized to represent people before IRCC and some immigration…
Read the full answer →Immigration detention in Canada is carried out by CBSA under federal authority. A person can be detained at a port of entry or within Canada if an…
Read the full answer →Yes. Adding bodily harm to an impaired driving offence generally increases its seriousness under Canadian criminal law, which in turn affects how it is…
Read the full answer →Maintained status — formerly called implied status — is a federal rule that allows you to continue studying in Canada under the same conditions as your…
Read the full answer →A section 44 report is a federal IRPA mechanism by which a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer reports a person to the Minister of Immigration…
Read the full answer →Time spent detained or imprisoned outside Canada does not count as physical presence in Canada for residency obligation purposes. It is treated simply…
Read the full answer →No. Time spent incarcerated, on parole, or under a probation order in Canada generally does not count toward the physical presence requirement for…
Read the full answer →An individual rehabilitation application has to tell a complete, documented story of what happened and what has changed since. That starts with the…
Read the full answer →The line isn't really about whether the applicant meant to deceive anyone — it's about whether the incorrect information was material to the decision…
Read the full answer →International students in Ontario are not immediately eligible for OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Plan). OHIP has a waiting period — typically three…
Read the full answer →In many cases, yes. Federal regulations allow eligible international students in Canada to work off-campus — or on-campus — without a separate work…
Read the full answer →Not automatically — an inconsistency is a flag that invites scrutiny, not an automatic finding on its own. Officers look at whether the discrepancy…
Read the full answer →Yes, in many cases. Canada's immigration regulations include an LMIA exemption for intra-company transferees, commonly referred to by its code C12.…
Read the full answer →Not automatically. Leaving Canada, whether voluntarily or through removal, can affect whether the Federal Court decides the case still serves a real,…
Read the full answer →Judicial review is the process by which the Federal Court of Canada reviews the lawfulness of a federal immigration decision. Because immigration is…
Read the full answer →No. Winning a judicial review at the Federal Court does not mean your application is automatically approved. The usual remedy is that the Court sets…
Read the full answer →IRCC itself does not impose a language proficiency requirement for a study permit application. Your study permit can be approved without submitting a…
Read the full answer →"Leave" is the Federal Court's permission to actually have a judicial review heard on its merits. Most immigration and refugee decisions carry no…
Read the full answer →There is no fixed maximum length set in advance for immigration detention in Canada — it is not structured as a sentence with a defined end date, but…
Read the full answer →The Temporary Foreign Worker Program's Low-Wage Stream applies to positions that pay below the provincial or territorial median hourly wage. Because…
Read the full answer →An LMIA is specific to the employer who applied for it and is not automatically transferred if that employer sells their business, changes their legal…
Read the full answer →Yes. The National Occupational Classification (NOC) — now organized under the TEER (Training, Education, Experience and Responsibilities) framework —…
Read the full answer →Yes. The federal Temporary Foreign Worker Program imposes caps on the proportion of low-wage foreign workers an employer can have relative to their…
Read the full answer →Yes. Service Canada conducts compliance inspections of employers who have hired foreign workers under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).…
Read the full answer →While most employer-specific work permit streams require an LMIA, federal regulations specify many exemptions. These exemptions are based on…
Read the full answer →Yes. Most LMIA applications require the employer to pay a processing fee to Service Canada at the time of application. The fee is per position applied…
Read the full answer →The High-Wage Stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program applies when an employer wants to hire a foreign worker in a position that pays at or…
Read the full answer →Yes, most Canadian families or individuals who want to hire a foreign national as a live-in or live-out caregiver must obtain an LMIA through Service…
Read the full answer →Yes, restaurants and hospitality businesses in Ontario can apply for an LMIA to hire foreign workers through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Most…
Read the full answer →Yes. The job offer supporting an LMIA application must be genuine — meaning the employer actually intends to hire the foreign worker to perform the…
Read the full answer →Working in Canada on a valid work permit — including one backed by an LMIA — can help you qualify for permanent residence through several federal…
Read the full answer →Yes, in some cases an employer can request authorization to hire more than one foreign worker in the same LMIA application, provided the positions are…
Read the full answer →After Service Canada reviews a completed LMIA application, it issues its decision in writing. A positive LMIA is typically communicated in a decision…
Read the full answer →Yes. One of the core requirements of the LMIA process is that the employer commits to paying the foreign worker at least the prevailing wage for the…
Read the full answer →LMIA processing times are set by Service Canada and fluctuate based on application volumes, the stream being used, and the completeness of the…
Read the full answer →Before applying for an LMIA, most employers must demonstrate that they genuinely tried to recruit Canadian citizens and permanent residents for the…
Read the full answer →When Service Canada refuses an LMIA application, it provides reasons for the refusal. Employers have a few options: they can request a reconsideration…
Read the full answer →Both LMIA-based and LMIA-exempt work permits allow a foreign national to work legally in Canada, but the process to obtain each is different and the…
Read the full answer →Some individuals lost Canadian citizenship in the past due to provisions that are no longer in effect — for example, rules that stripped citizenship…
Read the full answer →Maintained status applies individually to each person's own application and their own underlying status — it is not automatically shared across a…
Read the full answer →Yes. Maintained status ends immediately once the underlying extension or restoration application is refused. From that point, you generally have no…
Read the full answer →No. Maintained status only protects your existing conditions while you remain physically in Canada — it does not extend to travel outside the country.…
Read the full answer →It depends on what you already hold. If you currently have a valid open work permit and applied to extend or replace it before it expired, maintained…
Read the full answer →Maintained status, formerly called implied status, applies automatically when you apply to extend or change your permit before it expires and you…
Read the full answer →Once your family member becomes a Canadian permanent resident, they must meet ongoing federal residency obligations to keep their status. The core…
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