Lifestyle and Leisure
Educate to emigrate
Immigration attorney Ian Goldman briefly outlines the options for those hoping to study in Canada – and perhaps use education as a decisive step to a permanent move
Studying in Canada often involves advanced immigration planning. Student visas are required to study in Canada for any time longer than six months. Since Skilled Worker applications are taking at least two years to process without a pre-arranged job, you may consider studying in Canada to upgrade your skills or to get qualifications that are recognised in Canada.
Moreover, if you get a student permit, your spouse would be entitled to a work permit and your children would be able to study in Canada. You or your spouse are also entitled to five extra Skilled Worker points under the adaptability factor for studying for at least two years at a post-secondary level. Furthermore, you or your spouse are entitled to five extra points if your spouse works in Canada for one year under a work permit.
You may use those points towards a Skilled Worker application that was started before you and/or your spouse started working or studying as long as the programme and/or the work experience are completed before your Skilled Worker application is assessed. These are usually assessed at least 18 months after they are started and currently the assessments are happening 24 months after the applications were started.
Therefore, that long window of time allows you to plan how to combine you or your spouse studying and/or working in Canada while your skilled worker application is in process. It is advisable that you seek professional advice before embarking on this kind of advanced immigration planning to ensure that all of the parts fit together and things don't go off the tracks since it is a long-term plan. Many provinces have special schemes for graduates of certain programmes to be able to get work permits in Canada after graduation and the federal immigration authorities are looking at ways of expanding these schemes across the country. If you have a student permit, you may only work on the campus of the educational institution or if the work is part of the training programme you are on. However, certain provinces allow off campus work under certain conditions.
In order to get a student permit you must first be accepted into a Canadian programme of higher education, one that lasts for more than six months. The programme can be in any subject and in any public educational institution such as technical, community or art colleges, language schools or universities. Private educational institutions are usually not accepted. The admission requirements for each institution vary considerably so you have to contact each institution directly.
After you have the written acceptance letter from the educational institution, the application process for the student visa takes a matter of days or weeks.
For further information:
Immigration to Canada
Information on study permits is also available on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website
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