Canada has a long and proud history of accepting Lebanese immigrants.

Lebanese immigration to Canada began in 1882, and the population of Lebanese descent in Canada is believed to be around 400,000 individuals. Politicians, businesspeople, athletes, educators, and actors are all examples of Lebanese-Canadians who have risen to prominence in a variety of fields.

Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, Canada welcomed 1,800 new immigrants from Lebanon each year on average. Canada expects to accept approximately 400,000 new immigrants per year, the majority of whom will be skilled workers. As a Lebanese skilled worker, the following is an outline of the main paths to immigration to Canada.

If you want to move to Canada as a skilled worker from Lebanon, Express Entry is your best bet. Canada plans to welcome roughly 110,000 new immigrants per year through Express Entry as part of its Immigration Levels Plan.

Express Entry consists of two steps.

The first step is to make sure you meet one of these programs’ eligibility requirements:

• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
• Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
• Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)

For those who have never resided in Canada before, the FSWP is the most practical choice. You can move on to step two once you’ve confirmed your Express Entry eligibility.

Step two is to upload your profile to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s website (IRCC). Your human capital qualities will be assessed by IRCC. This involves assessing your age, language abilities, employment experience, and educational background. Other considerations considered by IRCC include your Canadian experience, if you have a job offer in Canada, and whether you have been asked to immigrate to Canada by a Canadian province or territory.

IRCC assigns you a score based on all of these characteristics using the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The competitiveness of your application will be determined by your CRS score.

IRCC organizes Express Entry draws every two weeks or so. IRCC encourages applicants with the highest CRS scores to apply for permanent residency in general. Those who get an invitation to apply (ITA) for permanent residency have 60 days to submit their application to the Immigration and Refugee Committee (IRCC). Once IRCC approves your permanent residency application, you can move to Canada.

It’s a good idea to join the Express Entry pool as soon as you know you’re eligible. You have a chance of receiving an ITA if you are in the Express Entry pool. Because IRCC alters drawings based on Canada’s varied policy aims, Express Entry is supposed to be unpredictable.

You never know when you might get an ITA, so it’s better to be in the pool to have a chance than to leave yourself with no opportunity by not entering the pool. Second, participating in the pool increases your chances of receiving a job offer. A legitimate employment offer can get you an extra 50 or 200 points on the CRS. Third, if you receive a provincial nomination while in the pool, you can earn 600 additional CRS points. Obtaining 600 points nearly ensures that you will be granted an ITA for permanent residence.

The Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is the second most common option for Lebanese nationals to seek skilled worker immigration to Canada.

If your application is approved and you match the PNP’s selection standards, the province or territory will provide you with a provincial nomination certificate. Your permanent residency application to IRCC will be supported by the province nomination certificate.

Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta manage the largest PNP streams. Saskatchewan and Manitoba have significant PNP streams as well. The easiest approach to immigrate to Canada through the PNP is to investigate the various streams and then apply directly to the jurisdiction of your choice. You can also enter the IRCC’s Express Entry pool to be considered for the PNP.

Express Entry candidates are frequently invited to apply directly to their PNP by province. If you accept this invitation, you will receive 600 additional CRS points and will be one step closer to moving to Canada.

Many French-speaking Lebanese seek to immigrate to Quebec, Canada’s sole Francophone province.

Quebec has its own immigration system and the third largest skilled worker immigration stream in Canada. Applicants to Quebec must demonstrate proficiency in the French language.

If you’ve never lived in Quebec before, the Quebec Regular Skilled Worker Program (QSWP) is probably your best bet. It works similarly to the Federal Skilled Worker Program of Express Entry.

Once you confirm your eligibility for the QSWP, you will be assigned points depending on your profile, and Quebec will invite the candidates with the highest scores to continue the immigration process. You can submit your permanent residence application to IRCC once Quebec has approved it.

Keep in mind that there are other Canadian immigration possibilities for qualified workers than Express Entry, the PNP, and Quebec’s streams. These are more specific in nature, such as if you wish to relocate to Canada’s Atlantic provinces or work in a specific industry, such as agri-food.

Over 100 different economic class immigration streams exist in Canada.