Experience in Canada has always been beneficial when applying for permanent residency. It has recently gained even more significance as it is focusing on increasing immigration level targets.

Canada has restricted its travel to non essentials due to Coronavirus. Until regular travel resumes, Canada will concentrate most of its immigration efforts on temporary residents already in the country.

Here is a summary of some of the paths to permanent residency, for those with professional experience in Canada.

Limited-time PR Streams

On May 6, Canada will open six new immigration pathways. These new streams are intended for essential workers and recent graduates currently employed in Canada. Candidates with work experience in essential occupations such as healthcare and others may be qualifying. To be qualified, you must currently be employed in Canada in any occupation.  These programs are unique because they do not take National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level into consideration. However, many federal programs do.

For these new programs, Canada can accept up to 90,000 applicants, plus an unlimited number of francophone or bilingual candidates.

Applicants must meet a minimum language requirement, and language test results must be included in the document, according to the immigration department.

Canadian Experience Class (CEC)

The CEC is a long-running federal immigration programme aimed at attracting and retaining people who have already lived and worked in Canada in a skilled occupation. Candidates must have one year of skilled (NOC 0, A, or B) work experience in Canada over the previous three years, as well as moderate to high English proficiency, depending on the type of occupation. To be eligible, there is no job requirement.

Quebec

Quebec administers its own economic immigration programs. Many of these services are structured and formatted similarly to those offered by the federal government, with a focus on French language proficiency.

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)

Except for Quebec, a person who is nominated under a federal immigration programme may settle in any province or territory in Canada. In addition to the federal and Quebec programs, there are scores of Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs), which allow provinces to nominate people to immigrate to that specific place.

Ontario recently launched an Expression of Interest (EOI) system for its Employer Job Offer Category. Although domestic experience is not necessary for the program, it is worth more points on the EOI scoring grid.