Fast-track immigration programs to help you work in Canada

To move to Canada by finding a job there is the dream of many looking to move out of their country. The good news is that there are plenty of job opportunities in Canada across various sectors. What’s even better is that Canada offers employment immigration streams that make it easy for potential jobseekers to find a job and migrate to the country.

 

Using a designated employer immigration stream to find work in Canada has its advantages. You will have a job offer from a designated employer. These are companies recognized by the federal government or the provinces that can hire foreign workers.

 

The designated employer immigration streams facilitate quicker processing of visas and issue of work permits. These programs are exempt from the Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). The work permits are processes quickly allowing selected employees to come and start working here under two weeks.

 

We will look at two such popular streams:

1. Global Skills Strategy
2. Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program

Global Skills Strategy:

Foreign nationals need a work permit to work in Canada. They will get a work permit to work in Canada provided they have a valid job offer from a Canadian employer. The employer must apply for an LMIA and get a positive response. After this, the foreign employee can apply for his work permit. This whole process can take a long time. This makes it difficult for employers to fill positions quickly and hire talented workers from abroad.

 

To overcome the delay in hiring foreign workers, the Global Skills Strategy was introduced. This program was introduced in 2017 to help Canadian companies look for external talent and overcome the dearth of local tech talent. Under this scheme, companies can fill in their talent requirements quickly. The visa processing time is reduced from six months to only ten business days. This also helps applicants get a quick response to their application. Their work permit and visa applications are processed in a short time that is two weeks.

 

There are two categories under the Global Skills Strategy

Category A:

Category A includes high growth companies which need to recruit specialized talent. These companies must validate the need to recruit specialized talent from abroad.

 

Category B:

Companies that want to hire highly talented foreign workers for occupations on the Global Talent Occupations List come under this category. The list gets updated based on the changing labor or skill requirements.

 

These openings must be in high demand. The companies must first look for these skills among the local talent.

 

Conditions for employers using the Global Skills Strategy program:

Priority should be given to Canadians and permanent residents before offering the job to foreign workers.

 

Salary paid to employees hired under the program must match the payment for Canadian and permanent residents. They should be working for the same job and location and have similar skills and experience.

 

Applicants under the Global Skills Strategy can have their applications processed within 2 weeks provided they meet the following requirements:

For workers exempted from LMIA and applying from outside Canada

• Their job should belong to either skill type 0 (managerial) or skill level A (professional) of the National Occupational Classification (NOC)
• The employer must have given the offer of employment using the Employer Portal and paid the compliance fee

For workers who require an LMIA and are applying from outside Canada, their employer must have a positive LMIA.

 

Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program:

This immigration program was launched in 2017 to help bring more workers to the country’s Atlantic region that includes the four Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island.

 

Under this employer-driven program which does not require an LMIA, employers in the Atlantic region can hire international workers. If a prospective immigrant receives a job offer from any of the participating employers, they will receive support for the immigration process to settle down in Canada.

 

To be eligible for the program, you must first get a job offer from one of the employers under the program.

 

The AIPP proposes to welcome more than 7,000 foreign nationals with their families by 2021 to the Atlantic Canada region. There are three programs under the AIPP:

Atlantic High-skilled Program

Atlantic Intermediate-skilled Program

Atlantic International Graduate Program

However, applicants can apply only under one of these programs. Each program has its own set of eligibility requirements. The best part is that this program offers a pathway to the PR visa.

 

Individuals aspiring to move to Canada for work can choose any of these fast-track immigration streams to move to Canada. But they should choose one that matches their qualifications.