Calgary, AB Permanent Residence Lawyers

Interested in immigrating to Alberta? Our team can help you take advantage of the right provincial or federal program to make your dreams of permanent residency into a reality.

Attaining permanent residency in Canada opens a lot of doors. We’ll help give you your best chance of getting approved.

What is a Permanent Resident?

A permanent resident is someone who has earned the right to live, work, and study in Canada. They may also enjoy Canadian public benefits, which includes health coverage. They are under the protection of the Canadian constitution just like a citizen is. Employers must consider PRs over immigrants who do not have PR status when hiring for most jobs.

There are only a few major differences between a PR and a citizen.

• PRs may not run for public office.
• PRs may not vote in elections.
• PRs are not eligible for certain high-security jobs.
• PRs must spend at least 730 days (2 years) in any 5 year period within Canada’s borders or they risk losing their status.

Once a PR has been in Canada long enough, they may apply to become citizens as well.

What Do You Need to be Considered a Permanent Resident in Canada?

When you get involved with certain immigration programs, tracks, or streams you will eventually be issued an invitation to apply for permanent residency. You can also initiate an application if you’ve worked in Canada for 12 months within three years of your application. You must also meet or exceed the required language levels for your National Occupation Class.

Programs that will generally issue an invitation after you meet the requirements include the federal Express Entry Program and Alberta’s Provincial Nominee Program. Both programs let you obtain the work experience you need before allowing you to take the next step in the process.

What are the Classes of Permanent Residency?

There are different ways that people become permanent residents in Alberta.

• Getting sponsored by a family member.
• By being a skilled worker or an investor who helps to build Canada’s economy.
• By being a refugee or receiving consideration as a humanitarian and compassionate class applicant.

Our immigration attorneys can help you choose the right program for your unique situation. Choosing the right program is the first step towards making your immigration application viable.

Family Class

Any Canadian citizen or permanent resident can sponsor family members, giving them a chance to become permanent residents. Only certain family members are eligible. These include:

• Your spouse or common law spouse.
• Your conjugal partner.
• Dependent children.

Orphaned siblings, nieces, nephews, and grandchildren who are unmarried and under the age of 18 may also be sponsored in.

Canada does not have a pathway for sponsoring in a fiancée. You’d generally have to marry your partner first, or bring them in as your conjugal partner.

Economic Class

Are you an investor, a business owner, or a self-employed person? There are visa programs that apply to you. For example, Alberta offers an Alberta International Graduate Entrepreneur Immigrant Stream, a Foreign Graduate Start-Up Visa Stream, and a Self-Employed Farmer stream.

Each of them require certain experience levels. If you are investing or starting a business in Canada you will have to put down a certain minimum investment to be considered for permanent residency status. You will also need to bring enough money to settle in Canada.

Humanitarian and Compassionate Class, or Refugees

Refugees who fear death, torture, persecution, or cruel and unusual punishment in their home countries may make a refugee claim. If successful, they will be invited to apply for permanent residency status.

There are also situations where individuals who would not qualify as refugees can still request permanent residency based on unusual circumstances. For example, perhaps they have strong family ties in Alberta and have family members here who really need them. These applications are considered on a case-by-case basis and must usually be very strong to get approved.

Employment-Based

Canada needs skilled workers, and Alberta has labor shortages. Thus there are programs for skilled workers who are working or who intend to work in Alberta.

For example, the Alberta Opportunity program is for temporary foreign workers who are already working full-time in Alberta and who have a full-time job offer or employment contract from an Alberta employer in an eligible occupation.

The Alberta Express Entry Stream lets the Government of Alberta allows Alberta to nominate certain individuals who have already applied to Canada’s Express Entry program. You can’t apply for it directly, but they can select you based on your Express Entry profile with the Government of Canada.

What is the Express Entry program for permanent residency?

The Express Entry program targets skilled workers in over 340 eligible occupations. Applicants must have a combination of skill, education, and experience in the application they’re applying under. They must also undergo language testing and demonstrate intermediate skills in English or French. You must also get an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA).

Express Entry candidates must also possess sufficient funds to settle in Canada.

You can find the current list of in-demand occupations here.

Keep in mind that getting brought to Canada under the Express Entry Program may not mean getting to work in your current occupation right away. Some PRs will have to go through a recertification process to update their credentials to Canadian standards. Fortunately, numerous programs exist to help you do that.

Our Lawyers Help with Permanent Residency Status in Canada

The path to PR status can be a long one. There are a lot of barriers in your way unless you have help. That’s where we come in.

The immigration attorneys in our Calgary offices have decades of experience helping immigrants just like you. We’ve helped thousands of applicants achieve PR status. We’re responsive, empathetic, and will be with you at every step of the process. We can help you put your best foot forward from Day 1.

We can even give you access to attorneys who speak Punjabi and Mandarin if this would be helpful to you.

Make your first appointment before you touch any other part of the immigration process. Contact us to make an appointment today.