How IT Engineers Can Get Permanent Residency in Canada

Can I apply for permanent residence in Canada if I have no job offer and only have work experience in Japan? Is there a possibility of getting it? If you're an IT engineer, you've probably thought about finding a job in North America, and what about Canada as a place to immigrate? I thought about it.

Nice to meet you, I'm Taku from the Canadian office, and I've been with Beyond for 8 years and Beyond for 2 months. Beyond Co., Ltd. will start the Canadian training system in June 2022, and are working to deepen Japanese engineers' knowledge of overseas countries. This time, I would like to introduce the general route for engineers working in Japan to obtain permanent residence in Canada. Please note that the status and regulations for applying for permanent residence are constantly changing. Please note that the information is as of September 2022.

What is “permanent residence” in Canada?

First, what is "permanent residence" in Canada? I would like to touch on this briefly. Permanent Resident (often referred to by the abbreviation "PR" in Canada) is issued by Immigration Services Canada (IRCC) and allows you to immigrate, work, and provide social services in Canada in the same way as a Canadian citizen (citizenship). It is a status that can be received. The main difference from citizenship is that there is no right to vote. To maintain permanent residency, you must live in Canada for 730 days out of every 5 years.

Canadian permanent residence application system

Now, to answer the question, "Can I apply? Is there a possibility of obtaining permanent residence?", according to Canada's permanent residence application system, it is certain that you will be able to obtain permanent residence as soon as you are able to apply.

To apply, (1) register in a system called "Express Entry", (2) have been checked by the Canadian Immigration Service, and those who meet certain criteria must (3) receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA). ) must be obtained. Once you receive the ITA, you will be able to apply (4) and if the documents are complete, you will receive permanent residence. In other words, the ITA is the goal, but there are several hurdles to overcome before receiving the ITA.

Express Entry

Generally, in order to apply for permanent residence in Canada, you need to register in a system called "Express Entry". This is a system that started in 2015 with the aim of allowing immigrant applicants with solid skills to quickly obtain permanent residency.Registered persons become "candidates" who are given points based on the history they entered at the time of registration. The system is such that ITAs are issued to candidates who meet certain points.

To register for Express Entry if you live in Japan, have no work experience in Canada, and have not been hired by a Canadian company, you must register under the Federal Skilled Worker program. Express Entry offers three programs, including the Canadian Experience Class for those with work experience in Canada, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program for certain occupations with job offers. If you have no work history in Canada, you will automatically be placed in the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

Hurdles to overcome

Federal Skilled Worker 67 points

In order to register for Express Entry in the Federal Skilled Worker Program, you must obtain a score of 67 or higher based on points based on your educational background, work history, etc. You can calculate the points below, so if you are interested, please check it out.

Federal Skilled Worker Program Calculator

English CLB7

Of the 67 points for Federal Skilled Worker, you must obtain a score of 7 or higher in English based on CLB (Canadian Language Benchmarks), and if your English score is insufficient, you will not be able to register for Express Entry in the Federal Skilled Worker Program. By the way, CLB7 can be cleared by getting 6.0 points in IELTS.

400-500 points on CRS

Now that I have passed CLB7 in English and obtained 67 points, I was able to successfully register for Express Entry under the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Here, another point system will determine whether you will receive an invitation (ITA) or not. It is a system called CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System), and points are awarded depending on the items entered when registering for Express Entry. The point is that the higher this point is, the more likely it is to receive an ITA, and the lower it is, the less likely it is.Also, there is a one-year registration deadline, so if you do not receive an ITA for one year, you will have to re-register. Don't. CRS points can be calculated from the link below, so please check it out.

Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) tool

How many points did you get? By looking at what CRS points give high scores, you can get a glimpse of what kind of human resources Canada wants to immigrate to. For example, singles between the ages of 20 and 29 will receive 110 points vs. 0 points for those over 45 (!!!), similarly, college graduates will receive 120 points vs. high school graduates with 30 points, etc. Based on past trends, the possibility of ITA comes from around 400 points, and the possibility of ITA becoming higher when it exceeds 450 points. One thing I would like to tell you is that you should not give up just because your score is low. Canada is currently conducting a national immigration campaign and has announced plans to accept more than 400,000 immigrants each year until 2024. Prior to this, last year in 2021, there was an unprecedented big move in Express Entry's Canadian Experience Class by issuing ITAs with points of 75 or more. We don't know when Canada, which wants to actively accept immigrants, will again send ITAs with significantly lower points. If you are interested in immigrating to Canada, there is no harm in taking the English test and registering for Express Entry as soon as possible.

What kind of country is Canada?

Finally, in order to apply for permanent residence, you must of course live in Canada. It's human nature to want to know even just a little bit about what kind of country it is, but by the way, I came without knowing anything about it, but in the end it turned out to be a good country and I felt like I was very happy. Sometimes it is necessary for humans to take the plunge. Canada is such a vast country that it's difficult to describe it in just one word, and it's not good to talk about Canada only based on my observation range, so I'd like to share some objective data. Canada (Toronto) is

1st place in the world's best country

Toronto ranks 2nd in the world's safest city rankings

I'm a regular, and I often show up on these rankings. Is it the best because it's "best country"? When asked, "Everyone feels differently," but at least I feel that it's safe here in Toronto. You can find most Japanese ingredients at Japanese 100 yen shops, so there are almost no inconveniences for Japanese people to live here. There is a relaxed atmosphere that allows you to enjoy a certain amount of inconvenience. Toronto and Vancouver are also known as world-class tech cities, and the number of engineers employed continues to increase, so they are attracting more and more attention in the future. Would you like to try your hand at Canada as a Japanese engineer?