How to get permanent residency in Canada for IT engineers

Is it possible to apply for permanent residency in Canada without a job offer and only having work experience in Japan? Is it even possible to obtain it? Finding a job in North America is something that every IT engineer has considered at least once, but what about Canada as a potential destination for immigration? We've taken a look at this

Nice to meet you. I'm Taku, a Canadian employee with eight years of experience and two months of experience at Beyond. Beyond Co., Ltd. will launch a Canada training program in June 2022, working to deepen Japanese engineers' understanding of overseas markets. This article will introduce the general route for engineers working in Japan to obtain permanent residency in Canada. Please note that the situation and regulations surrounding permanent residency applications are constantly changing. This information is current as of September 2022

What is Canadian "permanent residency"?

First, let's briefly touch on what "permanent residence" in Canada is. Permanent residence (often abbreviated as "PR" in Canada) is issued by the Canadian Immigration and Citizenship Agency (IRCC) and is a status that allows people to immigrate to Canada, work, and receive social services in the same way as Canadian citizens (citizens). The main difference from citizenship is that people with permanent residence status do not have the right to vote. To maintain permanent residence, people must live in Canada for 730 days out of every five years

Canada's permanent residence application system

So, to answer the question of "Can I apply? Is there a possibility of obtaining permanent residency?", the answer is yes, under Canada's permanent residency application system, once you have applied you are guaranteed permanent residency

To apply, you (1) need to register with a system called "Express Entry," (2) be checked by the Canadian Immigration Bureau, and (3) receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) if you meet certain criteria. Once you receive the ITA, you can (4) apply, and if all your documents are complete, you will receive permanent residency. In other words, the ITA is the goal, and there are several hurdles to overcome before receiving it

Express Entry

Generally, to apply for permanent residency in Canada, you must register with a system called "Express Entry." This system was launched in 2015 to enable immigrants with proven skills to quickly obtain permanent residency. Registered applicants are given points based on the career history they enter when registering, and become "candidates." Candidates who meet a certain number of points are issued an ITA

If you are living in Japan and have no work experience in Canada and have not been hired by a Canadian company, and you want to register for Express Entry, you must register under the Federal Skilled Worker program. Express Entry offers three programs: the Canadian Experience Class for those with work experience in Canada, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program for specific occupations for which you have a job offer. However, in this case, if you have no job offer and no work experience in Canada, you will automatically be registered under the Federal Skilled Worker Program

Hurdles that must be overcome

Federal Skilled Worker 67 points

To register for Express Entry under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, you must earn at least 67 points based on your educational and work experience. You can calculate your points below, so if you're interested, check it out

Federal Skilled Worker Program Calculator

English CLB7

Of the 67 points required for the Federal Skilled Worker program, you must achieve a score of 7 or higher on the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB). If you do not achieve a sufficient English score, you will not be able to register for Express Entry under the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Incidentally, you can achieve a CLB of 7 by achieving a score of 6.0 on the IELTS

CRS score of 400-500

Now that I've cleared CLB7 in English and earned 67 points, I've successfully registered with the Federal Skilled Worker Program for Express Entry. Whether or not I receive an invitation (ITA) is determined by another point system called the CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System), which awards points based on the information entered when registering for Express Entry. The higher your points, the more likely you are to receive an ITA; the lower your points, the less likely you are to receive one. Also, there's a one-year registration limit, so if you don't receive an ITA within a year, you'll have to re-register. You can calculate your CRS points below, so check it out

Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) tool

How many points did you get? Looking at which CRS points are given high scores gives us a glimpse into the type of talent Canada is looking for in immigrants. For example, singles between the ages of 20 and 29 receive 110 points, while those over 45 receive 0 points (!!!). Similarly, university graduates receive 120 points, while high school graduates receive 30 points. Based on past trends, a score of around 400 points indicates a high chance of success, and the chances of receiving an ITA increase significantly once you score above 450. One thing I want to emphasize here is that you shouldn't give up just because your score is low. Canada is currently conducting a nationwide immigration campaign, announcing plans to accept more than 400,000 immigrants per year through 2024. Prior to this, last year in 2021, Express Entry's Canadian Experience Class made an unprecedented splash by offering ITAs to applicants with a score of 75 or higher. It's unclear when Canada, eager to welcome immigrants, will again significantly lower its score and offer ITAs. If you're interested in immigrating to Canada, it's well worth taking the English test and registering for Express Entry early

What kind of country is Canada?

Finally, if you are applying for permanent residency, you will naturally have to live in Canada. It is human nature to want to know at least a little about what kind of country it is, and I came here without knowing anything about it, but it turned out to be a good country, so it was a happy ending. Sometimes it is necessary for people to take a bold step. Canada is a vast country that cannot be described in a few words, and it is not good to talk about Canada based only on my own observations, so I would like to share some objective data. Canada (Toronto) is,

World's Best Country No. 1

Toronto ranked second in the world's safest cities

It's a regular on these rankings. If you ask whether it's the best country just because it's listed, the answer is "everyone has their own opinion," but at least I can personally feel that Toronto has a good level of public safety. Japanese 100-yen shops and Japanese ingredients are generally available, so Japanese people living here have almost no inconveniences. There's a relaxed atmosphere that allows you to enjoy a certain degree of inconvenience. Toronto and Vancouver are known as leading tech cities around the world, and with the number of engineers employed continuing to increase, they're attracting more and more attention in the future. As a Japanese engineer, why not try your hand at Canada?