Visiting, Studying or Working in, and
Immigrating to Canada: What you Need to
Know About Citizenship and Immigration
Canada Application Processing for
Temporary and Permanent Residence
Gordon Scott Campbell
Barrister & Solicitor
1-855-363-6646/613-363-6636
www.gscLawFirm.ca
(April 2012)
TWO TYPES OF IMMIGRATION
STATUS FOR NON-CITIZENS
 1. Temporary Residence
 Advantages = much faster application process, can still
travel and sometimes study or work throughout Canada
 Disadvantages = time limited (but could be for a
considerable length of time)
 Current Fees = $150 for multiple entry visa, $75 for single
entry visa and $400 for a family (multiple or single entry)
 Will be required (with or without visa) for work permit or
study permit
Basic immigration status con’t

2. Permanent Residence

Advantages = Route to Open Work Permit after approval in
principle(work at any job), Canadian citizenship (after 3 years
residency) and permanent residents of Canada generally have exactly
the same rights as Canadian citizens, except:

(1) they cannot vote or run for political office;

(2) cannot travel on a Canadian passport;

(3) need to live in Canada for two of the past five years to keep status;

(4) might be ordered to leave Canada if convicted of a serious criminal
offence.

Disadvantages = very lengthy processing time, relatively expensive to
apply, more difficult to qualify for than temporary residence
VISITOR VISA EXEMPT STATUS

If you don’t require a visa to temporarily enter Canada, generally you
will receive a passport stamp valid for a stay of six months, but you
must apply to extend your stay past that time or leave Canada

you will be visa exempt if a citizen of Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda,
Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei,
Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel (National Passport holders
only), Italy, Japan, Korea (Republic of), Latvia (Republic of), Lithuania,
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Namibia, Netherlands,
New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, St. Kitts
and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia,
Solomon Islands, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Slovenia, Switzerland,
United States, and Western Samoa;
More People Who Will Qualify as Visitor
Visa Exempt

persons lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence who are in possession of
their alien registration card (Green card) or can provide other evidence of permanent residence;

British citizens and British Overseas Citizens who are re-admissible to the United Kingdom;

citizens of British dependent territories who derive their citizenship through birth, descent,
registration or naturalization in one of the British dependent territories of Anguilla, Bermuda,
British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn,
St. Helena or the Turks and Caicos Islands;

persons holding a British National (Overseas) Passport issued by the Government of the United
Kingdom to persons born, naturalized or registered in Hong Kong;

British subjects who hold a passport issued by the United Kingdom and who have the “right of
abode” there

persons holding a valid and subsisting Special Administrative Region passport issued by the
Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China;

persons holding passports or travel documents issued by the Holy See;

persons holding an ordinary passport issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan that
includes their personal identification number.
Visitors Requiring Temporary Resident Visas and
Work or Study Permits
 Citizens of the majority of countries and territories of
the world require a visa to visit or transit Canada
 Even if you don’t require a visitor visa, you may require
a study permit or work permit
 A study permit is required to study for more than six
months
 A work permit will be required for most types of work,
however “business visitors” who do not plan to enter the
Canadian labour market do not require a work permit
Permanent Residence Applications:
Weigh Your Options
 If your intent is to come to Canada and remain
permanently, possibly followed by acquisition of
Canadian citizenship, then you may be most interested
in making a permanent residence application
 In my experience, however, people may be overly
focused on securing permanent residence status at the
expense of ignoring other kinds of status which are
much easier, quicker and less expensive to acquire, and
which could still later serve as a solid foundation for a
permanent residence application
Work or Study Permits are Often a Good Way to
Test Out if You and Your Family Will Like
Canada
 Work Permits: perhaps the most common application error is
not realizing that your proposed employer must obtain a
positive Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Human
Resources and Skills Development Canada before you apply
for your permit – the proposed employer must demonstrate
the unsuccessful efforts made to recruit and/or train willing
and available Canadians, and thus that there is a need for a
foreign worker
 Study Permits: you must have been accepted to study at a
Canadian school before applying and prove you have enough
money to support yourself
Application Processing Times

Application processing delays vary greatly depending on where the application
is made, and what kind of application is involved

Possible for certain applicants to apply from within Canada (e.g. spousal
sponsorship), but applications from inside Canada may in fact lead to greater
delays than if the application had originated abroad – main downside to
overseas applications is possible requirement to attend in-person interview at
location where you made application

Visitor Visas very quick processing: from 1 day (in Ghana) to 105 days (in Iran)

Study Permits quick processing: from 1 week (in Turkey) to 18 weeks (in
Nigeria)

Work Permits moderate processing: from 1 month (in Japan, Tunisia, France,
Turkey, Austria, Mexico and Chile) to 37 months (in India)
Permanent Residence Application
Processing Delays
 Permanent Residence Applications always involve the longest delays
– sometimes terribly long – because of the amount of information
that must be reviewed before the Canadian government will be
satisfied that you are suitable to be a Permanent Resident
 For example, a spousal sponsorship application from within Canada
currently takes Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) an average
of 19 months to review (see
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-fc.asp)
 By contrast, the same application made in Ankara, Turkey would
only take 9 months, but if made in Nairobi, Kenya would take 34
months! (see
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/fcother.asp)
Key: Pick Your Place of Application
 Submitting (1) the correct documents, in (2) a complete
manner, with (3) all the required supporting documentation
will best avoid undue delays in any application to CIC for
entry into Canada
 But, picking the fastest location through which to submit your
application is really the key to happiness
 Generally, you can submit applications to a Canadian visa
office in your country of permanent residence or nationality –
so you might have a choice on where to submit
 For some applicants, submission within Canada will be
quicker; for others, overseas applications will be more speedy
Processing Delay Driven by
Demand
 Although Canadian overseas visa offices have differing
levels of staff, staff levels aren’t proportionately
increased to deal with all local demand, so countries
where lots of people want to come to Canada
(temporarily and especially permanently) wind up with
huge waits
 Among those places whose residents are less keen on
coming to Canada, delays can be quite reasonable
Delays by Region
(For Spousal Permanent Residence Sponsorship)
 Europe: 9 (Turkey best) to 16 (Russia worst) months
 Latin America: 10 (Haiti best) to 29 (Venezuela worst)
months
 Africa and Middle East: 11 (Israel & Morocco best) to 34
(Kenya worst) months
 Asia and Pacific: 9 (China best) to 29 (Pakistan worst)
Factors Most Likely to Delay
Processing of Your Application
 Family status history complicated (such as through divorce or
adoption) – should verify in advance exactly which documents
CIC prefers you provide, according to your country of
residence
 Medical history complicated (due to illness or disability) –
should verify exactly which conditions CIC will and will not
accept – or medical exam validity has expired after 12 months
(must coordinate timing of exam with application delays to
ensure exam valid at time it is reviewed by CIC)
 Police checks incomplete or unclear – for example,
Australians who have lived at any time in certain states will
require state traffic violation checks in addition to federal
police check
MAIN FACTORS LEADING TO
INADMISSIBILITY OR DENIAL OF
APPLICATION

Criminality, health, security, financial reasons

For criminality, you might be considered “rehabilitated” depending on the
seriousness of the crime(s) and the amount of time which has passed since you
completed your sentence – you should consult with CIC to see how the rules
apply to you before making an application

For health, you may be inadmissible if your condition would pose a danger to
public health or safety, or cause excessive demands on health or social services in
Canada – you must use a medical practitioner officially designated by CIC (not
just any doctor) for an exam, and results are only valid for 12 months

For financial reasons, you or your sponsor may need to demonstrate significant
resources: for example, a Canadian resident family of two adults and two
children, sponsoring one adult to come to Canada, would need a family gross
income (before deductions) of approximately $55,000/year