As Canada’s immigration structure becomes more aimed toward the nation’s economic requirements, targeted occupations have acquired elevating prestige among new permanent residents via express entry and Provincial Nominee Programs. This article will expose more concerning your feasible immigration routes may be as an engineer in Canada.
Engineers are one of the most demanded occupations in Canada’s workforce. Both national and regional immigration units have announced their demand for different types of engineers all over Canada. Due to this, engineers have many chances to relocate to the nation. As a result of simplicity, we can classify routes for engineers to relocate to Canada into two classifications.
- Direct permanent residence routes
- Routes that develop qualifications for permanent residence
Table of Contents
Direct Permanent Residence Routes
Express Entry
Professional engineers seeking to relocate to Canada and obtain PR instantly without first requiring a work permit can make use of two routes that target their professions: Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program.
Express Entry is among Canada’s major systems for economic immigration. It is an electronic structure that surrounds three immigration schemes.
- The Federal Skilled Trades Program
- The Federal Skilled Worker Program
- The Canadian Experience Class
In 2024, Express Entry integrated category-based draws to deal with Canada’s labor depletions adequately. These classifications are made up of targeted professions, so applicants with mastery in those occupations can be selected and requested to apply for permanent residence.
Engineers are attached to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) classification. The engineering occupations targeted have to do with the following:
- Software Engineers and Designers with NOC code 21231
- Metallurgical and Materials Engineers with NOC code 21322
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineers with NOC code 21321
- Engineering Managers with NOC code 20010
- Electrical and Electronics Engineer with NOC code 21310
- Computer Engineers with NOC code 21311
- Civil Engineers with NOC code 21300
Remember that while targeted occupations can assist people with skills to obtain permanent residence, fundamental qualification measures for Express Entry must be fulfilled to be regarded in category-based draws.
Provincial Nominee Programs
Provincial Nominee Programs are Canada’s number one route for economic immigration. These are immigration schemes that every region, unless Nunavut and Quebec, which are the provinces that perform their immigration programs, serves. Provincial Nominee Programs are formed by circulating the advantages of immigration all over Canada and assisting regions in dealing with their local labor, economic, and demographic requirements. Due to this, Provincial Nominee Programs have been targeting certain occupations for much longer than Express Entry.
Every Provincial Nominee Program possesses its list of sought-after professions, whereby engineers usually participate prominently. For instance, British Columbia aims to have seven engineering occupations with its provincial Nominee Program. For example, Express Entry and primary qualification measures for the Provincial Nominee Program are required to be satisfied to qualify for these targeted standards. Keep in mind that these can differ majorly between Provincial Nominee Programs and their immigration streams.
Routes to Developing Qualifications for Permanent Residence
Suppose you discover that you need to gain employment skills qualification for one of the direct PR routes. In that case, you may possess choices as an engineer to develop qualifications while living in Canada and then make an application for PR when ready.
Because of Canada’s demand for engineers in the labor market, IRCC has also initiated various work permit routes for engineers to settle and get employed in Canada. The Temporary Foreign Worker Program, the Internationally Mobility Program, and the Post-Graduation Work Permit will hugely surround these.
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Temporary Foreign Worker Program
The temporary foreign worker program is a joint initiative supervised by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The program intends to improve Canadian employers’ ability to deal with labor depletion by employing foreign workers while ensuring priority is provided to permanent residents and citizens of Canada for vacant employment positions.
The program allocates closed work permits, which are knotted to a particular employer and industry and is formed so that an LMIA is needed to support the employment. A Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a paper that an employer in Canada may require before employing an international employee. It evaluates the prospective effect of employing an international employee on Canada’s labor market. To enhance the employment of an international employee, the Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is required to be neutral or favorable. Keep in mind that the employer, not the worker, must apply for a Labor Market Impact Assessment and proceed with the temporary foreign worker program.
Engineers seeking employment in Canada may stand a good opportunity to obtain a work permit via the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Because of the demand for engineers in the labor market in Canada, there is a good opportunity for foreign experts who are capable of acquiring employment in Canada to obtain a positive or neutral Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) and develop expertise skills in Canada which is something to contributes to permanent resident qualification.
Keep in mind that the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is not a program itself but comprises so many immigration streams within it, via which immigration applicants are required to make an application. Engineers may be eligible for:
- High or low-income streams of the temporary foreign worker program, based on the income of their present engineering employment
- The Global Talent Stream offers expedited work permits for specialists with professional education and mastery. Engineers are a prominent team that obtains work permits under this stream.
Internationally Mobility Program
The International Mobility Program is an administratively driven initiative supervised by Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The major objective of the Internationally Mobility Program is to promote Canada’s large-running economic, cultural, and social policy objectives. Accordingly, the program administers a double plan: it supports satisfying labor market demands by promoting the arrival of international employees. It donates to boosting Canada’s diplomatic connections with the worldwide society. With approximation in intention to the temporary foreign worker program, the Internationally Mobility Program is different as it does not make an LMIA for an international employee in Canada.
Two major elements of the Internationally Mobility Program that engineers can use are the Canada-United-States-and-Mexico- Alliance (CUSMA) previous NAFTA experts stream and the Intra-company Transferees stream.
The Canada-United-States-and-Mexico Alliance experts stream a result of the tripartite consensus among Canada, the United States, and Mexico. This stream participates in a catalog of about 60 employment and engineering positions qualified for a facilitated work permit, aptly called the CUSMA professional work permit.
Engineers can also make use of the Intra-Company Transferee (ICT) work permit. The Intra-Company Transferee program permits foreign firms to temporarily transfer major workers to a branch, subsidiary, or associate in Canada. Particularly, the ICT program is mainly suited for engineers hired steadily by their abroad firm for a minimum of 12 months. Keep in mind that there is also a CUSMA Intra-Company Transferee procedure that functions on similar grounds for American and Mexican firms with a branch, subsidiary, or associate in Canada.
Engineers can be eligible via the specialized knowledge category, which identifies employees with special and expert firm-particular understanding or eligibility that are uncommon in the industry. This knowledge can have to do with proprietary technology, patterns, software, or processes.
Post-Graduation Work Permit
The conclusive route whereby engineers can develop qualifications for permanent residents in Canada is via a Post-Graduation Work Permit. This is an open work permit, which implies that it permits holders to get employed by most employers in most firms.
The Post-Graduation Work Permit is allocated after a foreign student concludes their studies in Canada at an assigned learning institution for a period equal to the duration of their studies, for up to 36 months. Because of the adaptability of this work permit, it can be a major route whereby Canadian-educated engineers can both obtain a job in Canada and majorly support their prospects of acquiring permanent residence in Canada.
