Anyone who comes to Canada to work needs to apply for a work permit. This can be as a skilled worker, a temporary worker or a provincial nominee. Most applicants must apply before entering the country. Sponsored applicants have a shorter wait period. In some cases you may be required to submit to a medical examination in addition to your application.

If you do not hold a passport for a visa-exempt country, you need to obtain a visa to visit Canada for any length of time. You will also need a visa if you are a resident of a visa-exempt country and plan to stay in Canada for an extended period. You must apply for a temporary resident visa from outside of Canada.

A permanent resident card entitles a foreigner to stay in Canada. There are several different options: an investor or an entrepreneur; the Family Class designation; a Skilled Worker; self-employed workers. The wait time for processing a permanent resident visa application can be extremely lengthy, especially if you do not have sponsorship or a job offer in hand.

If you are moving to Canada for the first time, your personal and household effects can be moved to Canada duty-free if the goods were owned before arriving in Canada and if you are taking up residency in Canada. Customs must be cleared at the first point of entry to Canada, such as an airport.

How do you go about selecting an immigration lawyer? How to decide which one is best suited for your case? How does Canada approve immigration consultants or immigration lawyers? All of these questions are important; yet finding the right answers to them can be difficult. Here is what you need to know to make your immigration process as seamless as possible.