You need to land in Canada in order to finish your application process for Canadian permanent residency. With the border officially closed to non-essential travel, however, many foreign nationals wonder how they can finalize their application for Canadian immigration when complying with travel restrictions associated with COVID. During COVID-19, read on to learn more about your choices for landing in Canada.
Your ability to travel to Canada will depend on your current immigration status to a large degree. You should know that applications for Canadian permanent residency are still processed by the Canadian government, but processing times can be longer than average.
If you haven’t submitted your application yet
The Canadian Government is currently asking foreign nationals to wait until they are in a position to receive all the supporting documentation prior to submitting an application.
Because of COVID-19, you can encounter delays in receiving such documents. You may send evidence, such as a receipt and an accompanying letter explaining why you were unable to obtain the required documents if you are in the process of obtaining documents.
Language test results or educational certification tests that are submitted online are officially approved by the Canadian government.
To prevent more delays, you can send any pending documents as soon as you get them.
Express Entry applicants
After obtaining an invitation to apply, Express Entry applicants now have 90 days to send a submission (ITA).
If your application for permanent residency has been approved
If you’re outside of Canada:
Right now, most foreign nationals will not be able to move to Canada to complete their permanent application for citizenship. When you meet the following conditions, you will be permitted to enter Canada:
- You have a valid COPR card issued on or prior to 18 March 2020
- You have a valid COPR card issued after March 18, 2020, and you have an immediate member of your family who is a citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
- If you are actually in the US and are coming directly to Canada,
To live permanently, you must come to Canada, and you must show that you are willing to quarantine for 14 days.
If you have a COPR but haven’t landed yet:
You should wait for the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada guidance. As you would be refused entry, you should not travel to Canada to verify your COPR at the port of entry.
Mandatory quarantine period
It is necessary to consider your own health as well as that of others when coming to Canada. For this reason, all foreign nationals entering Canada are required by the Canadian government to complete a 14-day quarantine period upon arrival.
To complete this quarantine, you will need to show to Canadian border officials that you have a plan in place. You will not be allowed to join Canada if you do not.
Working in Canada during COVID-19
While the Canadian economy is in the process of recovery, many still struggle to regain employment. Although Canada provides a variety of programs for immigrants, some explicitly tailored to finding work in Canada, it may still be difficult at this time to find jobs.
Healthcare in Canada
It is more critical now than ever to ensure that you have healthcare coverage. Both citizens and permanent residents of Canada have access to the health insurance scheme of their home province. You must fulfill your province’s criteria for residency. In each province, these conditions are different, but in most situations, for at least half of the year, you must be physically present in the province.
You may not yet have access to Canadian healthcare coverage if you are a recent arrival, and this may leave you vulnerable. Before planning your trip to Canada, you should remember this.
For Canadian immigration and foreign nationals interested in immigrating to Canada, this has been one of the most difficult times. It is particularly important that all procedures set out by the federal government are followed.
By recruiting industry experts who can direct you through the process, you can boost your chances of immigrating to Canada successfully.
Although it may be hard to immigrate to Canada, it is not impossible. You will substantially improve the chances of securing your Canadian permanent residency with our support.