Canadian Immigration Open Work Permit (OWP) Skilled Immigration FAQ

As long as you have Canadian residency , you have the right to buy local property in Canada regardless of nationality. In addition, buying a house in Canada has nothing to do with Canadian citizenship, it depends on how long you live in Canada. If Hong Kong people want to plan to buy a property in Canada and stay for half a year or less, the Canadian government will consider you a non-resident. Conversely, if overseas people plan to live there for more than half a year or longer, they must apply for residence.

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There are thousands of policies for Hong Kong people to immigrate to Canada. I believe that everyone will encounter many questions when considering which one to choose. I don't know which one is the fastest, cheapest and most suitable for me, and I am not sure whether my personal factors meet the conditions of the relevant policies. But that's okay! I hope the Q&A here can help you have a deeper understanding of immigrating to Canada.

Q1. How can the applicant get on the lifeboat if the applicant's education is not high and it is difficult to obtain sufficient scores in the IELTS?

The Canadian government provides Hong Kong people with a "Lifeboat Program" for Hong Kong people. Although the threshold is low, it still requires certain academic qualifications and English proficiency requirements. But if you're worried that you won't meet the requirements, there's actually a way.

Generally speaking, Canadian post-secondary schools will consider adult students. Although they lack education, their advantage is that they have rich social work experience, and some even become their own bosses and have rich business experience. Therefore, those who are interested in applying may also wish to give it a try.

English proficiency requirements are even simpler. Whether you want to work or study in Canada, you need to meet basic English proficiency requirements. In fact, as long as you take the IELTS test in Hong Kong, you can score enough. If it is not enough, you can also take ESL training first, the length of time depends on your personal ability performance.

There are two methods for ESL training. Some schools' courses will provide the ESL training part, and these colleges will provide applicants with "dual admission", after completing the ESL training before starting the professional course part of the college. The risky part of this approach is that when some immigration officials see this type of application, they may deny the visa because the applicant does not have sufficient English skills (because they need ESL).

The second method is to first study English courses offered by the English schools in the market. Some English schools have programs that are recognized by Canadian colleges and universities, and completion of their English courses will meet the English requirements for admission. But remember to investigate whether the course is recognized by Canada before enrolling.

Q2. Can an applicant temporarily return to Hong Kong for a few months after entering Canada with an Open Work Permit (OWP)? When re-entering Canada, do I need to do a new medical examination or apply again?

OWP is the right that the Canadian government gives you to work legally in Canada. It is a work visa and has nothing to do with the number of entries and exits. The condition for applying for Stream B is that you have accumulated at least one year of work experience in Canada within three years. As long as this major premise is met, you can enter and leave Canada freely, the number of times is unlimited, and the duration of stay is unlimited, and it will not affect your subsequent stream B application.

The medical check-up is a one-off, and the purpose is to let the Canadian government confirm that you will not be a serious burden on the local medical system once you enter the country. Because re-entry does not require a medical examination, it is only necessary to do it again when applying for immigration.

Q3. Are there no restrictions on leaving the country during the 2-year high diploma study in Canadian colleges and universities?

In short, yes, Hong Kong people can freely travel back and forth between Canada and Hong Kong with their study permit.

However, it should be noted that the condition for applying for Stream A is that at least half of the courses are enrolled in Canada. Even if the course is an online class, you must be in Canada for the half of the course time. Because generally speaking, as long as students hand in homework and exams, Canadian colleges and universities will not say that they care about the attendance rate of students (of course, the specific situation depends on the requirements of the college). So if the course is online, as long as you have a computer and network, you can take the class, no matter where you are. However, if when you apply for stream A, the immigration officer sees that you have a record of traveling between the two places, it may take some time to convince the immigration officer that you intend to develop in Canada.

Q4. If I apply for OWP first and want to study after arriving in Canada, can I convert the OWP into a study permit? Or is it possible to read in OWP?

The answer is yes. After arriving in Canada, the applicant can transfer the Open Work Permit (OWP) to a study permit in Canada at any time. However, the Canadian government stipulates that you cannot start school before you get a study permit, even if you are an online class.

Q5. If the applicant is not married when the OWP application is submitted, can the applicant get married and apply for SOWP (Spouse Open Work Permit) for the other half after the application is completed?

sure. But if this is the case, the marriage certificate does not become conclusive evidence, and the relevant authorities may ask the applicant to provide additional evidence to prove that you are not a fake marriage during the visa process. But the advantage is that compared with family marriage immigration, the approval of SOWP will be more relaxed (after all, it is only a work permit, which will always expire).

Warm reminder, if two people live together continuously for more than one year, they can apply for SOWP without getting married (of course, you must provide relevant certificates and evidence).

Another warm reminder, if the information provided fails to convince the relevant authorities of the authenticity of your relationship, SOWP refusal will not affect the original applicant's OWP application. But of course, everything is an extreme situation, that is, if the authorities have the opportunity, they will be limited to five years, and neither of them can go to Canada.

Q6. It has been more than five years since I graduated from university. If I immediately apply for a one-year Master in Hong Kong, is there still a chance to go to Canada with stream B?

Generally speaking it is possible. The current three-year OWP application deadline set by Canadian immigration resides on February 7, 2023. As long as all documents (including the Master's graduation certificate) are submitted before that day, the application will be reviewed.

However, there is a warm reminder that non-Canadian qualifications need to be certified by ECA, and some short-term graduates of overseas Master Online Classes may not be recognized by the Canadian authorities, and there is a chance that they will not be able to achieve ECA certification. So you have to be careful in choosing the course you enroll in.

Q7. The applicant's job position in Hong Kong is a project manager, and he has a master degree graduating in 2021. The most feasible way to immigrate to Canada is stream AB or skilled immigration?

The simpler method is that the applicant can choose to apply for a three-year work permit immediately, then work in Canada for a year, and then go through Stream B immigration.

If you want to apply for skilled immigration to Canada, you need to score points. Applicants can first try the online scoring tool provided by the Canadian Immigration Service to roughly calculate their own scores. It is easier to immigrate with a score of 460 or above. But this score is not so easy for everyone to achieve. If you really don't have enough points and you need to add points, you must first find a job in Canada for the 0/A/B category on the occupation list, then improve your IELTS score, and then immigrate with CEC, which is indeed more troublesome than stream B.

Q8. The other half took OWP, and I took SOWP myself. After I went to Canada, my relationship changed and I have now separated. Is my SOWP status still valid? How can I stay in Canada?

SOWP is a work permit that is valid for three years, and your status is still legal until the validity period expires.

You can currently plan a stream A or stream B route, work and save money first, start a two-year post-secondary program in Canada by 2025 at the latest, and use yourself as the main applicant before the stream A application deadline (currently August 2026). Apply for immigration.

Contact Lighthouse Global Canada Immigration for a free immigration consultation!

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