Moving to Canada from Vietnam: Study, Work and Express Entry Routes

Many Vietnamese newcomers start as students or temporary workers and apply for permanent residence after gaining Canadian experience. Graduates with strong English and skilled work experience can also apply to Express Entry directly from Vietnam.

Vietnam is not an International Experience Canada (IEC) partner. Canada and Vietnam are both members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which gives some business people easier temporary entry, for example certain intra-company transferees.

Vietnam is on IRCC's list of visa-required countries (entry requirements page updated July 31, 2026). You need a visitor visa, officially a temporary resident visa (TRV), to travel to Canada, and you can't use an eTA instead. The visa costs CAD $100 plus CAD $85 for biometrics, as of September 2026.

If IRCC approves a study permit or work permit for you, it issues the visa at the same time, so you don't file a separate visa application.

Where to give biometrics. Most applicants aged 14 to 79 give fingerprints and a photo at a visa application center (VAC). IRCC lists VACs in Vietnam in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. If you live in another country, you can use any VAC. See our biometrics guide.

Processing times depend on the country you apply from and change every week. Check the processing times tool before you plan a move date.

Express Entry suits Vietnamese graduates in engineering, IT, finance, and health care who have strong English results. Many candidates raise their CRS score by studying and working in Canada first and then applying through the Canadian Experience Class.

Express Entry covers three programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and the Federal Skilled Trades Program. From abroad, most people use FSW: at least 1 year of continuous skilled work (TEER 0 to 3) in the last 10 years, CLB 7 in English or French, an educational credential assessment for foreign degrees, 67 points on the FSW grid, and settlement funds (CAD $15,263 for one person in IRCC's current proof of funds table). Candidates are ranked by the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and job offers stopped adding CRS points on March 25, 2025. Check your score with the CRS calculator.

2026 categories and how they fit:

Between July and mid-September 2026, French draws invited 5,000 candidates each with cutoffs of 382 to 420, a health care draw cut off at 475, and CEC draws at 516 to 523. There were no STEM, education, or trades draws in that period. See 2026 Express Entry categories and the draw tracker.

A provincial nomination adds 600 CRS points; see Express Entry vs PNP.

Most provinces now nominate people who already live, work, or studied there:

• Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba favor workers with a job or connection in the province.
• Ontario's only open stream in 2026, the Ontario Workforce Priority Stream, needs a job offer.
• British Columbia now focuses on health care, child care, education, and construction workers.
• Atlantic Canada and smaller towns: the Atlantic Immigration Program and the Rural Community Immigration Pilot work through designated employers.

Quebec runs its own programs and requires French.

Vietnam has been one of the larger sources of international students in Canada. With the fast-track stream gone and the 2026 cap in place, choose a public college or university, confirm the program leads to a PGWP, and show strong, well-documented finances.

Study permits in 2026. Canada caps new study permit applications: in 2026 IRCC accepts about 309,670 applications that need a provincial or territorial attestation letter (PAL/TAL). Most college and bachelor's students need one; master's and doctoral students at public institutions don't. You must show tuition plus living funds (CAD $23,448 for one person outside Quebec, for applications from September 1, 2026). See the study permit page and the 2026 cap. The fast-track Student Direct Stream that many applicants from this country used ended on November 8, 2024, so everyone now applies through the regular process.

After graduating, a post-graduation work permit (PGWP) needs CLB 7 for university graduates or CLB 5 for college graduates, and non-degree programs must be in an eligible field. Canadian study and work can add CRS points and lead to the Canadian Experience Class.

Work permits. Most foreign workers need a job offer and a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) from the employer; see LMIA work permits. Low-wage LMIAs are refused in 26 of 41 metro areas for July 10 to October 8, 2026 (details). Tech employers can use the Global Talent Stream, and multinationals can use an intra-company transfer. Use only licensed recruiters and never pay for a job offer; see our scam protection guide.

Working holiday: Vietnam is not an International Experience Canada (IEC) partner country, so Vietnamese citizens can't get an IEC working holiday permit.

If your spouse or partner is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, they can sponsor you through spousal sponsorship, which is open in 2026 and usually has no minimum income rule. Parents can also sponsor dependent children. The Parents and Grandparents Program stopped taking new interest to sponsor forms on July 15, 2026, but the Super Visa still lets parents and grandparents visit for long periods.

Language tests. IRCC accepts five tests for permanent residence: IELTS General Training, CELPIP-General, and PTE Core for English, and TEF Canada and TCF Canada for French. IELTS Academic and PTE Academic don't count for Express Entry. Results are valid for 2 years. In Vietnam, IELTS General Training and PTE Core are available in major cities. CELPIP-General is offered in only a few countries outside Canada, so check celpip.ca. TEF Canada and TCF Canada are offered at approved French-language centers. Convert your scores with the CLB converter and read the language tests guide.

Credential assessment. If you studied outside Canada, you need an educational credential assessment (ECA) from an IRCC-designated organization, such as World Education Services (WES), for FSW eligibility and CRS points. Doctors use the Medical Council of Canada and pharmacists use the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada. An ECA is valid for 5 years.

Police certificate. IRCC asks for a police certificate from each country where you spent 6 months or more in a row since age 18, usually after you apply for permanent residence. Vietnam's police certificate for IRCC is the Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 (Phieu Ly Lich Tu Phap So 2). In Vietnam, apply in person or by mail to the local Department of Justice, or through your province's online public service portal. If you live abroad, apply in person or by mail to the National Center for Judicial Records in Hanoi. Full details: IRCC's police certificate instructions for Vietnam. See our police certificates guide.

You will also need an immigration medical exam with an IRCC panel physician when IRCC asks for it.

Vietnamese Canadians live mainly in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, Montreal in Quebec, Metro Vancouver in British Columbia, and Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta. Many families first came as refugees in the late 1970s and 1980s, and today's community also includes many students and skilled workers. Vietnamese-language businesses, temples, churches, and community associations are well established in these cities.