How Canadian Immigration Works: A Plain-English Guide for 2026

• Temporary residents include visitors, international students, and foreign workers. Each holds a document with an end date: an eTA or visitor visa, a study permit, or a work permit.
• Permanent residents (PR) can live and work anywhere in Canada indefinitely, as long as they spend 730 days in Canada in every 5 years. After 1,095 days in Canada they can usually apply for citizenship.

Unlike the US, Canada has no "dual intent" problem for most people: you can hold a temporary permit and plan to apply for PR later, as long as you will leave if your temporary status ends. Read temporary vs permanent residency.

• Express Entry: the online system for three federal skilled worker programs. See Express Entry.
• CRS: the Comprehensive Ranking System, a score out of 1,200 used to rank Express Entry candidates. See CRS explained.
• ITA: an invitation to apply for PR, sent after an Express Entry draw.
• NOC and TEER: Canada's job classification and its skill levels, from TEER 0 (managers) to TEER 5.
• CLB and NCLC: Canadian Language Benchmarks for English and French. Convert test scores with the CLB converter.
• ECA: an educational credential assessment for foreign degrees. See ECA.
• LMIA: an employer's proof that it needs a foreign worker. See LMIA work permits.
• PAL/TAL: a provincial or territorial attestation letter most students need under the study cap.
• COPR: Confirmation of Permanent Residence, the document you use to land as a PR.
• Maintained status: your right to stay under your old conditions while an extension is pending. See maintained status.

Canada selects most economic immigrants by ranking them:

1. Express Entry. You create a profile, receive a CRS score for age, education, language, and work experience, and IRCC invites the top-ranked candidates in regular draws, some targeted at categories such as healthcare or French speakers.
2. Provincial Nominee Programs. Provinces pick candidates for local needs. A nomination through Express Entry adds 600 CRS points. See the PNP.
3. Employer and community programs such as the Atlantic Immigration Program and the rural and francophone pilots.
4. Quebec runs its own selection through Arrima; see Quebec.

Family sponsorship and refugee protection follow separate rules. See family and humanitarian.

A common path for a skilled worker abroad:

1. Take an approved language test and get an ECA for your degree.
2. Check eligibility with the FSW 67-point tool and your score with the CRS calculator.
3. Create an Express Entry profile and apply to provinces that fit your job.
4. After an ITA, submit a complete PR application with police certificates, a medical exam, and biometrics.
5. Receive your COPR and land in Canada.

A common path for someone who cannot qualify from abroad: come as a student or worker, gain 1 year of skilled Canadian work, then apply through the Canadian Experience Class or a provincial stream.

• Apply to extend before your status ends. If you do, you keep maintained status while IRCC decides. See extending your status.
• If your status expires, you may be able to apply for restoration within 90 days, but you cannot work or study until it is restored.
• Never misrepresent. False or missing information can lead to a 5-year ban from Canada.
• Criminal records matter, including impaired driving. See inadmissibility.
• Keep permanent residence by meeting the residency obligation.

Canada is reducing temporary resident numbers in 2026, has capped study permits, refuses low-wage LMIAs in most big cities, paused the Parents and Grandparents Program, closed the Start-Up Visa, and rebuilt several provincial programs. It also added new Express Entry categories and one-time PR routes. Check the Canada Status Now page before you apply, and see how to verify a lawyer or consultant if you want help.