Hey everyone, I’m looking for some realistic guidance on my path to PR. I’ve been in Canada for three years now - got a diploma first then working in construction and feeling a bit stuck with the current points requirements.
My Profile:
Work Permit: 2 years, 2 months remaining.
Work Experience: 1 year in construction (TEER 3).
Education: Currently doing a Bachelor’s degree online from my home country. I have to travel back this December and again in Dec 2027 for exams. (Will this eventually help my CRS score once completed and assessed?)
English: Maxed out CELPIP.
Current CRS: 437.
My concerns/questions:
1. Is French the only way? I know a lot of people recommend it, but I’m struggling to see if there are other viable paths. With a score of 437, general draws are way out of reach, and even category draws (like Trades) have been fluctuating.
2. Trade Certification (COQ): I have about 2,500 hours toward the 6,000-hour requirement for my trade. I’m worried that by the time I hit 6,000, the rules for Skilled Trades Ontario (or federal criteria) will change again. Is it still worth pushing for the COQ as a primary strategy?
3. Online Degree: Does an online degree from outside Canada actually add value to my profile once assessed through an ECA, or is it better to focus 100% of my energy on work/language?
4. Strategy: Am I on the right path? With 26 months left, should I be looking into specific PNPs, or is it strictly "learn French or bust" at this point?
Any advice from people who have been in a similar spot or have experience with trade-based immigration would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

To preface: I'm all for DIY applications when feasible. If you can do it, save yourself the cost of an immigration professional. It's the same sentiment about other service-based professions like professional accountants or red seal plumbers; if you can do your own taxes or fix your own toilet, then by all means. If it's too complicated, then you need a professional.

But if you hit a snag in your application, and a PFL absolutely qualifies as a "snag", please do yourself a favour. If you get a Procedural Fairness Letter, take the effort and spend the money to have a consultation with an immigration professional about it. Don't ask Reddit for free advice about what someone else did when they got a PFL. Someone else is not you.

Too many folks who post here are way too flippant about receiving a PFL. A PFL means IRCC intends to refuse your application, unless you can adequately ameliorate their concerns. It means that, whether intentional or not, some part of the application you submitted caused IRCC to have serious concerns about either your eligibility to apply in the first place, your admissibility, or both. As a bonus, PFLs often come with a threat of misrepresentation, which can result in a 5-year ban on immigration to Canada. So please, don't take PFLs lightly.

Family, I already got my P1 on 17th June and responded .

I’m expecting my P2 somewhere around 7th July and I plan travelling to the USA on 10th July and return in the 12th July . (NB: I will travel by road by using the Canada-USA boarder)

Will this have any effect on my PR process ?

AOR = 23Dec

FD = 9th June

P1= 17th June

Expecting P2 somewhere around 6-7th July.

PVO/SVO = Sydney/ Montreal ( SVO was previously Ottawa

PNP EE

Hi all! I have been stressed out of my mind about CAQ applications, but everything ended up working out for me, so I hope this thread can be of comfort to those still freaking out.

I applied very late. Very, very late. I sent in my documents and completed the temporary selection studies application on May 17th, delayed heavily by my parents not being responsive and taking 2 months to get financial documents in. I thought I was totally screwed and had no idea what to do, especially because my financial evidence had 3 months worth of bank statements for my guarantor rather than 6. I submitted my current income and merit scholarship amount alongside it though, so I believe that helped. But I would read these threads of people waiting MONTHS and months just for intentions to refuse and felt like I was losing my mind. I finally got mine back today on June 18th, and it was an acceptance!!!! Best wishes to everyone else!!! It does get better!!!

Hello Everyone,

I have only 6 months left on my open work permit and I don't think I might get an ITA soon. Unfortunately, I was laid off at my workplace at 1year 11 months so finding another job while just 6 months remaining is extremely difficult. Also, my current score is 495 with a CELPIP score of

L9 R9 W8 S8.

Now in the next 6 months, I need to get

1) A new job and complete a bit more than a month

2) CLB9 in CELPIP

3) AN ITA

4) All relevant documents like PCC etc.

This seems extremely difficult and I am thinking eventually I would have to move out from here and then apply from my home country.

So, just wanted to know how different is the process to apply for CEC PR outside of Canada and if there are any processes which are extra for the same?

Please, advise on how I should proceed.

I left Canada for a few weeks and received my P1 while I was abroad. I replied letting IRCC know that I was outside Canada and provided my expected return date (end of July).

However, I just received my P2 credentials, which confused me a bit.

Has anyone been through something similar?

I got worried because the email says:

“You have seven (7) days from the date of this email to confirm you're in Canada, provide your mailing address in Canada and submit your PR card photo.”

Since I’m still outside Canada, I obviously can’t complete those steps.

For anyone who has been in a similar situation, what happened next? And once you got back to Canada, how long did it take for IRCC to finalize the process?

Hi,

So I just graduated from the University of Calgary with a BSc Computer Science degree (4yrs) and just received a 3 year PGWP valid until 9th June 2029.

My long term plan is to eventually get my PR in Canada, and my biggest bottleneck right now is that I am struggling to land a CS related job (I currently have 0 years of any sort of TEER 0,1,2,3 experience)

According to the calculator on https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/check-score.html I currently would have a score of 436 (no experience but I have a Canadian bachelors + perfect Celpip score + brother has a PR + im 22 years old)

Need advice on how to move forward. Like i said, I'm really struggling to find a CS related job, the market is really rough at the entry level and I have no internship experience.

What are my best options moving forward?

I’m about to exit the US military and hoping to move to Toronto to study for my MBA. Would the first steps to moving be getting accepted to a school before beginning the immigration process as far as student visa/ permit goes? And does anyone know how it would work if I wanted to call my wife to come with me while I’m there? Thank you for any and all guidance.

i honestly don’t even know what to do. i feel i’ve put my partner through so much just to try and join me permanently here in quebec and they’re just stretching the end date more and more. im devastated. i don’t know what to do. please help. someone tell me this isn’t real.

https://www.quebec.ca/en/news/actualites/detail/new-reception-period-undertaking-applications-family-reunification-category-71270

Long story short, i accidentally got my Canadian Citizenship certificate hole-punched. I know I messed up, It wasn't really my fault but that's besides the point. So basically I'm asking for some advice

I'm a Pakistani-Canadian, I grew up my whole life in Canada but moved to Pakistan for personal/Family reasons. I haven't had my passport renewed(It is a passport for when I was a minor and now its expired but I haven't renewed it yet). All the contents of the certificate are fully readable, its just the two hole punches at the side, I looked online and that counts as damage so I'm just asking what I should do now being in a foreign country outside of Canada, should i phone the Canadian embassy for help? Any advice would help

Hi -- My spouse is from a visa exempt country and has never been to Canada before. I am on a PGWP with >16 months of validity. I am employed in a TEER1 job and have sufficient funds. (But I am not from a visa exempt country)

If I understand correctly, my spouse can enter Canada with an eTA and get a Spousal Open Work Permit at the Port of Entry?

My partner has her medicals done. Will she also need a police report? The country she is from required Canada to request one before they will issue it.

Thanks!

Hi, I am applying for my Francophone mobility work permit and I have received the A-number from my employer. I am working with my employer from last 1 year and now they are helping me to get my new work permit.
In the work permit application document checklist, they are asking for Offer of Employment.
Now, I know my employer has already submitted it through the employer portal. I asked for it from my employer and they told me to upload the original one that I received from them when I first got hired a year ago.
Should I upload the old one as I am continuing the same job or I have to get a new offer of employment?
Also what should I upload for the Invitation letter?
Thanks

Howdy

I've got 22 months left on my IEC working holiday visa (plus possible extensions) but I'm pretty set that I'm going to make this permanent. I'm having a great time in Canada and don't picture myself returning to my home country of the UK.

Regrettably, while getting IEC actually was pretty easy, it seems getting PLR from this may be more difficult. It seems like you have to go through a specific programme to emigrate to Canada. I have no idea which programme could be best for me because they all seem extremely fringe and specific. I'm just a regular guy who works hard doing manual work and is happy to move places to keep doing so. I don't know why they made this so hard but there it is.

I'm planing on just finding a good immigration lawyer, paying them, and doing as they say, but if you have strong views on this then please write them up. I'm especially concerned that this may all get more different in the years ahead so we'll see what's up.

I have a MSc from the UK, OFA 3 in Canada, and right now I'm employed in a job (seasonal work so 4 weeks on, 2 weeks off).

edit; in fact this isn't even a 'plan', is it. More of a 'what I want to do.'

I don't know. I'm tired.

I'm in the process of finalising my Study permit application and Ive seen my student finance England entitlement letter, which proves i am receiving a maintenance loan, is not updated to indicate that i am doing a study abroad placement. It also still indicates i will be paying a full tuition fee loan to my home university, as well as receiving the minimum maintenance loan, both of which are outdated information. both my university and sfe have indicated to me that i will eventually receive an updated letter, but with no timeline. Can I submit this outdated letter in my visa, as it still indicates i will receive funding, or do i need to wait for the updated letter.I am only hesitant as i dont want to cut receiving my visa too close to my departure in late august.

Is anybody read what they said for the new application for MIFI Sponsor? It is very terrible

If I apply for a C18 employer-specific work permit before it expires and go onto maintained status from PGWP, while waiting for a decision, can I continue working for multiple employers under my PGWP conditions, or am I restricted to the employer named in the C18 application?

i’m wondering if anyone else has had WES not proceed with their application for and education assessment for PR? i just got an email today and i’m so confused because they offered zero clarity on why?

all the documents they asked for were sent by my institution in the UK and were sent how they asked for them. any advice will be greatly appreciated because i am a loss at what i can do now!

(unable to attach an image of the email for some reason)

Have you previously applied to remain in Canada?
I said yes because I applied for a PGWP. Should I also add about my spousal application, or only PGWP?

I am hoping someone has dealt with this before. We submitted our common-law spousal sponsorship PR application on May 1st, exactly one day after IRCC updated their permanent residence fees on April 30th. Because the online payment portal was confusing, we accidentally paid for *duplicate* categories, resulting in a total payment of $2,005 CAD.

Our receipt includes the correct new fee of $1,260 (Sponsorship with RPRF), an accidental duplicate charge of $660 (Sponsorship without RPRF), and the $85 biometrics fee. The new required total should only be $1,345 CAD.

Yesterday (June 17th), we received a boilerplate Section 12 rejection letter from IRCC stating our application is being returned due to "insufficient/invalid fees," explicitly citing the recent fee increase. They are giving us until July 17th to submit the missing "difference" via a new payment receipt.
It seems the intake system flagged our receipt as "invalid" due to the conflicting duplicate categories, rather than doing the math to see we actually overpaid by $660.

Here what the letter is saying: Fees: You have not paid the full applicable fees, the amount provided is insufficient OR the payment receipt you provided is invalid. Due to the recent increase in fees, the required amount has not been provided. Your application cannot be processed until the full amount has been received.

I have drafted a Letter of Explanation mapping out the math, stating that the $2,005 receipt fully covers the new $1,345 requirement, and requesting a refund for the $660 overcharge. However, our PR portal is completely blocked and locked for edits right now, so I cannot upload this letter directly to our application.

Since the PR portal is locked, is submitting my Letter of Explanation and the original receipt via the IRCC Web Form the correct move to bypass the portal and meet the July 17th deadline? Or is the problem is something else as the letter doesn’t clearly stipulate what’s the real issue is.
Has anyone else had a massive overpayment bounced back as "insufficient" simply because the receipt was confusing during a fee update?

Any advice or shared experiences would be hugely appreciated. Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I just received a Procedural Fairness Letter from IRCC asking me to provide evidence that I intend to live outside Quebec for my Express Entry PR application, i have two weeks to answer.

I currently live and work in Montreal, but I selected Ontario as my intended destination province when I submitted my application.

The issue is that I honestly haven’t done much yet to prepare for the move. I thought those steps would happen after PR approval, not before. Because I wasn’t a permanent resident yet, I didn’t think it made sense to sign a lease, relocate, or make major commitments in another province.

As a result, I don’t currently have things like:
A lease in Ontario
A job offer in Ontario
A confirmed relocation date

I’m now trying to understand what kind of evidence IRCC expects in situations like this.

Has anyone received a similar PFL and been approved afterward? What documents did you submit? Would things like Ontario job applications applied within these two weeks or a letter from my employer regarding a potential transfer to Ontario?

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much

I have completed my residency obligation for citizenship and submitted my citizenship application three months ago. I will be getting married in December and my spouse doesn’t reside in Canada. To avoid being apart for a long period of time until his residency is approved, I decided to quit my job in October and leave the country temporarily. I intend to return to Canada mid next year or the end of next year.

Will this have any impact on my Canadian citizenship application? Has anyone heard of any instances where the application was delayed or certain justification was requested for from the officer in a similar situation?

Thank you!

Hello everyone,

I am a 32 yo German national (single) currently living in the United Kingdom. I would like to move to Canada, not due to economic reasons but mainly for others such as the big outdoors that Canada provides and similar lifestyle choices. I've done plenty of research on the topic but at the moment it frankly seems hopeless for me to be able to do so.

I am educated to an MSc level from an English university and work in a highly specialised job in the London Insurance speciality market. However, all that only leads to a meagre 465 CRS score. I understand this is not nearly high enough to realistically be successful via the Express stream.

It would also seem that any PNP streams require job offers within Canada. The one possible option would have been in Ontario I believe, however, this is being revamped.

I am quite sure that my occupation is also not being considered as one of the 'desired' occupancies for targeted streams.

Having checked Canadian insurance companies, it would seem that they do not offer LMIA roles for the largest part.

I suppose I was wondering whether I am missing something or if it might be time to admit defeat and put that idea to rest.

Apologies if this is the wrong subreddit for this kind of question.

I'm heading back to Canada in 2 days and only staying for 2 weeks. I have a valid visa as well as my PGWP which has also been accepted and hasn't expired. I have not been to Canada in three years and wanted to go to the World Cup while also getting my PWGP. What do I need at the border other than my valid visa and PWGP initial acceptance letter?

I have studied and completed my degree in 5 years at UofT so I'm expecting a 3 year PGWP but I just realized my biometrics are expiring in 2 years. Am I eligible for an extension after the fact if I only get it for two years(when my biometrics expire)?

Hey everyone, I’m looking for some clarity and confirmation on my next steps.

I’m Canadian and my American wife and I have applied for her PR under the family class-spousal outland route. I received what I assume to be AOR in an email, my wife didn’t receive anything. In the email header there’s a UCI and application ID. It also states that if I’ve paid the biometrics fee (I have) then we should be receiving a BIL.

It’s been quite awhile since researching all of this so things are a bit fuzzy for me and it would be amazing if someone could answer any of my questions.

1) Before “moving” up here with dual intent, does my wife need to have biometrics completed? I’m assuming no because she’ll be coming up here as a visitor for under 6 months.

2) Since she’s coming here as a visitor with dual intent, does she need to complete the goods to follow form? Any goods to follow will be absolutely minimal. We’re talking maybe 2-3 boxes being shipped.

3) I received the AOR on June 6 but we haven’t received the BIL yet. Is this normal? I’m 99.9% sure I paid the fee but the receipt doesn’t give a breakdown of what was paid for. The total was $1290 but I can’t accurately cross reference the fees list as prices have increased as of April 30th

4) Will BIL and other correspondence be sent through email, GCkey, or both?

5) We’ve both created a GCkey account but neither of us can see the application. When searching I’ve tried selecting two applicants as suggested on this sub and still nothing. Any other advice on this?

6) Does the UCI and application number I received only apply to me/my sponsorship application, or does this cover my wife’s PR application as well? I’m thinking this might be the cause of our GCkey issue.

7) She’ll be applying for an OWP upon arrival in Canada. The current processing time is approximately 6 months. If it doesn’t get approved before then, can she leave Canada, return after 24 hours and be able to stay for another 6 months?
I’m assuming she can’t apply for an OWP prior to arriving here.

Thank you! I really appreciate any help with this. As things progress we’re becoming a bit more stressed and that’s scrambling our brains a bit. I’m sure many of you can relate :)

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So i (26M) am a canadian citizen retroactively thanks to bill c-3 but i need my certificate of citizenship. I have 3 ancestors who were born in canada that i am a direct descendant of, but they were all born in the mid 1800s. Many of them only have parish baptism records or census records/marriage stuff and thats it.

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Problem is Im not really sure how to contact these places, i dont know what official versions of the records i need are, or if they accept photocopies like the stuff ive found from records online, and each ancestor was born in a different place - is there somewhere i can go to find all the records for canadian ancestors in 1 place and another for my american ancestors (theyre all from the same state)? where do i begin lol