Canada does not issue a “green card,” but it has a direct equivalent: permanent resident (PR) status, evidenced by a PR card. The Canadian green card, in other words, is PR status, and getting it means qualifying under one of a handful of immigration programs, proving you can support yourself, and clearing security and medical checks. Government fees alone start at $1,525 CAD for a single adult, and the full process usually costs well above $2,000 once you add tests, assessments, and exams.
Which Program You Apply Through
Your route to PR status depends on your work history, family ties, and where in Canada you want to settle. Three pathways handle most applicants.
Express Entry
Express Entry is the federal government’s main system for skilled-worker immigration. It manages three programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.1Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Express Entry You build an online profile, get scored on age, education, language ability, and work experience, and wait for an invitation to apply. The highest-scoring candidates are invited in regular draws.
The Federal Skilled Worker Program is for people with professional experience and at least a secondary education, with higher degrees earning more points. The Canadian Experience Class is for people who already have at least one year of skilled work experience in Canada in the last three years.2Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Express Entry – Who Can Apply The Federal Skilled Trades Program covers tradespeople such as electricians, welders, and heavy equipment operators who have at least two years of full-time experience and either a valid Canadian job offer or a certificate of qualification from a provincial or territorial authority.3Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Express Entry – Federal Skilled Trades Program
Provincial Nominee Programs
Each province and territory runs its own nominee program to fill local labor shortages. The province picks candidates who match its criteria, and a nomination either boosts your Express Entry score significantly or lets you apply through a separate provincial stream. Ottawa still handles security and medical screening, but the province controls who gets nominated. A job offer or existing ties to a particular region strengthens an application here.
Family Sponsorship
A Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is your spouse, common-law partner, parent, or child may be able to sponsor you. The sponsor signs a legal undertaking to support you financially for a set period: three years for a spouse or partner, up to ten years for a dependent child (or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first), and twenty years for a parent or grandparent.4Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. How Long Am I Financially Responsible for the Family Member or Relative I Sponsor The point of the undertaking is to ensure sponsored family members do not need government social assistance during that window.5Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Sponsor Your Spouse, Common-Law Partner, Conjugal Partner or Dependent Child – Complete Guide IMM 5289
Money You Have to Show
Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades applicants must prove they can support themselves and their family on arrival. You are exempt if you already have a valid Canadian job offer or you are applying through the Canadian Experience Class. Everyone else must show settlement funds. The 2025 minimums:
- 1 family member: $15,263 CAD
- 2 family members: $19,001 CAD
- 3 family members: $23,360 CAD
- 4 family members: $28,362 CAD
- 5 family members: $32,168 CAD
- 6 family members: $36,280 CAD
- 7 family members: $40,392 CAD
- Each additional member: add $4,112 CAD
These figures are updated annually, so verify them before submitting. Your family size includes your spouse or common-law partner and all dependent children, even any who aren’t moving with you. The money has to be liquid: bank accounts or holdings you can actually withdraw. Home equity does not count, and neither does borrowed money. Your bank must issue an official letter on its letterhead showing account numbers, current balances, and average balances over the past six months.6Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Documents for Express Entry – Proof of Funds
Documents You’ll Gather
Educational Credential Assessment
A degree earned outside Canada needs an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) to show it matches Canadian standards. Designated organizations such as World Education Services handle these reports. WES charges $264 CAD for an immigration ECA.7World Education Services. Credential Evaluations and Fees Other designated providers charge similar amounts. Start early, because pulling transcripts from foreign universities and finishing the assessment can take several weeks.
Language Testing
You must prove English or French ability with an approved standardized test. For English the accepted options are IELTS and CELPIP. Results must be less than two years old both when you create your Express Entry profile and when you submit your PR application. Expired results get an application refused outright.8Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Express Entry – Language Test Results
Police Certificates
Get a police clearance certificate from every country where you lived for six consecutive months or more since turning 18.9Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. When to Get a Police Certificate These prove you don’t have a criminal record that would make you inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.10Justice Laws Website. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act Some countries take months to issue them, so request early. Where a country stamps its certificate with an expiry date, it is still accepted as long as it was issued after the last time you lived there for six months or more.
Work History and Personal Timeline
Reference letters from every relevant employer must describe your job duties, employment dates, hours worked, and salary, on official company letterhead. You also have to document every address and every job over the past ten years, with no gaps. Mismatches between forms and supporting documents, or unexplained gaps, can be flagged as misrepresentation, which carries a five-year ban from Canada.11Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Consequences of Immigration and Citizenship Fraud
Translation
Everything must be submitted in English or French. Documents in another language need a professional translation, an affidavit from the translator, and a certified copy of the original.12Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. What Language Should My Supporting Documents Be In You can’t translate your own documents, and machine translations aren’t accepted. Budget for both the cost and the turnaround, especially with documents from multiple countries.
What It Costs
Government fees for a single adult through Express Entry or a Provincial Nominee Program total $1,525 CAD: a $950 processing fee plus a $575 right of permanent residence fee.13Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Application Fees – Fee List These were last increased in April 2024, so verify the schedule before paying.14Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Application Fees – Fee Changes A spouse or partner adds another $1,525. Each dependent child costs $260.
Biometrics (fingerprints and photo) are $85 CAD per person, capped at $170 for families applying together.15Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Biometrics Add language tests (roughly $300 to $400), the credential assessment (about $264 from WES), a medical exam (variable by country), and police certificates. A realistic all-in budget for a single adult sits well above $2,000 CAD before translation or legal help.
After You Submit
You upload documents and pay fees through the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) online portal and receive an acknowledgment of receipt in your account.
IRCC then instructs you to complete biometrics at a designated collection point and to have a medical examination by an IRCC-approved panel physician, which screens for conditions that could pose a public health risk. Background and security checks run during this window. Processing times vary by program and change often, so use IRCC’s processing time tool rather than relying on estimates.16Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Check Current IRCC Processing Times Published timelines are estimates, not guarantees.
What PR Status Gets You
Permanent residents have most of the rights citizens have. You can live, work, and study anywhere in Canada. You qualify for provincial healthcare once you meet your province’s residency requirement, and you are protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The limits are narrow but real. You cannot vote in federal elections or run as a candidate.17Elections Canada. What Is Permitted Under the Canada Elections Act You are also ineligible for jobs requiring high-level security clearances. Those restrictions lift when you naturalize.
Keeping the Status
Holding onto PR status requires being physically in Canada at least 730 days out of every five-year period. The days do not need to be consecutive.18Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. How Long Must I Stay in Canada to Keep My Permanent Resident Status Falling short can trigger a hearing and loss of status. A serious crime in Canada or abroad can also start removal proceedings under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.10Justice Laws Website. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act One notable exception: days spent abroad physically accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse or common-law partner count toward the 730 days.19Justice Laws Website. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act SC 2001 c 27 – Section 28
Moving On to Citizenship
PR status is the stepping stone to Canadian citizenship. You become eligible to apply once you have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days (three years) in the five years before your application. Of those five years, at least 730 days must have been as a permanent resident.20Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Canadian Citizenship for Adults and Minor Children – Who Can Apply Time in Canada before PR counts at half value, up to a maximum of 365 days. IRCC has a free physical presence calculator to check whether you have hit the threshold.21Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Physical Presence Calculator
If You’re Refused
Refusal isn’t necessarily the end. You can request IRCC’s reasons (typically returned in six to eight weeks), reapply if you can fix the underlying issue, or seek judicial review in Federal Court. Judicial review deadlines are short: 15 days if the decision arose while you were in Canada, 60 days if you were outside the country.22Federal Court of Canada. Application for Leave and for Judicial Review Immigration Those deadlines include weekends and holidays, starting the day after you receive the decision. The court does not re-decide your application on the merits. It only checks whether IRCC followed proper procedures and reached a reasonable conclusion. If the decision was flawed, the case goes back to IRCC for a fresh assessment by a different officer.