Its never too late for a new beginning in life. However, for some people and at certain stages in life, the new beginnings are more viable and make more sense. When we talk about Immigrating to Canada as a skilled worker, age is a huge factor. For many people age is a major detriment, despite having extraordinary work experience and educational accolades.
Why does Canada need immigrants?
Canada is a country with vast landscape but a tiny population. By land area, Canada is second largest country in the world, with an area almost 3 times that of India. The population of Canada, however, is just near 3% of India. To maintain a workforce and sustain the first world status, Canada needs skilled immigrants. If immigration were to stop, the population of Canada could see negative growth in the years to come. While the country needs immigrants desperately, they also need to put priority on factors that will help achieving long term Economic growth. One such factor is age. Canada needs people who will contribute to the Economy for decades. Needless to say, they need young professionals as the biggest chunk of their economic immigration target.
How big a factor is age?
Canadian online immigration pool, Express Entry ranks candidates based on their CRS score. The maximum CRS allocation for age is 100 points (married candidates) or 110 points (single/divorced candidates). The peak score is achieved at ages 20 to 29. Once you touch 30 years, you start losing points every birthday. For a married candidate, the 100 points at age 29 goes down to 50 points at age 39 and 0 points at the age of 45. Hence, your age has a big impact on your chances of immigration.
Your educational credentials as a factor
Your educational qualification is another factor that has tremendous effect on your CRS score. If you are just a graduate (excluding BDS, MBBS, etc.), your chance of direct Express Entry invitation is significantly low. You might have to consider another route for immigration. By no means is this a final nail in the coffin, but yes it does deter the chances of Federal invitation significantly.
Other major factors
- Your language skills play a vital role in your immigration options. If you are a 28-year old MBA with 3 years qualifying work experience, your chances look very bright. However, if you cannot get good score in English language test (IELTS/CELPIP), you will fall short by probably a mile. Low English scores hurt not just in language proficiency points, but also in skills transferability factors.
- Having a sibling in Canada helps in the Express Entry. It awards additional 15 CRS points.
- If you are married, your spouse can contribute points as well. They can take language test and have their educational credential evaluated for Canadian equivalency – these 2 factors can add a maximum of 30 CRS points.
What does an ideal candidate’s profile look like in Express Entry?
An ideal candidate would be a 29-year old or younger, with a Masters’ Degree or a Professional Degree such as BDS, having 3 years of qualifying work experience, and with advanced English language skills. If married, their spouse would also have at least a graduate degree, and possess intermediate to advanced English language skills. Skilled Worker stream in Canada is the best suited option for these ideal candidates.
Importance of working with an authorized representative only
Under Canadian Law, only a Lawyer or the members of ICCRC are considered authorized representatives. Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants, or RCIC, are trained and continuously up-skilled to provide these services. They are also bound by the code of ethics and other by-laws regulating their practice. Working with an unauthorized agent exposes a candidate to fraud and leaves them vulnerable. Thousands of people sacrifice their dreams of immigration despite being eligible, because of incompetent unauthorized agents. Protect your dream by working with an RCIC only!