Work Permits and Permanent Residence

Sean is a real estate agent, not an immigration consultant, lawyer or regulated adviser. This page is general information from official sources, not legal or immigration advice, and rules change often. Check every detail with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and WelcomeBC before you act. This independent guide from a local real estate agent is not affiliated with either. It covers work permits, Express Entry, the BC Provincial Nominee Program and other routes, so you can ask better questions of the people who can actually advise you.

Work permits

How do I get a Canadian work permit?

Most people need a job offer first, because the most common permit is tied to one employer. With an employer-specific permit, the employer usually has to check whether the job needs a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or is exempt, and give you the paperwork you need to apply.

An open work permit, which lets you work for almost any employer, is only for certain situations, such as some spouses of workers or students and International Experience Canada working holiday participants. Your situation decides which type applies. Start with IRCC's employer-specific permit page, which links to a short tool that shows which permit fits you.

Can I work while waiting for a work permit?

It depends. If you already have a work permit and applied to extend it before it expired, you may be able to keep working under the same conditions while IRCC decides. That is called maintained status.

If you have an employer-specific permit, you generally have to stay with the same employer, job and location. It does not apply if you are applying for your first permit from outside Canada, and some applicants, such as those applying for a study permit or a temporary resident permit, are treated differently. Read IRCC's maintained status page before relying on it.

How long can a work permit last in Canada?

There is no one standard length. The permit lasts until the expiry date printed on it, and that date depends on the type of permit and your situation. IRCC says a permit cannot go past the date your passport or travel document expires, so a passport that runs out soon can shorten it.

For International Experience Canada, IRCC may issue a permit only as long as your health insurance coverage, and it cannot be extended later. Always read the dates and conditions on your own permit, and check IRCC's Help Centre explanation before planning around a date. Nobody can promise an extension.

Can British citizens get a working holiday visa?

British citizens can apply for a working holiday through International Experience Canada (IEC), but IRCC says the pools for the 2026 season are closed. The U.K. has three IEC categories: Working Holiday, Young Professionals and International Co-op (Internship). You submit a profile to a pool, IRCC invites people in rounds, and an invitation gives you 10 days to accept and 20 days to apply for the work permit.

IRCC does not mention a fee to submit a profile, though the permit itself has fees. Age limits and permit length vary by country and category, so read IRCC's eligibility by country page. Submitting a profile does not guarantee an invitation.

Express Entry

Check the official pages for current rules before relying on any of this.

Can I move to Canada without a job offer?

Sometimes. A job offer is not required for every program, but some routes depend on one. Under Express Entry, IRCC says the Canadian Experience Class needs no job offer, the Federal Skilled Worker Program does not require one but can award points for it, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program needs a job offer or a Canadian certificate of qualification in the trade.

IRCC's changes to how job offers are scored take effect November 3, 2026, and B.C.'s Skills Immigration streams require a job offer from an eligible B.C. employer. Rules change, so read IRCC's Express Entry page directly. Meeting the minimums does not guarantee an invitation.

What jobs qualify for Express Entry in Canada?

Express Entry has no single list of qualifying jobs. Each program looks at your work experience in occupations ranked by Canada's National Occupational Classification (NOC) TEER system. As of October 2026, IRCC says the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Canadian Experience Class use TEER 0 to 3 occupations, while the Federal Skilled Trades Program uses listed skilled trades at TEER 2 or 3.

IRCC also runs category-based rounds, including healthcare and social services, STEM, trades, education and transport occupations. Scoring changes take effect November 3, 2026, so check a job's NOC code and the programs on IRCC's Express Entry eligibility page. Meeting a program's minimums does not guarantee an invitation.

Is 400 points enough for Canada PR?

IRCC does not publish a minimum score for the Express Entry pool, so there is no official number that counts as "enough." It ranks everyone in the pool by Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points, then invites the highest-ranked eligible candidates in each round. The lowest score invited differs from round to round.

IRCC's changes taking effect November 3, 2026 add points for certain high-wage Canadian work experience or job offers. IRCC says it will pause invitation rounds, for up to two weeks, while it recalculates profiles, and that extra points do not guarantee an invitation. See IRCC's rounds of invitations page, and speak to an authorized representative about your own profile.

How much does Express Entry cost?

As of October 2026, IRCC's fee list shows $1,590 for a principal applicant applying for permanent residence through Express Entry, and the same for a spouse or partner, plus $270 for each dependent child. The $1,590 includes the processing fee and the $600 right of permanent residence fee, which does not apply to dependent children. IRCC says creating an Express Entry profile costs nothing.

Those are government fees only. Other costs, such as language tests, medical exams and any representative's charges, are separate and are not covered here. Fees change, so confirm the amounts on IRCC's fee list before paying.

How much bank balance is required for Canada immigration?

It depends on the program. Canadian Experience Class applicants do not need to show proof of funds, but Federal Skilled Worker and Skilled Trades applicants generally do. The exception is anyone already authorized to work in Canada who has a valid job offer. IRCC's table, which it labels as updated July 7, 2025, lists $15,263 for one person, $19,001 for two and $23,360 for three, rising with family size.

Family size includes your spouse and dependent children, even if they are not coming with you. IRCC updates the amounts, so confirm today's figures on its proof of funds page. Other programs have different requirements.

Other routes to PR

Can I get PR without Express Entry?

Yes. Express Entry is only one of several routes to permanent residence. IRCC's overview also lists the Provincial Nominee Program, family sponsorship, the Rural and Francophone Community Immigration Pilots, the Atlantic Immigration Program, Quebec-selected skilled workers, a caregiver pathway and a pathway for physicians.

IRCC also lists some programs as paused or closed, including the Start-up Visa and the Agri-Food Pilot, so availability changes. Whether any route fits depends on your own circumstances, and none is guaranteed. Begin with IRCC's pathways overview.

What is the B.C. Provincial Nominee Program?

The B.C. Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) is the province's economic immigration program, which lets B.C. nominate workers and entrepreneurs who can then apply to IRCC for permanent residence. Skills Immigration is for workers, and Entrepreneur Immigration is for business owners.

WelcomeBC has not announced a pause, but the program was redesigned on April 23, 2026 around three priorities: care, build and innovate. The Entry Level and Semi Skilled stream is now closed, and Skills Immigration requires a job offer from an eligible B.C. employer. Eligibility does not guarantee an invitation, so use the official BC PNP news page for current details.

How to get provincial nomination in Canada?

Under the B.C. Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP), you register with the province first; if B.C. invites you, you apply, and if B.C. nominates you, you can then apply to IRCC for permanent residence. WelcomeBC says the program has Skills Immigration for workers and Entrepreneur Immigration for business owners, and that some invitations are targeted at priority sectors such as health care. Skills Immigration requires a job offer from an eligible B.C. employer.

The program was redesigned in April 2026 around care, build and innovate priorities, and each stream has its own rules. A nomination is never guaranteed. Read WelcomeBC's BC PNP page for current details.

Is it harder to get PR in Canada now?

It depends on the route, and IRCC's own plan shows a mix of changes rather than one simple answer. The 2026 to 2028 Immigration Levels Plan targets 380,000 new permanent residents a year, with economic-class targets of 239,800 in 2026 and 244,700 in 2027 and 2028. The government also aims to reduce the temporary population to under 5% of Canada's population by the end of 2027.

Individual programs are changing too: IRCC's Express Entry changes take effect November 3, 2026, and B.C.'s nominee program was redesigned in April 2026. Levels plans are updated regularly, so check IRCC's levels plan and WelcomeBC for the latest version.

How can a nurse or doctor get permanent residence in Canada?

There are pathways for health workers, but none is automatic, and registration with the profession's regulator is a separate step. As of October 2026, IRCC lists a healthcare and social services category for Express Entry, which includes registered nurses and family physicians, and a separate category for physicians with Canadian work experience.

B.C.'s nominee program also has a Health Authority stream, which generally needs a full-time job offer from, or the support of, a B.C. public health authority. Immigration and licensing are separate, so see our nurses and doctors page, BCCNM's page for internationally educated nurses and WelcomeBC for the nominee program.

Related guides

• Moving to Vernon From Another Country
• Working at Vernon Jubilee Hospital
• Canada's foreign buyer ban in B.C.
• Buying a home in B.C. when you're moving from out of province
• What it's like to live in Vernon

Updated October 28, 2026. Published by Sean Phillips, REALTOR®, Coldwell Banker Executives Realty. General information from official sources, not legal, tax, immigration or medical advice.

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