Why immigrate to Canada ?
Canada is the second largest country in the world in area (after Russia), but one of the most sparsely populated. Canada occupies roughly two-fifths of the North American continent. Canada is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by twelve States of the United States, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean & the U.S. state of Alaska. The national capital for the ten provinces and three territories of Canada is Ottawa located in the province of Ontario. Canada's official languages are both English and French.
Who can immigrate to Canada?
Generally speaking, anyone from anywhere around the world who meets the immigration requirements and selection criteria is qualified to apply to immigrate to Canada.
Why Canada?
Canada has a long tradition of welcoming immigrants. Canada receives over 225,000 immigrants per year (with an increasing amount). United Nations (UN) has rated Canada the best country in the world for overall quality of life for the past five years. Canadians enjoy a comfortable standard of living, good health care, social security, a high level of education, and a relatively safe and clean environment. "The Charter of Rights and Freedoms" entrenched in the Canadian constitution guarantees such fundamental rights as equality, mobility and legal rights, as well as freedom of speech, assembly and association.
Education in Canada
In Canada, education is a provincial responsibility and each province has developed its own elementary and secondary (high) school system. Procedures for registering children of immigrants in schools and testing their language proficiency differ from province to province.
Years of Schooling
Schooling in Canada begins at Kindergarten and finishes in High School at either grade 11 or grade 12, depending on the province. Elementary school is generally considered to be Kindergarten to grade 6, Junior High school is generally grade 7 to grade 8 or 9. Senior High school is from grade 10 to grade 11 or 12, depending on the province of residence. In some provinces, like Ontario and Quebec, after completing grade 11 or 12, students who wish to enter university are required to complete one or two additional years of Senior high school.
The School Year
The typical school year in Canada runs for approximately 190 days, commencing the first week of September and ending the last week of June. Holiday periods are provided in late December and in March or April in celebration of two Canadian religious holidays (Christmas and Easter, respectively). The school week runs from Monday to Friday. The school day usually begins at 8:30 a.m. and finishes between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m., with time set aside for lunch. Elementary schools provide children with one or two outdoor activity periods per day, called "recess".
Entry Age
By Canadian law, children must attend school between the ages of six and 16. Some provinces have programs available for children under six, commonly known as "Pre-School" or "Four or Five-Year-Old" Kindergarten". Generally children enter Kindergarten in Canada at age five or six. When registering your child, you should check on minimum age requirements.
What You Need
If your child will be attending a Canadian school, all previous school records and transcripts of subjects and grades will be necessary for registration into the Canadian school system. Many school registrars insist on obtaining the original school records and will not accept copies. These records help school officials place a child in the most appropriate grade. In addition, your child may be placed in a grade temporarily until school officials can assess ability and language proficiency. All provinces provide language testing, and assist children with language training.
Vaccinations are often required for students. You should check with your local school board about inoculation requirements. Medical and vaccination records are sometimes requested by school boards before a student is registered.
Many provinces also ask for documents which establish a student's residency status in Canada before the child can be registered in a provincial school system. These documents include: a Record of Landing (i.e., permanent residence visa after landing), Student Visa, or a Minister's permit.
The education system in many provinces is divided between Public and Separate schools. Generally, "Separate" schools in Canada refer to those schools operated by a religious group, which provides classes in religion in addition to the regular curriculum. The most common "Separate" schools are those for children of the Roman Catholic faith, although some provinces run schools for other Christian denominations.
Hospital and Medical Care Insurance in Canada
Under Canada's National Health Insurance Program, citizens and residents of Canada do not have to pay the cost of certain hospital and medical expenses. The twelve provincial and territorial governments are responsible for the operation of health insurance plans. The federal government contributes financially towards the cost of these plans and the Canada Health Act establishes criteria and conditions which the plans must satisfy in order to receive the contributions without deductions. Consequently, coverage is basically the same throughout the country.
You should contact the medical care or hospital insurance office in the province or territory where you intend to reside for more detailed information.
Social Benefits
If you reside in Canada, you may benefit from a system of social programs. These programs are designed to assist persons from all areas of society, including children, the unemployed and senior citizens. (For more info, please contact us.)
The Canadian Tax Regime
Canada levies tax on the basis of residence, not citizenship. In other words, Canada taxes persons who are resident in Canada, whether such persons are citizens of Canada or another country. A person who is not a Canadian Citizen but who is, or is deemed to be resident in Canada, is subject to Canadian tax. Correspondingly, a person who is a Canadian citizen but who does not reside in Canada is generally not subject to Canadian tax, except and to the extent of Canadian source income gains, or payments (such as interest, dividends, rents and royalties) earned by that person.
The Income Tax Act states that a person who has "sojourned" in Canada for a period of 183 days or more in a particularly year will be deemed to have been resident in Canada for tax purposes for the entire year. A 'sojourner" is a person who stays in Canada on a temporary basis only. Thus an individual who is on a temporary assignment in Canada will be deemed to be resident in Canada for the purposes of the Income Tax Act and subject to tax in Canada on his world-wide income for the entire year if the individual remains in Canada for 183 days or more in the relevant year.
Under the established legal principles of common law, an individual will be found to be resident in Canada if Canada is the country which that individual has established as the centre of activity or "fixed place of abode". Under this test, an individual landing in Canada as an immigrant, for example, will probably be found to be resident in Canada for tax as well as immigration and citizenship purposes, commencing on the day of landing.
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