Working & Living in Canada - A Complete Guide

No matter whether you are considering living or working in Canada but the high quality of life in Canada is just proverbial. Canada has always been ranked in the top 10 by the United Nations Human Development Index. It’s not only you but majority of people in Canada are born abroad. No doubt, there are huge benefits of being a permanent resident or citizen of Canada.

Canada has come up with different immigration programs allowing people to live and work in Canada but the permits are issued only to those who are skillful, educated and with professional experience. Those who intend to work and live in Canada need to be fluent in English and for Quebec you should be fluent in French language as well.

1. If you wish to apply for the immigration programs, plan accordingly because the whole process might take upto two years.
2. Prepare a checklist for the list of documents you need to provide during the process as well as after you arrive in Canada.
3. You need to provide sufficient funds required to cover the whole living expense during your stay in Canada for the initial six months.
4. Check what all things you can carry with you or else you might have a pay duty for it. If you are shipping your belongings then you must be present in Customs to clear your belongings or else it will be take in bond by the custom officials.
5. Identify a right place to live in Canada based on your lifestyle, requirements and budget.
6. If you wish to work in Canada, find out whether you require a work permit for your occupation or not.
7. If you wish to work in Canada, then you should have a job offer with an LMIA. This indeed is a lengthy process. To make it easier you can opt for intercompany transfer for which no LMIA is required.
8. After couple of years of working, you wish to settle down in Canada, and then you can opt for federal skilled workers program or Canadian experience class program which will enable you to secure a permanent resident status.
9. If you wish to make investment into a Canadian business or run your own business, you can also opt for Canada investor visa or business visa program, which enables you to move to Canada along with your family within very short period of time i.e. six months.

Be it an express entry program, federal skilled workers program, or investor/business visa, candidates are assessed based on certain criteria’s such as education, age, professional experience, language ability etc.

Increase of Business visas from India to Canada

Immigrating to Canada is considered to be one of the best options with better opportunities of employment, education, personal growth, income etc. Basically, Canadian economy has lot more to give to its immigrants and because of this, Canada offers wide range of visa programs for self-employed, businessmen and employed workers.

Currently, Canada has come up with the business visas and lots of people are opting for it. The major benefit of getting a Canada business visa is that the applicant along with the family will be eligible for the permanent resident status within a very short period of time i.e. six months. Apart from a permanent resident status, Canadian economy also offers lots more benefits of the applicant’s family such as social security, health and educational facilities and wide range of highly qualified job opportunities. Canada is known for its high quality education system and world class universities and colleges.

The various advantages of making investment into Canadian business are its strong economy, low tax rates, enjoying the high quality of life etc. But majority of people also opt for Canada business visa is that a Canadian passport holder enjoys a visa free travel to almost all the major countries. In short, the visa holder has no restrictions to visit any country in the world. Basically, investors are welcomed in Canada with ample number of opportunities such as making investment in aerospace, IT, real estate, hospitality, automobile etc. Canada itself is known as the second largest country in the world for its natural resources.

Canada is a global leader in various business service sectors such as human resources, project management, customer relations management, etc. and this business service sectors plays a major role in contributing to the Canadian economy. 

Choosing between Toronto and Ottawa when Moving to Canada

When you plan to immigrate to Canada, you probably choose which city or province is suitable for you to live in based on several factors. It might be that you choose a province or a city because you already have a relative or any of the family members in that particular province or city and it might also happen that you have researched and studied about the city and based on the employment opportunities, education system and amenities of the city, you choose to settle.

Canada is a large and diverse country with different provinces to explore in. When it comes to choosing between Toronto and Ottawa, it might be a difficult task for each one of you.

1. Ottawa is the capital city of Canada while Toronto is one of the top selected destinations by the newcomers coming to settle in Canada.
2. Both Ottawa and Toronto have a strong economy. Ottawa provides unlimited job opportunities while Toronto creates business opportunities for its people. Toronto is majorly dealing into business sector. Establishing a business in Toronto will an efficient an inexpensive process.
3. Ottawa is a bilingual city with English and French as the official languages whereas Toronto is a multicultural city where majority of population are immigrants.
4. Toronto has marked its place in the top 10 World’s most economically powerful cities while the unemployment rate of Ottawa is slightly lower than the Canadian average of 6.8%.
5. The key industries in Ottawa are technologies, life science, professional services, public service and tourism while the key industries of Toronto are finance, health care, industries and services sector.
6. Ottawa is having one of the most highly educated workforces in Canada with two main universities namely University of Ottawa and Carleton University. In Toronto, University of Toronto is considered to be one of the world’s most prestigious post-secondary institutions.
7. When it comes to accommodation, there is wide range of options both in Toronto and Ottawa but finding a home in Toronto would be bit costly when compared to Ottawa.
8. Toronto is known for its high standard of health care and medical services provided to its people. Residents in Ottawa and Toronto are eligible for provincial public health program “Ontario Health Insurance Plan” but as soon as you arrive in Canada your first task would be to apply for the health program as it takes 3 months to get the health card.
9. Talking about cleanliness, the major drawback of Toronto is the pollution and it’s not considered as a cleanest city while Ottawa is considered to be the clean city among other locations in Canada.

Choosing between Toronto and Ottawa is based on the overall quality of life which also includes employment opportunities, educational systems, culture, cleanliness etc. Basically choosing where to move in Canada is all about what are your preferences while choosing a city or province.

Why make Investment in Health and Wellness Sector

Today the people seem more conscious regarding their health. For them health means physically fit and no obesity. Specifically, the youths or the young generations are very much particular regarding their diet. A healthy and wealthy body is free from stress and full of energy or feels young. 

Canadian government follows a strict policy framework which is managed by Health Canada. Canadians or the parents buy only health food for them as well as their children to maintain a healthy lifestyle. We also see consumer’s spending money for buying healthier food products or getting them a fit body through health and wellness centres. Following the increase in nutritious food products, the health and wellness sector seems to have a significant growth in the coming years.

Actually, health and wellness sector is emerging as an option for investing your money into it. Moreover, as Canadian government is making the initiating for inviting new entrepreneurs or investors through its Canada business visa program. As the demands for healthy products are going to rise then there doesn’t seem any risk factor while investing into any health and wellness business or running your own business. We see many customers paying attention to the products regarding the ingredients and how the products are made. Basically, people are giving more importance to leading a healthy life. Everywhere in the world, be it Canada or USA each and every retailers or shoppers are also taking care of the health and wellness factor because this single factor plays a very important role in influencing customer’s buying trends.

Let’s take the example of Maggi scam which raised awareness among the customers while buying any noodles brand. Frankly speaking, health is becoming a key area in the food industry. So it’s the duty of the manufactures to make their brand stand out in the competitive market. High obesity rates and rising awareness about unhealthy or junk food products are the main factors which have increased the importance of health and wellness products as well as centers.

More Investment Better Prospects in Canada

Instead of putting all your eggs into one basket make it multiple investments so the risk factor will be low. Currently, Canadian government is offering business visa or investor visa to people who are interested to buy or invest into a business. Majority of the entrepreneurs in Canada own a small class or medium class business so it’s obvious that they have the monopoly in the market. If you are not interested in establishing a business of your own then with business visa or investor visa, you can even invest into a business as a franchisee as well.

But the main question is how much to invest? Making investment solely depends on the franchisee based on the location, facilities to be provided and market area which you want to connect, the financial requirement also increases simultaneously. For example: if you plan to take up a business in some commercial location instead of at your home then more cash will be required. It’s not only based on the location but more you invest more facilities you will be able to provide to your customers which means for investing into financial and accounting services sector you might require a minimum investment amount of $95,000 and it can be more based on the services you are providing likewise if you plan to invest into health and wellness service sector then you might require a minimum investment amount of $40,000 or more.

Franchising a business is beneficial for both franchiser as well as franchisee. By franchising a business you will get to use to the brand name of the franchiser s business which is well established already in Canada and you also get the power to put in your ideas to flourish the business. Moreover, in franchise business there is more possibility of getting your money back with profit. 

Why invest in Real Estate

“Real estate cannot be lost or stolen, nor can it be carried away. Purchased with common sense, paid for in full, and managed with reasonable care, it is about the safest investment in the world.”

This quote by Franklin D Roosevelt sounds very true. Even if the country is facing recession and people are losing their jobs or having salary cuts but nothing seems like shaking the value in real estate business. Eventhough you are using the bank’s money while investing in to business, you can very easily pay it back because real estate is one of the investment sector wherein the risk factor is considered to be very low. In today’s market, we can see that many of them investin real estate as their retirement plan by renting their property. In the investment sector, we can see many of the successful entrepreneurs who had made property by investing into properties. Investing in real estate means you will receive income in the future as well.

When it comes to investing in Canada, then it is considered to be a very meaningful investment plan for the future as well as currently Canadian government is seriously inviting more immigrants to their country inorder to improve their economy. So as the population increases needs for their residential buildings and office premises will be at large.  Moreover, to start with investing into real estate business doesn’t need any expert advice. I have seen that many of them just buy a house or flat for their living purpose but they end up giving it on rent as the value of residential premises are increasing continuously and the demand is also increasing simultaneously.

Looking into all the future prospects, Canadian government has also initiated with the business visa or investor visa for the people who are interested in investing into a business or any sector.  With Canada investor visa, the applicant along with his/her family can move to Canada as a permanent resident. 

How to achieve success while investing into a franchise in Canada

Having a franchise business means that you acquire full access over the business. Here the franchiser gives you the privilege to be the active member of the business as a franchisee.

But ahead of getting into a franchise business, you should know the pros and cons of investing into the particular business. If you are planning to make investment into a business which is established in Canada then you should also know the different laws followed in Canada while running a business. The main advantage of franchisee in Business is that the business is already well established with low risk failure. Basically, by getting into a franchise agreement it means that the franchiser is giving you full rights to use the company brand, provides you all the information regarding the organization’s working or the business system and you can take necessary steps to flourish the business.

Ahead of the franchise agreement, franchisee will be meeting the franchiser to know about the business and its operations, assess whether they have same wavelength and values and what their business all about is. Simultaneously, franchiser will also evaluate your intention of investing into the businessin Canada. The franchiser needs to provide all relevant information along with the documents regarding the business to the franchisee to make a final decision. The franchiser is also responsible to provide all the information regarding his/her different franchises he/she has in Canada or any other location. To have a franchise businessin Canada, you need to study the business and the locations in which it is established. Accordingly, you will analyze which its profit making area is.

No doubt that the franchiser will also look forward to expand their business and by franchising the business he/she will get access to better talented businessmen to invest into the business. Moreover, franchising also results into financial returns with very less risk.