Posted on January 20 2023

How to migrate from South Africa to Canada in 2023?

By
Anshul Singhal
, Editor

Updated July 10 2024

Why migrate to Canada?

More than 1 million jobs available in Canada
Earn your living in Canadian dollars
Apply for a Canada PR visa through easy steps
Invite your dependents through Canada Dependent visas
Travel all over Canada

*Check your eligibility to migrate to Canada through the Y-Axis Canada Immigration Points Calculator.

Many people from South Africa want to migrate to Canada because of career prospects, study, business opportunities, and many more things. Canada also has a high quality of life which attracts immigrants from South Africa to move to the North American Country. The process of immigration to Canada is easy and it takes 6 to 12 months to get a visa.

Immigrants who do not have a job offer can apply for a Canada PR visa through other criteria like:

Work experience
Age
Educational qualifications
Language proficiency

There are more than 80 programs that Canada has introduced to invite people from other countries. Economic, business immigration and sponsorship programs are the common pathways that applicants use to apply for a visa and move to Canada.

Economic and business categories are used to invite skilled workers to work in Canada and provide benefits to its economy. Family programs help Canadian citizens and permanent residents to invite their family members to live and work here.

Eligibility criteria to migrate to Canada

Before applying for a Canada PR visa, you need to meet the eligibility criteria. Canada immigration is based on a points system and you have to score a minimum of 67 points out of 100 to be eligible to apply for a visa.

The criteria to score points can be found below:

Age

You will be able to score maximum points if your age is in between 18 and 35. If you are more than 35 years old, you will get less points. If your age is 45 years and above, you will not receive any points. The maximum points that you can earn through this factor is 12.

Language proficiency

Language proficiency will provide you a maximum of 28 points. You need to be able to communicate in either English or French or both. You have to get a good score for the areas given below:

Write
Read
Speak
Listen

The minimum score that you have to get is CLB 7 in all the four areas for the first official language. For the second official language, CLB 5 is required in all the four areas.

Education

If you have obtained a certificate, diploma, or degree from a Canadian educational institution, you will receive a maximum of 25 points. If you have received education from outside of Canada, you have to go for an Educational Credential Assessment from a designated organization. This assessment will show that your education is equivalent to the one in Canada.

Work Experience

You can earn a maximum of 15 points through the work experience for full-time paid work. If your work experience is one year, you will get 9 points. For more work experience, the points will increase. Having an experience of 6 years or more will provide 15 points.

Adaptability

You can earn 10 points through this factor if your spouse or common-law partner is coming with you.

Arranged employment

A valid job offer from an eligible Canadian employer will provide you 10 points.

The details of the points based system can be found in the table below:

Factor	Maximum Points Available
Language skills - in English & French	28
Education	25
Work experience	15
Age	12
Arranged employment (job offer in Canada)	10
Adaptability	10
Total points available	100

Popular programs to migrate to Canada from South Africa

Here are the programs through you can get the option of temporary or permanent residence in Canada.

Express Entry

Express Entry is a popular system which many people use to migrate to Canada. There are three programs under this system mentioned below:

Federal Skilled Worker Program
Federal Skilled Trades Program
Canadian Experience Class

Steps to apply through the Express Entry program

There are many steps that you have to follow to apply through the Express Entry. These steps are mentioned below:

Step 1: Create an Express Entry profile

The first step to apply through this system is to create an online Express Entry profile. The profile will include the credentials like age, work experience, educational qualifications, language proficiency skills, etc. You will get a CRS score on the basis of these factors. If your score is 67, you will be eligible to submit your profile.

Step 2: Complete the process of ECA

If you have completed your education outside of Canada, you will have to go for an Education Credentials Assessment. This assessment will be a proof that your educational qualification is equivalent to that of Canada.

Step 3: Go for language proficiency test

The next step is that you have to submit your language proficiency results. For this, you have to go for a language proficiency exam. A score of CLB 7 is required for each area in the IELTS exam. The total score should be 6 bands. The result of the IELTS should be less than two years.

In the case of French language, you will get bonus points. You have to go for a Test de assessment de Francians (TEF) to prove your ability.

Step 4: Getting CRS score

The profiles in the Express Entry pool are chosen on the basis of CRS score. You will get the score on the basis of the following factors:

Skills
Education
Language ability
Work experience
Other factors

Your profile will be selected for the next Express Entry draw if your points reach the CRS score allocated for the draw.

Step 5: Wait for invitation to apply (ITA)

If your profile is selected, you have to wait for an invitation to apply. After receiving the ITA, you will have to apply for a Canada PR visa.

Provincial Nominee Program

Provincial Nominee Program is another way to apply for a Canada PR visa. Here are the steps that you can use to apply through a PNP.

Submit an application in the province or region where you have planned to reside and work.
If your profile fulfils the criteria for the province, you may get an invitation to apply for a PR visa.
The eligibility criteria depend on the province where you want to live. Each province and territory has different criteria.
After receiving the nomination from the province, you can apply for a Canada PR visa.

Every province has its own market needs. You need to have the required educational qualifications, skills, work experience, and language proficiency so that you can become eligible to apply for the Provincial Nominee Program.

You will get the nomination if the authorities in the province are convinced that your skills suit their needs. After getting a provincial nomination, you will automatically get 600 points as your CRS score.

Business Immigration Program

People who want to start a business or manage an existing one in Canada can apply for a Canada PR visa through Business Immigration Program. This is a program which allows the migrants to make investments in Canada or start a business. You need to have managerial or commercial experience to start a business in Canada. The group of people who are eligible for this program include:

Investors
Entrepreneurs
Self-employed persons

Family Sponsorship Program

Canadian citizens or permanent residents who hare 18 years old or above have the eligibility to become a sponsor and invite their family members for getting a PR status through the family sponsorship program. The family members that you can invite are:

Spouse
Conjugal partner
Common-law partner
Dependent or adopted children
Parents
Grandparents

Eligibility criteria for a sponsor

Here are some of the criteria that you have to fulfil to become a sponsor:

Need to have enough money to support the sponsored
Have to take pledge of supporting the invited people for a specified duration of stay.
Need to be in Canada to receive the sponsored people on their arrival

Cost of immigration from South Africa to Canada

The cost to migrate to Canada includes the submission of a PR visa application along with the amount. You have to prove to the government of Canada that you have enough funds to support yourself and your family in the duration of your stay. For this, you have to show proof of funds which includes letters from banks.

Requirements for funds will vary on the basis of the number of family members accompanying the primary candidate.

The table below reveals the details of fee in CAD for applying through Express Entry

Fee Type	Notes	Individual	Couple	Couple + 1 Child	Couple + 2 Children
Language tests (IELTS, CELPIP, TEF, or TCF)	Average cost.	300	600	600	600
Educational Credential Evaluation (ECA)	Cost excluding international courier delivery charges.	200	400	400	400
Biometrics	Charges for 2 or more people remain the same provided all members are applying at the same time and place.	85	170	170	170
Medical exams	Average cost; fee varies by country.	100	200	300	400
Application processing fee		850	1,700	1,930	2,160
Right of permanent residence fee		515	1,030	1,030	1,030
Miscellaneous fees (police certificate, transcripts, courier delivery, photos, notaries, translations, etc.)	Average (assumed) cost.	250	500	600	700
Settlement funds	Not applicable for Canadian Experience Class (CEC).	13,213	16,449	20,222	24,553
TOTAL		15,498	21,019	25,252	30,013

The cost of submitting applications through PNP is given in the table below:

PNP	Fee (CAD)
Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP)	500
British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP)	1,150
Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP)	500
New Brunswick Provincial Nominee Program (NBPNP)	250
Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Nominee Program (NLPNP)	250
Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP)	0
Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP)	1,500 or 2,000
Prince Edward Island Provincial Nominee Program (PEIPNP)	300
Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP)	350

How can Y-Axis assist you to migrate to Canada?

Y-Axis provides the services below to help a candidate to migrate to Canada:

Eligibility Check: You can check your eligibility for free through the Y-Axis Canada Immigration Points Calculator.
Coaching Services: Y-Axis provides coaching services for language proficiency tests which include IELTS, CELPIP, and PTE.
Counseling: Y-Axis provides free counseling services.
Canada PR Visa: Avail of complete guidance related to Canada PR visa.
Job services: Avail job search services to find jobs in Canada.