Get your documents ready

Before you apply for permanent residence, you should gather all the documents you need. Your application may be delayed if you’re missing anything. You can find a full list of the documents you need to submit in your document checklist.

On this page:

• Language test
• Intent to live in a province or territory other than Quebec
• Post-secondary education (stream A only)
• Canadian work experience (stream B only)

Language test

You must provide a copy of your language test results that shows you have a level 5 score in all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) on 1 of the following scales:

• Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)
• Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC)

If you haven’t already completed a language test, make sure you book one early. It takes time to book the test and get your results.

Intent to live in a province or territory other than Quebec

If you currently live in Quebec, you must prove that you intend to live in a province or territory other than Quebec.

To prove this, you can provide one or more of the following:

• a statutory declaration explaining where you plan to live and why
• documents showing any ties you have to the province or territory (outside Quebec) where you plan to live, including
  • proof of employment
  • job offers
  • job applications you’ve submitted
  • job interviews you have scheduled
  • proof you have family living in the area
  • lease agreements or mortgages

Post-secondary education (stream A only)

You must provide

• a copy of your diploma or degree
• your final transcripts

They must show that you graduated from a designated learning institution in Canada in the last 3 years

If you have a diploma or certificate from a graduate or post-graduate program, you must also include both of the following:

• proof that this program required you to have a post-secondary diploma or degree as a prerequisite, such as a
  • copy of the school’s website showing all the prerequisites
  • letter from the school that lists the prerequisites you needed
• a copy of your post-secondary diploma or degree and final transcripts showing that you graduated no more than 5 years before the start of your graduate or post-graduate program

Canadian work experience (stream B only)

You must provide proof for each job you list in your application. This could be

• a letter from your employer, on company letterhead, that includes
  • your name
  • your job title
  • the dates you worked for the company
  • the number of hours you worked each week
  • your annual salary and any benefits you received
  • the company contact information (address, phone number and email address)
  • your supervisor’s name, title and signature (or those of the company’s human resources officer)
• a copy of the T4 tax information slips and notices of assessment the Canada Revenue Agency issued to you
• copies of your records of employment
• pay stubs
• copies of bank deposits showing salary payments