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Facts and Figures 2004
Immigration Overview:
Permanent and Temporary Residents
Glossary of Terms and Concepts
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Age: Five age groups are shown for permanent residents: 0 to 14 years, 15 to 24 years, 25 to 44 years, 45 to 64 years and 65 years or older. Age refers to age at landing (when granted permanent resident status).
Assisted relatives: The assisted relative category is a pre-IRPA immigration category that includes independent immigrants who receive additional bonus points for having a relative in Canada and who do not qualify as members of the family class. An assisted relative may be the son or daughter, brother or sister, niece or nephew, aunt or uncle, or grandson or granddaughter of a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident who is at least 19 years of age and who resides in Canada.
Backlog cases: People granted permanent resident status as part of the 1989 Refugee Backlog Clearance program.
Business immigrants: Permanent residents in the economic immigrant category selected on the basis of their ability to establish themselves economically in Canada through entrepreneurial activity, self-employment or direct investment. Business immigrants include entrepreneurs, self-employed people and investors. The spouse or partner and the children of the business immigrant are also included in this category.
Category: Four immigration categories are shown for permanent residents: family class, economic immigrants, refugees and other immigrants. In reference to labour market characteristics, the economic immigrant category is further divided into two subgroups: principal applicants, and spouses and dependants.
Common-law partner: A common-law partner is a person who has been living in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year. The term refers to both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships. The sponsor must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident who is at least 18 years of age and who resides in Canada.
Conjugal partner: A conjugal partner is a person who has maintained a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year but has been unable to live with the sponsor because of immigration impediments. The term refers to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples. The sponsor must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident who resides in Canada and who is at least 18 years of age.
Deferred removal orders: Permanent residents determined to be members of the deferred removal orders class who are included in the other immigrant category. This class was established to resolve the cases of certain failed refugee claimants who have not been removed from Canada.
Dependent children: Children are dependent if they are unmarried and under the age of 22, or if they have been full-time students since before the age of 22, attend a post-secondary educational institution and have been substantially dependent on the financial support of a parent since before the age of 22 or, if married or a common-law partner, since becoming a spouse or a common-law partner, or if 22 or older, they have been substantially dependent on the financial support of a parent since before the age of 22 because of a physical or mental condition. A dependent child is either a biological child or an adopted child.
Before IRPA (June 28, 2002), the dependent children of a landed immigrant were defined as children who were unmarried and under 19 years of age or who were continuously enrolled as full-time students in an educational institution and financially supported by their parents since reaching the age of 19 (or, if married before the age of 19, from the date of their marriage) or who, because of a medical condition, were unable to support themselves and were dependent on their parents for financial support.
Economic immigrants: Permanent residents selected for their skills and ability to contribute to Canada's economy. The economic immigrant category includes skilled workers, business immigrants, provincial or territorial nominees and live-in caregivers.
Employment authorization: See Work permit.
Entrepreneurs: Economic immigrants in the business immigrant category selected on the condition that they intend and have the ability to establish, purchase or make a substantial investment in a business in Canada that will contribute significantly to the economy and create jobs.
Family class: Permanent residents sponsored by a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident living in Canada who is at least 19 years of age. Family class immigrants include spouses and partners (i.e., spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner); parents and grandparents; and others (i.e., dependent children, children under the age of 18 whom the sponsor intends to adopt in Canada, children of whom the sponsor is the guardian, as well as brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and grandchildren who are orphans under the age of 18, or any other relative if the sponsor has no relative as described above, either abroad or in Canada).
Foreign students: This category includes individuals who enter Canada to study on a temporary basis. Every foreign student must have been issued a study permit for courses longer than six months but may also have been issued other types of permits or authorizations. The foreign student category excludes foreign workers who may have been issued a study permit, as well as humanitarian and compassionate cases who have been issued a study permit.
Foreign workers: This category includes individuals who enter Canada to work on a temporary basis. Every foreign worker must have been issued a work permit but may also have been issued other types of permits or authorizations. The foreign worker category excludes foreign students who may have been issued a work permit and individuals who have been issued a work permit for humanitarian reasons, such as refugee claimants.
Government-assisted refugees: Permanent residents in the refugee category who are selected for resettlement in the Convention refugees abroad class or the source country class and who are eligible for government assistance.
Humanitarian and compassionate cases: Permanent residents in the other immigrant category, including sponsored humanitarian and compassionate cases outside the family class, as well as humanitarian and compassionate cases without sponsorship and cases that take into account public policy. Sponsored humanitarian and compassionate cases within the family class are included in the family class immigrant category.
Immigration Act (1976): Federal legislation respecting immigration to Canada. The Immigration Act of 1976 became law in 1978 and remained in effect until June 27, 2002.
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA): Federal legislation respecting immigration to Canada and the granting of refugee protection to people who are displaced, persecuted or in danger. IRPA received royal assent on November 1, 2001, and came into effect on June 28, 2002.
Independent immigrants: The independent immigrant category is a pre-IRPA immigration category that includes skilled workers selected for their labour market skills and business immigrants selected on the basis of their business experience and other related skills.
Investors: Economic immigrants in the business immigrant category who are required to make a substantial investment in Canada that is allocated to participating provinces and territories for economic development and job creation.
Language ability: Four levels of language ability in one of Canada’s official languages are shown for permanent residents: English only, French only, both French and English, and neither language. The level of language ability is self-assessed.
Level of education: Eight levels of education have been determined for permanent residents who are 15 years of age or older, based on the number of years of schooling or the certificate, diploma or degree obtained.
- 0 to 9 years of schooling
- 10 to 12 years of schooling
- 13 or more years of schooling, with no additional certificate, diploma or degree
- Trade certificate: completion of vocational training at non-university educational institutions
- Non-university diploma: completion of a diploma program not at the university or trade level
- Bachelor’s degree: completion of a bachelor’s program at the university level
- Master’s degree: completion of a master’s program at the university level
- Doctoral degree: completion of a doctoral program at the university level
Level of study: Five levels of study have been determined for foreign students.
- Secondary or less: primary or secondary educational institutions in Canada
- Trade: vocational trade at non-university educational institutions in Canada (such as technical and vocational institutions, CEGEPs and colleges)
- University: undergraduate, postgraduate (master's and doctoral) and other studies at university institutions in Canada
- Other post-secondary: post-secondary level of study, not at the university or trade level, including language institutions, private institutions and university qualifying programs
- Other: foreign students not classified in any of the above levels of study
Live-in caregivers: Economic immigrants granted permanent resident status after their participation in the Live-in Caregiver Program. This program brings temporary residents to Canada as live-in employees to work without supervision in a private household to care for children, seniors or people with disabilities. Participants in this program may apply for permanent resident status within three years of arrival in Canada, after completing two years of employment as live-in caregivers. The Live-in Caregiver Program replaced the Foreign Domestic Movement Program on April 27, 1992.
New workers: Permanent residents who are intending to work in Canada but whose occupational skill level has not been assessed.
Occupational skill level: Five skill levels, based on the National Occupational Classification, have been determined for permanent residents 15 years of age or older as well as for foreign workers.
- Skill level O (managerial): management occupations
- Skill level A (professionals): professional occupations in business and finance; natural and applied sciences; health; social science, education, government service, and religion; and art and culture Educational or training requirements: university degree
- Skill level B (skilled and technical): skilled or technical occupations in administration and business; natural and applied sciences; health; law, social service, education, and religion; art, culture, recreation and sport; sales and service; as well as trades and skilled transport and equipment operators; skilled occupations in primary industries; and processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and skilled operators Educational or training requirements: two to three years of post-secondary education, or two to five years of apprenticeship training, or three to four years of secondary school and more than two years of on-the-job training, occupation-specific training courses or specific work experience
- Skill level C (intermediate and clerical): clerical occupations; assisting occupations in health services; intermediate occupations in sales and services; transport, equipment operations, installation and maintenance; primary industries; as well as processing and manufacturing machine operators and assemblers Educational or training requirements: one to four years of secondary school education, or up to two years of on-the-job training, training courses or specific work experience
- Skill level D (elemental and labourers): elemental sales and service occupations and labourers in construction; primary industries; and processing, manufacturing and utilities Educational or training requirements: no formal educational requirements; short work demonstration or on-the-job training
Other immigrants: Permanent residents in the other immigrant category include post-determination refugee claimants, deferred removal orders, retirees, temporary resident permit holders, and humanitarian and compassionate cases.
Permanent residents: Permanent residents have been granted permanent resident status and have the right to enter and remain in Canada. Permanent residents must live in Canada for at least 730 days (two years) within a five-year period or risk losing their status. Permanent residents have all the rights guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms such as equality rights, legal rights, mobility rights, freedom of religion, freedom of expression and freedom of association.
Post-determination refugee claimants: Permanent residents determined to be members of the post-determination refugee claimants in Canada class (PDRCC) who are included in the other immigrant category. The PDRCC class is a prescribed class where permanent residence is granted to protect a client from a threat in the country of nationality or origin where there is a risk to the life of the applicant, or a risk of excessive sanctions or inhumane treatment.
Primary status: Temporary residents are categorized according to the principal reason for residing in Canada. The four categories of temporary residents are foreign workers, foreign students, the humanitarian population, and other temporary residents. Since 1989, the humanitarian component has consisted primarily of refugee claimants. These four categories, referred to as primary status, are mutually exclusive: any person included in one category is excluded from the others.
Privately sponsored refugees: Permanent residents in the refugee category who are selected for resettlement in the Convention refugees abroad class, the source country class or the country of asylum class and who are privately sponsored by organizations, individuals or groups of individuals.
Province or territory: Refers to the province or territory of intended destination in Canada.
Provincial or territorial nominees: Economic immigrants selected by a province or territory for specific skills that will contribute to the local economy to meet specific labour market needs. The Regulations establish a provincial or territorial nominee class, allowing provinces and territories that have agreements with CIC to nominate a certain number of workers. A nominee must meet federal admissibility requirements, such as those related to health and security.
Refugee claimants: Refugee claimants are temporary residents in the humanitarian population category who request refugee protection upon or after arrival in Canada. A refugee claimant receives Canada’s protection when he or she is found to be a Convention refugee as defined by the United Nations 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, or when found to be a person needing protection based on risk to life, risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment, or danger of torture as defined in the Convention against Torture. A refugee claimant whose claim is accepted may make an application in Canada for permanent residence within 180 days. The applicant may include family members in Canada and abroad.
Refugee dependants: Refugee dependants are permanent residents in the refugee category who are family members of a refugee landed in Canada, and who are living abroad or in Canada. Their applications for permanent residence are considered concurrently with that of the principal applicant in Canada.
Refugees: Permanent residents in the refugee category include government-assisted refugees, privately sponsored refugees, refugees landed in Canada and refugee dependants (i.e., dependants of refugees landed in Canada, including spouses and partners living abroad or in Canada).
Refugees landed in Canada: Permanent residents in the refugee category who have had their refugee claims accepted and who subsequently applied for and were granted permanent resident status in Canada.
Retirees: This immigration category, phased out in 1991, includes permanent residents in the other immigrant category who are over the age of 55, who come to Canada with no intention of working and who have sufficient funds to support themselves.
Self-employed: Economic immigrants in the business immigrant category selected on the condition that they can and intend to create their own employment in Canada and contribute significantly either to the Canadian economy or to the cultural or athletic life of Canada (as, for example, farmers, artists, actors, writers or professional athletes).
Skilled workers: Economic immigrants selected for their ability to participate in the labour market and to establish themselves economically in Canada. Skilled workers are assessed on the basis of selection criteria that stress education, language ability and skilled work experience rather than a specific occupation. Before IRPA, the skilled worker category included assisted relatives and independent immigrants.
Source area: Five major world regions are shown: Africa and the Middle East, Asia and Pacific, South and Central America, the United States, and Europe and the United Kingdom.
Source countries: Refers to the principal country of last permanent residence (CLPR) for all permanent residents and temporary residents, with the exception of refugee claimants. For refugee claimants, source country refers to the principal country of alleged persecution (COAP). The ranking of the top ten source countries is based on the annual flow or stock in the most recent year.
Spouse and dependants: Permanent residents who are the spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, or dependent children of the principal applicant. Before IRPA (June 28, 2002), dependants were defined as the spouse and the dependent children of the principal applicant.
Student authorization: See Study permit.
Study permit: A temporary resident permit authorizing foreign nationals to enter and study in Canada on a temporary basis. The study permit identifies the level of study and the length of time the individual may study in Canada. Students do not need a study permit for courses shorter than six months.
Temporary resident flow: This represents the number of temporary residents identified as entering the CIC system (and presumably the country) for the first time. CIC commonly measures the annual flow of foreign workers, foreign students and the humanitarian component of the temporary resident population. Flows are calculated as of the earliest effective date of any valid permit issued to a temporary resident. Seasonal workers are counted each time they re-enter the system.
Temporary resident permit holders: Permanent residents in the other immigrant category who have lived continuously in Canada for three to five years under the authority of a temporary resident permit.
Temporary resident stock: Stock statistics measure the number of temporary residents present in the CIC system on a specific date. For the purposes of this publication, the date chosen is December 1. CIC commonly measures the annual stock of foreign workers, foreign students and the humanitarian component of the temporary resident population. A temporary resident who has been granted permanent resident status on or before the observation date is excluded from the stock count from the grant date onward.
Temporary residents: Temporary residents are people who are lawfully in Canada on a temporary basis under the authority of a temporary resident permit. Temporary residents include foreign workers, foreign students, the humanitarian population and other temporary residents. The humanitarian population includes refugee claimants and temporary residents allowed to remain in Canada on humanitarian grounds and who are not categorized as either foreign workers or foreign students. The other category of temporary residents is not profiled in this publication.
Urban area: Refers to selected urban areas in Canada that are the intended destination for permanent and temporary residents. The urban areas are either census metropolitan areas or census agglomerations as identified and named in accordance with Statistics Canada’s 1996 census definitions for these geographical units.
Work permit: A temporary resident permit authorizing foreign nationals to enter and work in Canada on a temporary basis. A work permit is usually valid only for a specified job, employer and time period. Some people—for example, spouses or common-law partners of skilled foreign workers or foreign students—are issued “open” or non-employer-specific work permits.
Years of schooling: Number of years of schooling for permanent residents who are less than 15 years of age.
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