According to the Cato Institute in Washington, D.C., there are currently 1.4 million skilled immigrants waiting for employment-based permits in the United States as of March 2022. Thus, it is clear that by not considering the prospect of coming to Canada, international talents, such as software workers, are missing an opportunity. In short, US tech employees should seriously consider Canada as a feasible immigration option.

Immigrating to Canada as a Tech Worker – Top Five Pathways

For U.S. IT employees who want to immigrate to Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) offers numerous temporary and permanent residency paths.

Global Talent Stream (GTS)

The GTS, which is a component of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), enables Canadian employers to bring specialized foreign tech talent to Canada in just two weeks, allowing highly skilled foreign workers to use their abilities to support the expansion of forward-thinking Canadian businesses.

Intra-Company Transfers (ICTs)

U.S. citizens working in the tech industry can also temporarily transfer to work for the Canadian branch, subsidiary, or affiliate of their American company through the ICT branch – one of the four branches of CUSMA

Start-Up Visa Program

This Canadian permanent residence program is intended to attract innovative foreign national entrepreneurs who will create new employment and promote economic progress in Canada through the Start-Up Visa program.

The two main pathways for skilled workers to gain Canadian PR – Express Entry and Provincial Nominee Program

Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs)

A total of 11 Canadian provinces and territories administer PNPs, which are regional immigration efforts to boost the economic system of the country. Each of these 11 programs enables the regional governments to hand-pick immigration applicants who are most qualified to fill certain labour shortages in accordance with the unique requirements of the local economy.

PNPs are the most popular category for entry for economic immigrants to Canada. Many of these programs provide specializations for tech industry professionals.

Express Entry

The Express Entry application system manages three federal programs where the CRS scores are assigned to the candidates. Next, in Express Entry draws that happen typically every two weeks, for those who score higher than the cut-off CRS score for that draw, Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for Canadian PR are issued.