Documents for Immigration to Canada

  • Passport
  • Language Ability Test results
  • Educational Credentials
  • Proof of Work Experience
  • Provincial Nomination
  • Job Offer
  • Proof of Funds
  • Police Certificates
  • Medical Exams
  • Birth Certificates
  • Marriage, Divorce, Death and adoption Certificates
  • Proof of Relationship to a relative in Canada
  • Digital Photos
  • Explanation Letter 
  • Translations
  • Attested Documents
Passport :

You must have a valid passport as you will be required to give your passport number in the application. If the passport is about to expire in 6 months or less, it is better to get it renewed and update the number of the new passport in your application. Your visa to enter Canada will be stamped in this passport.

Language Ability Test Results :

You will need your English or French language ability test results for first and second language (if claiming points). These results must be less than two years old and of an IRCC recognised test. You can always update your test score if you appear for a retest and improve your results, while your application is in process.

Educational Credentials :

You can prove your level of education by providing your Canadian education credentials or an Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) Report for your foreign education. You can obtain this report from an organisation recognised by the IRCC and according to your field of study. Find the complete details about ECA on our page ‘The Educational Credential Assessment (ECA)’.

Proof of Work Experience :

You will have to provide a certificate of your Work experience acquired outside of Canada to claim the points for that. It must include the information explained in the Requirements for a foreign work experience certificate.

Provincial Nomination :

In case you are nominated by any Province under a Provincial Nomination Program, you must upload the nomination certificate along with your application.

Job Offer :

If you have a job offer from a Canadian Employer it must be in writing and have the following details:

  • Employer Name and Address,
  • Start Date,
  • Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) number, (unless your job or Immigration category is exempt),
  • National Occupational Classification (NOC) Code,
  • Your Pay and deductions,
  • Your duties,
  • Hours of Work and 
  • Any other conditions of Work
Proof of Funds :

You will need to prove that you can support yourself and your family after immigration to Canada, by providing details about your funds as explained in the Proof of Funds page. However, you do not need to provide proof of funds if you are applying under Canadian Experience Class or have a valid job offer from a Canadian Employer.

Police Certificates :

You will need Police Certificates or sometimes called the Police Clearance Certificates (PCC) to prove that you do not have a criminal history and you are admissible in Canada. In most cases you are asked by the Immigration department to provide one after preliminary assessment of your application. For detailed process go to our page on Police Certificates.

Medical Exams :

Another thing required to prove that you are not inadmissible in Canada is your medical fitness. You will need to take a medical exam for this, when asked by the Immigration department. Read the detailed process and requirements for the medical Exam.

Birth Certificates :

You will need birth certificates for your immigration application in case you have dependent children. You will also need birth certificates to prove your relationship if you are sponsoring your Parents or Grandparents.

Marriage, Divorce, and Death Certificates:

You will need these certificates to prove your marital status at the time of application depending on your situation.

Adoption certificate :

In case you have adopted children you will need adoption certificate to prove their relationship to you.

Proof of relationship :

You will need to prove your relationship to your siblings, if you are claiming points in CRS for them. You can prove this by providing any document which has your parents name in them, like passport, school certificates, driving licenses etc. Such a document from both the siblings will prove the relationship.

Digital Photos :

IRCC has given specifications for photographs for different visas and every type of application has its own specifications. So take care to get the photographs for Permanent residence as per the specifications given on the Photograph specifications page.

Explanation Letter :

Explanation letter is an important document where you can explain your specific situation to the immigration/visa officer. You can explain things like, if you cannot provide a certain document right away such as delay in getting your Police certificate or Experience certificate or providing an alternate document such as passport as a proof of date of birth instead of birth certificate etc.

Translations :

All the documents attached to your applications that are not in English or French must be translated into English or French. Go to our page Translations to find out who can and cannot translate your documents for immigration purposes.