Visas and Immigration

Immigration considerations for those migrating to Montreal

Praise the Lord for His move to Montreal! This is the first GTCA city that is outside of the United States. Canada and the United States are very similar in many ways, but there is a border between them, and there are visas and immigration to deal with! Moreover, once you come to Montreal, from the first sign that says Bienvenue à Montréal, you will realize that you are really in another country! Thus, we realize that many saints who are currently in the US will need help navigating the course of immigration to Montreal. Those who want to migrate to Montreal to participate in the Lord’s move here generally fall under one of three categories: students, workers, or full-time serving ones. This page outlines the basic visa procedures for those who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

Unlike in other Canadian provinces, the Province of Quebec shares immigration responsibilities with the Government of Canada for those who want to come live in Quebec. This means that any temporary or permanent resident permit (not including visitor permits) must first be approved by Quebec and then by Canada. Quebec verifies if they want to permit you to enter into their social system, with its corresponding benefits, and then Canada verifies mainly that you would not be a burden to the federal healthcare system or a security threat. Contrary to common opinion, immigration lawyers consider that this dual system causes visas and immigration to Quebec to be faster than to other provinces. This is because Quebec only processes Quebec applicants (rather than regular Canada immigration that processes applicants to all other nine provinces plus three territories), and then Canada pretty much rubber-stamps anyone that Quebec approves, except if there are serious medical problems, security or crime threats, or other serious concerns.

For those who want to migrate to Montreal, we recommend a three-pronged approach, which corresponds closely to the main categories of Canada immigration status:

1. The first step would be to come and visit Montreal; for this you need a visitor permit. This is recommended if you are still seeking the Lord about whether or not to migrate here. However, if you are clear that the Lord is leading you to move here, then you can skip this step. If you want to come to Montreal to study, a visitor permit lets you study for up to six months, but it does not permit you to work.
2. The second step would be to obtain a temporary resident permit. If you want to study here, you need to also obtain a study permit. If you want to work here with a regular job, you also need to get a job and obtain a work permit. If you want to serve the Lord full-time, please see the relevant section below. A temporary resident permit would let you stay in Canada for one to three years, and is renewable. Once you are clear that you want to migrate to Montreal, you should immediately apply for a temporary resident permit. Then, immediately after, in order to stay longer in Canada, you should apply for permanent residence, the third step.
3. The third step would be to apply for permanent residence in Canada. If you plan to stay here for longer than one year, then you should definitely apply for permanent residence. You can apply whether or not you are already in Canada, and the process usually takes from six months to two years. Regardless of whether you are studying, working, or serving full time, permanent residence in Canada will make it much easier and cheaper to live in Canada long term (that is, longer than one year). Thus, we recommend that you first apply for a temporary resident permit to get into Canada for the first year or so, and then apply for permanent residence to stay long term.

The rest of this page gives further details about applying for the different kinds of visas and immigration statuses that would permit you to migrate to Montreal.