Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian government's foreign affairs department, calls Canada an important destination for Egyptian immigrants. In the admissions data of IRCC, Canada's immigration department, a provincial nomination was Egyptians' most common single route to permanent residence in each year from 2023 to 2025, with sponsorship by a spouse or partner also common. Through the Provincial Nominee Program, provinces and territories nominate people whose skills, education and experience can help their economy and who plan to settle there. The nominee then applies either through Express Entry, the online system in which IRCC invites the skilled workers with the most points to apply, or straight to IRCC.

Begin with the paperwork for your degree: without an educational credential assessment, Express Entry awards no points for education completed outside Canada. WES, one of the organisations that carry it out, needs the English-language transcript produced by your university, sent electronically or sealed and stamped in an envelope by the university. In your Express Entry profile, select the provinces and territories you are interested in, so that one can send you a notification of interest, its invitation to apply for a nomination. The police certificate comes later, and IRCC's instructions for Egypt are unusual: your local police station records your fingerprints on the certificate itself, and you are responsible for collecting it.

The mistake to avoid is treating a degree from a Canadian university's branch in Egypt as study in Canada. The Universities of Canada in Egypt, in the New Administrative Capital, hosts local branches of Canadian universities. But Express Entry's extra points for Canadian education go only to study at an institution located in Canada, full-time and in person for a set period. A post-graduation work permit, which lets graduates work in Canada after their studies, also requires full-time study in Canada, so count on neither when you choose a programme in Egypt.