Express Entry, the federal online system that ranks skilled workers by points and invites the highest-ranked to apply for permanent residence, is where applicants from India stand out: IRCC, Canada's immigration department, puts India far ahead of every other country of citizenship among invited candidates in its Express Entry Year-End Report 2024. Another door is the Provincial Nominee Program, in which a province or territory nominates people whose skills its economy needs; some provincial streams, the programmes each province runs for particular groups, go through Express Entry, while others take a separate application.

Two documents come first, since an applicant in India needs both to build an Express Entry profile: an approved language test result and an educational credential assessment, a report on what an Indian degree equals in Canada. WES, one of the assessment organisations IRCC designates, wants a copy of your degree certificate and, for each year of study, a statement of marks issued and attested by the office that conducted the examinations, such as the Controller of Examinations; college mark sheets count only from an autonomous college, the records must reach WES electronically, and a master's degree usually needs your bachelor's documents too. The police certificate comes later, with the permanent residence application after an invitation. For India, IRCC asks for a Police Clearance Certificate and does not accept a character certificate, or one limited to a particular area or period.

The mistake to avoid is paying an agent who is not authorized to represent you. IRCC lets only these people charge a fee: lawyers and paralegals in good standing with a Canadian law society, notaries of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, and consultants in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. It may return or refuse an application made through an unauthorized paid representative, in Canada or abroad, and using a representative does not draw special attention to an application. Check a consultant or lawyer on the regulator's register before any money changes hands, and learn how to spot a scam.