The visa officer merely checks your application to ensure that it is complete, with all the relevant and necessary documents attached. If these documents are not included, the officer may request additional information, or may send the whole application package back to you or to us.

The preliminary screening of applications takes place in this stage. Here, the officer starts to evaluate your case, considering the combination of factors mentioned earlier, to determine whether you satisfy the minimum level of eligibility prescribed by the government. If you score below this level, your application will be rejected at once.
Achieving a positive result at the end of this stage signals only minimum eligibility and does not indicate that your application will eventually be approved, even if you receive a sufficiently good result to qualify for an interview. Every year, hundreds of thousands of qualified people from around the world apply to immigrate to Canada.

Meanwhile, the government specifies a target number of immigrants to be accepted annually. There are far more applicants who satisfy the minimum criteria than can possibly be accepted in any given year. Only the best of these people are chosen; successful applicants are those who have submitted flawless, well-presented application packages. Those that have been professionally prepared for the interview, and, perhaps even more importantly, whose applications have been supported by diligent contact, follow up and communication by an immigration expert with the government.
In this stage, how your application is presented is undoubtedly critical to your success in obtaining a visa. Should you engage EasyMigrate Consultancy Services (ECS), our Canada affiliates can compose a Professional Opinion Report (P.O.R.) to accompany your application. Our P.O.R. acts in essentially the same manner as a trial lawyer in a court of law. The P.O.R. methodically addresses each and every issue that visa officers consider before making their decisions. Citing legal precedents and prior Federal Court decisions on similar cases to support the arguments being made in favour of the client, the P.OR. highlights and accentuates the positive aspects of the case and at the same time rebuffs any possible concerns against the case. Each case is thoroughly scrutinized by a vigilant visa officer, even simple matters such as the age of the applicant.

How will the visa officer calculate your age? What happens if your birthday occurs while the application is pending?

How will your educational qualification compare to Canadian educational standards based on the educational program you graduated from? A Bachelor degree from another country may not be regarded as equivalent to a Canadian Bachelor degree. Is it sufficient for working in your intended occupation in Canada, even if this occupation does not require licensing or registration?

Is your occupation acceptable for immigration purposes? Several occupations are ineligible, while others simply are not given significant weight in the immigration assessment. Some of the ineligible occupations include teachers, lawyers, clerks and most doctors (veterinarians, pathologists, ophthalmologists, physiotherapists, audiologists and radiologists may be acceptable). Furthermore, applicants should realize that overseas occupations and job titles may not exactly correspond to similar job titles in Canada. Is it mandatory to be licensed/certified/registered in Canada before being permitted to practice your profession?

What is the nature of your work experience? Do your skills and the job duties you have performed match those of workers in the same occupation in Canada? For example, it is not sufficient for an engineer to have graduated from an approved university. In order for the work experience to be considered relevant, he/she must also have performed job duties of a typical engineer from a Canadian perspective.

Success in gaining an immigration visa hinges on presenting a case in such a way that unequivocally portrays the applicant as perfectly suitable to immigrate. In fact, thousands of applicants with good qualifications are rejected every year because their attributes are presented inadequately. At ECS, we understand the concerns that revolve in the mind of the visa officer, and we are capable of submitting a persuasive application addressing these concerns. In other words, we know how the visa officer evaluates immigration cases, and what s/he expects of applicants. We handle our clients' cases with this knowledge in mind.

Here, the visa officer makes a decision to approve or reject the case in principle. Applicants may have to attend a highly intense interview in which the visa officer uses his subjective opinion to evaluate the applicant. However, when your case is exceptionally strong and well prepared, the visa officer may waive the interview. ECS has been successful in requesting and obtaining interview waivers for a significant percentage of our clients.

Applicants can win or lose their immigration visa on the basis of this meeting with the visa officer. Your proficiency in English/French will be examined. Very often, the visa officer assesses language abilities of applicants at much lower level of fluency than what the applicants believe they deserve. The applicant's personal suitability for immigration is the most challenging factor probed in the interview. You must prove that you are likely to smoothly adapt to life in Canada, by demonstrating pertinent knowledge about life in Canada and the job market in the region where you wish to work, especially in your intended occupation.

ECS plays a crucial role in coaching clients to perform optimally in the interview. Those applicants whom ECS prepares for the interview become aware of the type of questions likely to be broached by the visa officer and how best to answer them. We instruct the clients on the realities of searching for and securing a job, as well as on how to exhibit the right personal traits and attributes to impress the visa officer.

If the visa officer approves your application in principle in the third stage, you still have to meet the medical, criminal/security, and financial admissibility requirements. Once you meet them, your migration visa will be issued.