Move to Canada from Australia

How to move to Canada from Australia

When you move to Canada from Australia, you start with real advantages. English is one of Canada's two official languages, so you score well on the language factors that drive most economic programs. Australian degrees and trade qualifications are well understood and straightforward to have assessed, and the two countries share similar systems and institutions, which makes the move feel familiar. As an Australian passport holder you travel visa-exempt to visit.

What you cannot do is simply turn up and stay: visiting and immigrating are different things, and the route that fits depends on your age, your occupation, your work experience and whether you have a Canadian job offer or close family already in Canada.

It comes down to two outcomes. Permanent residence lets you live, work and settle anywhere in Canada with no end date and leads to citizenship, while temporary status on a work or study permit brings you for a set time and is commonly used as a stepping stone toward PR. For many Australians the IEC Working Holiday is that first stepping stone. The sections below cover each route in turn.

The main routes from Australia at a glance

Express Entry from Australia

Express Entryis the route most skilled Australians take, and the quickest federal path to PR. It is Canada's flagship skilled migration system. You lodge an online profile, it is ranked by the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and each draw invites the top-ranked candidates. Native English gives Australian profiles a strong language base, but age, experience and education still need to line up. Three federal programs sit inside Express Entry:

• Canadian Experience Class (CEC), for people who already have skilled Canadian work experience, for example after an IEC Working Holiday.
• Federal Skilled Worker (FSW), the main route for skilled Australians applying from Australia with foreign experience.
• Federal Skilled Trades (FST), for qualified tradespeople.

Before you submit, you will need an Educational Credential Assessment of your Australian degree and an approved English test (most Australian applicants sit IELTS General Training or CELPIP). Small differences in age, experience and test scores move your CRS more than people expect, and a provincial nomination adds a decisive 600 points. Try our free CRS calculator to see where you stand, then we help you find the points you are leaving on the table.

Provincial Nominee Programs for Australian movers

If your CRS sits under the current federal cut-off, a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) is often the way forward. A province nominates the workers it is short of, and an enhanced nomination adds 600 CRS points, generally enough to clear recent Express Entry cut-offs, with IRCC making the final invitation. A few provinces keep coming up for Australian movers:

• Alberta (AAIP), an easy sell to Australians for its Rockies, ski country, lower taxes and busy worker streams. We are based in Canmore, so Alberta is our home ground.
• British Columbia (BC PNP), a strong draw for tech, healthcare and skilled workers who want the West Coast and an outdoor lifestyle that feels familiar.
• Ontario (OINP), the country's largest job market, with streams that pull from the Express Entry pool.
• The Atlantic Immigration Program, an employer-led route across Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador.

The IEC Working Holiday: a popular first move

For younger Australians, the International Experience Canada (IEC) Working Holiday is one of the easiest ways to get to Canada. It is an open work permit, so you are not tied to one employer, and it lets eligible Australian citizens (generally 18 to 35) live and work almost anywhere in Canada. Beyond the adventure, it is strategically valuable: skilled Canadian work experience gained on a Working Holiday can qualify you for the Canadian Experience Class, turning a working holiday into a springboard to permanent residence.

Work permits and employer routes

A Canadian job offer, whether secured or in progress, lets a work permit bring you over and often becomes a bridge to PR. The right permit hinges on the role and employer: an employer-specific permit backed by a Labour Market Impact Assessment, an intra-company transfer for staff of a multinational with a Canadian office, or a bridging open work permit to keep you working once your PR file is advanced. Plenty of Australian professionals start on the IEC or a work permit, build Canadian experience, then switch to PR through Express Entry or a PNP.

Studying in Canada as a route to PR

Studying first is another proven Australian route to PR. A study permit at a designated learning institution gets you onto a Canadian course, and graduating can open a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP), an open permit whose Canadian work experience feeds straight into the Canadian Experience Class. You will need proof of funds for tuition and living costs, plus a Provincial Attestation Letter in provinces that ask for one.

Family sponsorship

If your spouse, common-law or conjugal partner already holds Canadian citizenship or PR, sponsorship through spousal sponsorship may be open to you. Sponsoring a partner normally carries no income test, and the sponsored spouse lands as a permanent resident. Australian parents and grandparents of Canadians can also consider the Super Visa for long visits. Our full family sponsorship guide sets out who can sponsor whom.

What is different when you move from Australia

• eTA, not a visa. You travel visa-exempt on an eTA for visits, but settling requires PR and working requires a permit.
• IEC for under-36s. Eligible Australians can take an IEC Working Holiday open work permit, a popular first step. See IEC.
• AFP police certificate. IRCC asks for an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check covering your time in Australia; order it early, as it can take time to arrive.
• ECA for qualifications. Your Australian degree is assessed by a designated organisation so it can be scored against Canadian standards.
• Professional licensing. Regulated professions, such as nursing, medicine, teaching and many trades, often need Canadian provincial registration before you can practise.
• Healthcare and settling in. Provincial health cover, banking, credit history and driving licences all restart in Canada; we flag the practical steps so nothing catches you out.

How much it costs and how long it takes

Costs sit in two groups. Government charges cover IRCC processing, the right-of-permanent-residence fee and biometrics; third-party costs add your ECA, an English test, the AFP check, a medical exam and, for most Express Entry applicants, the settlement funds you must show. For Australians, long-haul flights and shipping are usually the largest line on top. These amounts change periodically, so we itemise the current figures for your route rather than quote one headline, and government fees can be checked on canada.ca.

On timing, a complete Express Entry application is usually finished about six months after the invitation, with provincial nomination and family sponsorship adding stages and the IEC running in seasonal rounds. Knowing both numbers up front is what makes a plan to move to Canada from Australia realistic rather than a guess. Our fees guide explains our professional fee and how it differs from government fees.

How Wild Mountain helps you move from Australia

1. 01

   Assess your profile

   We review your age, Australian qualifications, experience and language to find the route where you are strongest, whether that is Express Entry, a PNP or the IEC.

2. 02

   Plan and prepare

   We map the pathway, the ECA, the AFP check, the language test and your Express Entry, IEC or provincial strategy, with clear, written fees.

3. 03

   Apply and land

   We build a complete application and represent you with IRCC from Australia through to your arrival in Canada, keeping you updated at every milestone.