Glossary

A stage of higher education that comes after high school. Universities issue three types of degrees: bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate. People must usually complete high school to qualify for university. In Canada, “college” does not refer to a university.

In Quebec, students attend a CEGEP (college) between high school and university.

The Urgent Protection Program (UPP) allows Canada to respond to urgent requests from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to resettle refugees who face immediate threats to their life, liberty or physical safety.

For a document—legal, not expired, and accepted by IRCC.

A job offer, in writing, for Express Entry candidates that is

• for continuous, paid, full-time work (at least 30 hours a week)

• for work that is not seasonal and lasts at least 1 year

• for work in TEER category 0, 1, 2 or 3 of the 2021 NOC

• supported by a labour market impact assessment (unless an exemption applies)

A document that includes a person’s immigration information such as the date and place that you where you came to Canada.

It can be used to prove your immigration status. It cannot be used for travel and is not an identity document.

An official counterfoil document issued by a visa office abroad that is placed in a person’s passport to show that he or she has met the requirements for admission to Canada as a temporary resident (a visitor, student or worker). A counterfoil is a specially designed sticker on which missions abroad print visa information.

Canadian visas include:

• temporary resident visas (sometimes called visitor visas) and

• permanent resident visas.

At missions abroad, controlled documents are comprised of counterfoils and seals, which are issued together as a visa. Counterfoils are the documents on which missions print visa information. Seals are documents that are affixed over counterfoils when they are placed in an applicant’s passport to prevent tampering.

Visa application centres (VACs) help you submit temporary residence applications to a visa office for a fee. They can serve you in your preferred language and provide services to areas without easy access to a visa office.

VACs receive applications, check that they are complete and send them to the correct visa office for processing. They don’t represent the Government of Canada and don’t make decisions on your application.

They don’t offer advice about the programs you should apply to, how to answer questions on your application or any other immigration topic.

Visa offices can be located in Canadian embassies, high commissions and consulates. They process applications and provide information about immigrating to Canada.

The services they provide vary from office to office.

See Embassy, High commission, Consulate.

An officer who assesses and makes decisions on temporary and permanent residence applications submitted by foreign nationals. They can be Canadians sent to the visa office or nationals of the country the visa office is in.

Visiting student: Students at a foreign institution (home institution) who attend a post-secondary Canadian institution (host institution) for a determined period (not a full degree or program) with the intent of transferring the credits earned at the host institution back to their home institution. Visiting students pay fees to the host institution.

Exchange student: Similar to a visiting student as they attend a host institution in Canada. Exchange students do not pay tuition fees to their host institution as these fees are covered by an exchange agreement between the host and home institutions.

Informal term for a temporary resident visa.

See Multiple-entry visa, Single-entry visa, Temporary resident visa.

A preparation for a specific occupation in industry, agriculture or trade. This training generally includes technical, organizational and basic skills training. It may be offered through on-the-job programs, by unions in conjunction with businesses, by community colleges or universities in conjunction with a specific industry, and by private career colleges.