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What is the right age to come to Canada as a student and apply for PR (Permanent Residency)?

 If you have been thinking of choosing Canada as your destination to study and settle in, you must know that your age matters a lot. Yes, you read it right. Your age does matter. If you are planning to study in Canada and go back to your home country with the Canadian degree once your studies are done, then you don't need to worry about your age. However, if you are thinking of pursuing your study in Canada, get post graduation work permit (PGWP), and finally apply for permanent residency (PR), then you have to know that your age plays a huge role in making you eligible for PR in Canada.

The government of Canada invites hundreds of thousands of people for permanent residency every year. However, it doesn't mean that they accept everyone who applies for PR. In fact, only certain eligible people end up getting PR. There are many aspects that need to be considered while applying for permanent residency in Canada. However, in this article, we'll be talking a very important factor - age.

You might be thinking - once I enter Canada as a student, I'll figure out how I will get a legal status in Canada for a longer period. But, unfortunately, that attitude won't work if you are not of a right age. If you come to Canada at a wrong age, you'll have very less chances for PR. Are you wondering how? Let's understand this.

Canada is constantly looking for skilled immigrants. But it's not just about actual "skill". It's also about how physically and mentally fit you are so that you can contribute in building the nation. And obviously, as humans, we are physically and mentally the strongest at certain age. So, if you are at your right age, you're lucky. Otherwise, think twice before you think of coming to Canada as  student and then applying for PR.

Express Entry is the most obvious and the easiest way to apply for the permanent residency status in Canada. And this system needs you to have enough points to be invited to apply for PR. There are other areas that add up to your overall score - education, language proficiency, work experience, family connections, etc. However, if you are at the wrong age, you might end up not receiving PR even after having good education, language skills and enough work experience. 

Here's how it works:

If you are under the age of 17, you'll get 0 points for your age in Express Entry.

If you are 18, you'll get 90 points if you have a spouse, and 99 if you are single.

At 19, you'll get 95 points with a spouse, and 105 without your partner.

Now, this is the ideal age you want to be in Canada at - from 20 to 29. You get 100 with your spouse or common-law partner, and 110 without one.

Once you hit 30, your countdown begins. Your score will drop by 5 points every year.

If you come to Canada at the age of 30, you'll study for 2 years and work for 1 more year. That's 3 years in total. In many cases, you might have to work for 2 years to make your profile strong by completing the required number of hours. So, you'll be spending at least 4 years before applying for your PR status. So, you are now 34. And in last 4 years, you lost 20 points. And if you have been checking the Express Entry draws for last few years, you know that even losing 5 points can reduce the chances of you getting permanent residency in Canada. So, think twice before you jump and apply for a study visa to Canada, thinking that you'll eventually become a permanent resident of Canada.

Here's a simpler representation of how age affects your journey to PR in Canada:


Age With a Spouse or
Common-law Partner
(Maximum 100 points)
Without a Spouse or
Common-law Partner
(Maximum 110 points)
17 years of age or less00
18 years of age9099
19 years of age95105
20 to 29 years of age100110
30 years of age95105
31 years of age9099
32 years of age8594
33 years of age8088
34 years of age7583
35 years of age7077
36 years of age6572
37 years of age6066
38 years of age5561
39 years of age5055
40 years of age4550
41 years of age3539
42 years of age2528
43 years of age1517
44 years of age56
45 years of age or more00

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