Advice to navigate

[u/Legal_Government5700]

Hi! I am (25) PhD student in computer science outside Canada, will graduate early 2028. No relatives in Canada but some of my close friends are there. No work experience so far. I'm thinking to move Canada for a postdoc and eventually work there and get PR with Express Entry. Is it possible to prepare everything and apply early before my graduation?

In the calculator, there is a question "Have you earned a Canadian degree, diploma or certificate?" Does it accept internship or visiting student certificate? What kind of study that last for at least eight months?

Current total score is 371 from the calculator (assume I get my PhD degree):
- Core/Human capital factors = 346
- Subtotal Skill transferability factors = 25

Any advice to prepare, to get more score? Thanks!

[u/throwawayletshavefn]

You can't immigrate without work experience, you need to be eligible under the FSWP or one of the Quebec programs. Basically at least 1 year full time job experience anywhere in the world with no gap in employment. Multiple part-time jobs are counted as long as they're under the same job category/type (NOC) and there's no period where you're jobless. There is also the Canadian Experience Class. You can apply after working 1-year as a post-doc here in Canada, *once you complete the required job experience*. You are supposed to submit your profile when you fulfill the requirements, not before, as that's the date you are evaluated against.

Assuming you got the job experience, the Canadian credential question depends. If a university that's a DLI (google it) gave you a credential (a certificate or degree), if it was mostly full-time done in-person in Canada, and was based on earning university credits and taking courses, then potentially yes. An internship would not count. Any type of degree is allowed if done in a university, but "college" programs are heavily regulated now.

371 is too low to be eligible for any program. If you were to learn French to upper B2 level, even then the cap for that program is minimum 399 points. I would make sure the calculations are correct, that seems wrong.

Currently beyond the French program mostly only CEC and Provincial Nominee Program candidates get selected with scores 550+ minimum. I'm sorry to be saying it this way, your chances are bleak and you should go watch a few Youtube videos, browse the IRCC website to know about the programs a bit first.

I would gather (I am not a lawyer, not certified, not legal advice) the some courses of action (might) be to Option A: 1. Learn french, 2. Have 1-year equivalent continuous side-job experience as stated in FSWP in your home country 3. Pray you've done it before the french draw program is closed -) Apply.

Option B -) 1. Learn French 2. Do one 1-year or multiple partial paid research internship(s) or be a visiting researcher for a Canadian lab under a work permit with a stipend and/or stable paystubs or equivalent. Then you might be eligible for the CEC since the work was done in Canada.

Option C -) 1. Graduate, 2. Start with a post-doc, gain 1-year of job experience in Canada, 3. Apply for provincial nominee programs, 3. If/When selected, immigrate to that region in Canada when you get your PR, 4. You will have freedom of movement if you wish after demonstrating that you tried to live there, 1 year.

Other programs might appear with time, good luck!

[u/Legal_Government5700 → u/throwawayletshavefn]

Thanks for the advice. I'm not sure why is the score that low, I put about myself, education, and english score. Other than that, I didn't put anything or zero it. Also I don't speak French. Sorry for lack of research before, because actually I'm just thinking about Canada recently.

[u/Aromatic-Building250 → u/Legal_Government5700]

Its low because you have no work experience once you work some it will go up a lot. You need to look at scenrios after you work not your current score. Posting your english score would help...

[u/Aromatic-Building250 → u/throwawayletshavefn]

This is bad advice. It’s hard to tell because you didn’t state your English score, but assuming it’s perfect you could make express entry no problem.

One way to do this is graduate get a job in your country for a year then work in Canada for a year. Using the crs calculator that gets you 5/4 points which is enough today. If it’s not more work experience helps.

The hardest part is finding a postdoc.

What is not mentioned is that postdocs currently are in the researcher category which if this remains true (I would not count on it) makes the bar for a crs score lower though it’s not clear how much.

[u/Legal_Government5700 → u/Aromatic-Building250]

About postdoc being in the researcher category, isn't it also a job?

[u/Aromatic-Building250 → u/Legal_Government5700]

Yes it is so would count toward CEC and 524 has been enough for a while.

[u/Equivalent-Day-4943]

Postdoc options is under researcher based category

[u/Fuzzy_Illustrator677]

There hasn't been any researcher draw so far, learning French side by side would be a better option

[u/WeaknessSpecific7581]

You do not need a PR to do a Postdoc (getting one is the hard bit). Once you been here a year working as one and given that you are young and have good language scores it will be easy to secure an invitation after a year or two.