Glossary
Apprenticeship Authority: the organization that has information about licensing, certification or registration that you need before you can work in Canada.
Accompanying Dependent: A spouse or dependent child of the principal applicant who intends to immigrate to Canada (See Dependent Child & Principal Applicant).
Non-Accompanying Dependent: A spouse or dependent child of the principal applicant who does not intend to immigrate to Canada (See Dependent Child).
Application: The package including all forms, supporting documents and information provided to the Nova Scotia Nominee Program to request consideration by the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration.
Canadian Citizen: A person who is Canadian by birth or who has applied for citizenship through Citizenship and Immigration Canada and has received a citizenship certificate.
Canadian Government Offices Abroad: Canada has diplomatic and consular offices in over 270 locations in approximately 180 countries. These offices provide a variety of services, although not all offices provide every service. The offices include embassies, high commissions, permanent missions, consulates general, consulates, consulates headed by honorary consuls, and offices. Click here for a list of all offices available.
- Embassy: These are offices located in the capital cities of non-Commonwealth countries and generally offer the full range of services, including consular services. Example: Canadian embassy in Paris, France.
- High Commission: These are the same as embassies but are located in the capital cities of Commonwealth countries. Example: Canadian High Commission in London, England.
- Consulate: These are offices located in major but not capital cities. They generally offer the full range of services, including consular services. Some may not provide immigration services but do provide determinations on permanent visa requests. Example: Canadian Consulate in Buffalo, New York.
Certificate of Nomination: A certificate issued by the Nova Scotia Nominee Program directly to a CIC visa office recommending a foreign national for permanent residence consideration under the federal Economic Class.
Certification: A formal document that recognizes that a person has a certain set of skills, knowledge and abilities. Certification often requires a person to complete education or training.
CIC: Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
CIC Visa Office: Citizenship and Immigration Canada office at a Canadian embassy, high commission or consulate that makes a determination on the issuance of visas, including temporary resident and permanent resident visas.
Common-Law Partner: A common-law partner is a person who has been living with the principal applicant in a conjugal relationship for at least one year, usually in Canada. The term refers to opposite-sex and same-sex relationships.
Conjugal Partner: A person outside of Canada who has maintained a conjugal relationship with the principal applicant for at least one year, usually overseas. The term refers to both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships.
Convention refugee (Section (96), IRPA):
Any person who:
- By reason of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion,
- is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, by reason of that fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country or,
- not having a country of nationality, is outside the country of his former habitual residence and is unable or, by reason of that fear, is unwilling to return to that country; and
- Has not ceased to be a Convention refugee for such reasons as voluntary repatriation.
Credential Assessment Agencies (“Provincial Credential Assessment Agencies”):
In Canada, provincial and territorial governments are responsible for assessing and recognizing credentials. Provincial credential assessment agencies evaluate foreign educational credentials.
Dependent Child: A child who: (Part I., Section (2), IRPR)
Has one of the following relationships with the parent, namely,
- Is the biological child of the parent, if the child has not been adopted by a person other than the spouse or common-law partner of the parent, or
- Is the adopted child of the parent; and
Is in one of the following situations of dependency, namely,
- Is under the age of 22 and does not have a spouse or common-law partner
- Has depended substantially on the financial support of the parent since before the age of 22 - or if the child became a spouse or common-law partner before the age of 22, since becoming a spouse or common-law partner - and, since before the age of 22 or since becoming a spouse or common-law partner, as the case may be, has been a student
(a) continuously enrolled in and attending a post-secondary institution that is accredited by the relevant government authority, and
(b) actively pursuing a course of academic, professional or vocational training on a full-time basis, or
- Is 22 years of age or older and has depended substantially on the financial support of the parent since before the age of 22 and is unable to be financially self-supporting due to a physical or mental condition.
Employer: A person, partnership or company that is directly or indirectly responsible for hiring an employee. In non-regulated occupations, employers assess and recognize foreign credentials. Tip: It is a good idea to have your foreign credentials assessed by a credential assessment agency. This will help potential employers understand your qualifications better.
Family Class: The class of newcomers made up of close relatives of a sponsor in Canada.
Foreign National: A person who is not a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident. This includes a stateless person.
Guaranteed Employment: A bona fide, written offer of employment from an employer in Nova Scotia. The offer must meet the evaluation process set out by the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration.
Health Card: The provinces and territories, rather than the federal government, are primarily responsible for the administration and delivery of health-care services. The health card is issued by the provincial or territorial government and allows access to insured health-care services.
Hidden Job Market: Many job openings are not advertised anywhere, creating what seems like a “hidden” job market. Information about available work is often circulated through managers, employees and business associates, as well as through family, friends and acquaintances.
Immigrant-Serving Organization: There are hundreds of organizations that serve immigrants in Canada. Many of these organizations are supported financially by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. They hire staff who were once newcomers to Canada and who understand the challenges that immigrants may face; they usually have people available who speak your language and who can accompany you as interpreters; and they are located in major cities.
Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC): A self-regulating association of paid immigration representatives who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration will not release information to any paid immigration representative who is not a member in good standing with the ICCRC or a lawyer in good standing with a law society in Canada.
Intended Occupation: The occupation in which a nominee plans to work in Nova Scotia. It should be consistent with the applicant's training and experience.
Labour Market Opinion: In almost all cases, foreign workers must have a valid work permit to work in Canada. When hiring a foreign worker, the employer must generally submit an application to Service Canada requesting a positive labour market opinion (LMO). This is a confirmation by Service Canada that the foreign worker is required in the province and that the employment offer will have a positive or neutral impact on the Canadian labour market.
Letter of Nomination: Formal correspondence from the Nova Scotia Office of Immigration that advises the applicant that he or she has been nominated by the Province of Nova Scotia under the Nova Scotia Nominee Program.
Liquid Assets: Liquid assets cash, demand deposits with a financial institution, term deposits, tax shelters convertible to cash, and readily marketable investments including publicly traded stocks or bonds.
National Occupational Classification (NOC): The NOC is a classification system that describes duties, skills, talents and work settings for occupations in the Canadian economy.
Net Worth: The value of all personnel and spousal business assets expressed at realizable market value, less any related debt obligations or encumbrances which prevent the asset from being sold or conveyed to an unrelated third party (excludes jewellery, automobiles or furniture).
Newcomers: This term refers to people who have recently landed as immigrants to Canada.
Non-Regulated Occupation: A non-regulated occupation is a profession or a trade for which you don’t need a licence, certificate or registration to work in. Most occupations in Canada are non-regulated. If you are applying for a non-regulated occupation, you must show your potential employer that you have the education and experience to do the job. Even if an occupation is not regulated, an employer can still ask that an applicant be registered, licensed or certified with a professional association.
Nova Scotia Nominee Program: An immigration selection program that allows the Province of Nova Scotia to recommend foreign nationals to CIC for permanent residency. (Commonly referred to as the NSNP).
Nova Scotia Provincial Nominee: A person to whom the NSNP has issued a Certificate of Nomination following an assessment of his/her application.
Principal Applicant: The individual (you, your spouse or common-law partner) who must meet the Nova Scotia Nominee Program selection criteria. The spouse, common-law, or conjugal partner should apply as a dependent.
Permanent Resident: A person who is legally in Canada on a permanent basis as an immigrant or refugee, but not yet a Canadian citizen (formerly known as landed immigrant).
Permanent Resident Card: Permanent residents receive a Permanent Resident Card as proof of their status in Canada. Replacing the former Record of Landing (IMM1000), the card is a secure, machine-readable and fraud-resistant document, valid for five years.
Post-Graduation Work Permit: A Post Graduation Work Permit is a document issued by CIC to eligible international students who have graduated from a post-secondary program in Canada, have received a job offer for employment related to their field of studies and have applied to CIC within 90 days of completing all degree or program requirements.
Red Seal Trades (Skilled Trades): The Interprovincial Standards Red Seal Program was established to provide greater mobility for skilled workers across Canada. The Red Seal program allows qualified trades people to practice their trade anywhere in Canada where the trade is designated without having to write further examinations. To date, 49 trades are included in the national Red Seal Program, accounting for over 88% of all apprentices and more than 80% of the total trades work force in Canada. To learn more about Red Seal trades available in your province or territory, contact your provincial or territorial apprenticeship authority.
References: A list of people who are in a position to recommend you or to vouch for your ability to do a job.
Refugee Claimant: A refugee claimant is a person who requests refugee protection status, from within Canada. A refugee claimant whose claim is accepted becomes a protected person and may become a permanent resident of Canada.
Regulated Occupation: Many professions set their own standards of practice. These are called regulated occupations. In Canada, about 20 percent of jobs are regulated by the government to protect public health and safety. For example, nurses, doctors, engineers, teachers and electricians all work in regulated occupations. If you want to work in a regulated occupation and use a regulated title, you must have a license or a certificate or be registered with the regulatory body for your occupation. Some occupations are regulated in some provinces or territories but not regulated in others.
Regulatory Body: A regulatory body is an organization that sets the standards and practices of a profession. For example, the College of Nurses of Ontario makes sure that its members are qualified to do a nurse’s job. It also makes sure that members keep up their qualifications.
Résumé: Résumés, also known as CV’s (for curriculum vitaes), are a synopsis of an individual candidate’s skills and experience. They should also be viewed as marketing materials. The crucial consideration is to match the résumé with the target audience, ideally a hiring manager.
Service Canada Centre: Service Canada centres provide in-person services for individuals seeking information about where to go to get their credentials assessed in Canada. Service Canada agents help individuals identify more quickly their occupation’s appropriate regulatory and assessment body as well as provide important job-related information about specific occupations. To find the nearest Service Canada centre offering in-person information, path-finding and referral services, call 1-888-854-1805 or TTY 1-800-926-9105 (in Canada only).
Settlement Funds: The amount of financial or transferable assets in the name of the principal applicant and/or the spouse/common-law partner available to the applicant to pay the costs of the nominee program fees, Government of Canada immigration fees, relocation costs to Canada and the costs to settle successfully in Nova Scotia.
Social Insurance Number: The Social Insurance Number (SIN) is a nine-digit number that you need to work in Canada or to have access to government programs and benefits.
Spouse: A person of the opposite sex or same sex to whom the principal applicant is legally married.
Temporary Resident: A foreign national who is legally in Canada on a temporary basis as a visitor, student, worker or under a Temporary Resident permit.
Temporary Study Permit: A document issued by a CIC visa or immigration officer authorizing a foreign national to study in Canada.
Temporary Work Permit: A document issued by a CIC visa or immigration officer allowing a foreign national to work temporarily in Canada according to the conditions indicated in the permit. An approved provincial nominee may be eligible to apply for a temporary work permit while awaiting a decision on their immigration application from the Government of Canada. This work permit would not require Service Canada validation, if the nominee has a job offer in his/her assessed occupation and a supporting letter from the Nova Scotia Nominee Program.
Visitor Visa: A document issued by a CIC visa or immigration officer authorizing a foreign national to visit Canada on a temporary basis (necessary for foreign nationals from visa requiring countries).
Volunteer: A person who performs a service willingly and without pay.
Working in Canada Report: This report is produced through the Working in Canada Tool. It will help you identify the name of your occupation in Canada and provide you with a detailed labour market information report (containing job duties, skill requirements, wage rates, etc.) for a chosen location in Canada.
