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Skilled workers are usually those who have professional abilities that are highly sought-after or transferable. Sometimes, this person already has a job offer in Canada. They are judged against a points system, requiring 75 points out of 100 to gain entry into Canada. The points are based on education, experience and language. Entrepreneurs are people who intend to purchase and run a business in Canada and have a minimum net worth of $300,000. They have three years in which to meet set conditions. During that time, Citizenship and Immigration Canada keeps a close tab on the business with a series of forms and interviews. Investors are those who have at least $800,000 net worth and are willing to invest $400,000 through the Receiver General of Canada (which is reimbursed without interest five years after the person lands in Canada). The money is distributed to the provinces for economic development. Self-employed is reserved for world-class athletes, well-known artists and those with specialized farm management skills. There are two classes of refugees: claimants and government-sponsored. A refugee claimant is someone who arrives at a Canadian border or port of entry and declares that he/she intends to seek refugee status in the country. They must apply to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) to be accepted as a -Convention Refugee" as defined by the 1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The claimant must prove to the IRB that he/she has a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group, or faces torture or cruel and unusual treatment if returned home. The process of getting a hearing and also any subsequent appeals could take two years or more. A government-sponsored refugee is usually someone who is already living in a refugee camp or living in fear in their own country and has been referred to Canada through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. That means Canadian officials get to choose who gets in under this class. Once they are accepted by Canada, they are provided assistance to land in the country, get income assistance for a year and other services to help them adjust and integrate. Under the same class are privately-sponsored refugees where a church or organization agrees to provide all the basic necessities and settlement assistance for up to three years.
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