Every year, more than a quarter of a million people enter Canada as immigrants. They have chosen this country as a land of opportunity or they are escaping poverty, oppression or war. Many have struggled to get here and may have come with nothing but the clothes on their back. Others are well established in their home countries. But they all experience the immigration process.

One out of six Canadians was born outside of the country. Canada is home to about five million immigrants. Immigration has touched most of us in one form or another.

Immigrants and refugees face many challenges in this country - everything from getting a job to figuring out how to open a bank account. There are anywhere between 400,000 to 500,000 applications in the system at any one time.

According to the 2001 statistics provided by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, out of a total of 250,346 immigrants:

• 66,644 were family sponsorships
• 137,085 came in as skilled workers
• 15,854 came as entrepreneurs, investors or self-employed
• 27,894 as refugees
• 2,869 came in as live-in caregivers, retirees and other smaller categories of immigrants

The Immigration Application

Here are the steps you need to go through to immigrate to Canada.

1. Complete an official application form.
2. Pay an application processing fee. It ranges from $75 for a family class applicant to $1,000 for business applicants.
3. Pay a Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) if you are 19 or over and are applying for permanent resident status. The $975 fee is refundable if permanent resident status is not granted. Refugees are loaned the money for the fee.
4. If you are applying from abroad, you could be subject to an interview and required to provide documents and go through a medical exam.

You can make your application at any of several regional centres across Canada or 79 offices abroad. All mail-in applications are processed at two Case Processing Centres:

• Vegreville, Alberta (employment, visitor status, landings in Canada, refugees)
• Mississauga, Ontario (family sponsorships)

Anyone applying to become a permanent resident must submit to a medical test by a health professional approved by Citizenship and Immigration. The medical test may include: a physical examination, a mental examination, a review of medical history and records and diagnostic tests such as urinalysis, a syphilis blood test, chest x-ray and an HIV test.