Step-by-step procedure · 3 min read
Canadian permanent residence: the outline, from Cameroon
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For a skilled worker, the best-known route is Express Entry: an online profile, a points ranking, invitations in rounds. Quebec selects its own candidates. Here is the route as IRCC describes it — and the one thing your Cameroonian documents will not need: a translation.
By Talla Naoussi Arnold, translator — Master II in translation, ASTI, Buea · Updated 25 September 2026
Express Entry, in four stages
Qualify for one of the three programs
Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program.Create a profile and enter the pool
The profile is completed online, with language test results and a credential assessment where they are required.Get ranked by the Comprehensive Ranking System
Your CRS score places your profile. IRCC invites the candidates with the most points, in rounds.Apply for permanent residence, if invited
Being in the pool is not enough: only an invitation opens the application. IRCC sets the deadline for applying — read it on the invitation.
The language tests IRCC accepts
| Language | Accepted tests |
|---|---|
| English | CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training, PTE Core |
| French | TEF Canada, TCF Canada |
Results must be less than two years old, both when you create your profile and when you apply.
Your degrees: the educational credential assessment
If you studied outside Canada, IRCC requires an educational credential assessment — the ECA — to qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, or to earn points for that education. It must be less than five years old and come from an organisation IRCC designates.
WES is one of them; our WES credential evaluation page follows the procedure. And for an evaluation done in Canada, a Cameroonian degree in English or French needs no translation.
The file is built online: documents are uploaded, not posted.
Quebec is different
Quebec has a special agreement on immigration with the Government of Canada. To live there as a skilled worker, you apply to Quebec first, before applying for permanent residence.
Provinces and territories also run nominee programs, some of them linked to Express Entry. IRCC describes them on its Provincial Nominee Program pages.
Your Cameroonian documents, and translation
IRCC accepts documents written in English or French. For a document in any other language, it asks for the translation, a sworn declaration from the person who made it, and a certified copy of the original.
Fees, processing times and the funds to show all change: read them on canada.ca, not here. For exactly what IRCC asks about translation, see our Canada visa translation page.
Official sources
Consulted on 11 September 2026. Official instructions change: when they differ from this page, they prevail.
- IRCC — Immigrate through Express Entry — online system, three programs, CRS score, invitations in rounds
- IRCC — Language requirements (Express Entry) — accepted tests, two-year validity
- IRCC — Educational credential assessment — ECA, five-year validity, designated organisations
- IRCC — Quebec-selected skilled workers — Canada–Quebec agreement, apply to Quebec first
- IRCC — What language should my supporting documents be in? — translation, affidavit, certified copy of the original