Canada vs Republic of the Philippines
A neutral side-by-side of immigration systems, routes and regulators. Each row links to the underlying visa page with its primary government source.
Last reviewed:
Source basis
This comparison combines Canada and Republic of the Philippines government portals with the primary sources for each side's dominant skilled route. Every detailed figure links through to the underlying route or data page.
Reviewed
Primary sources
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
IRCC - verified
- Bureau of Immigration
Bureau of Immigration (Philippines) - verified
- IRCC — Federal Skilled Worker Program
IRCC - verified
- Pre-arranged Employment Visa (9G) - Bureau of Immigration
Bureau of Immigration (Philippines) - verified
Canada
Canada's permanent-residence system is dominated by Express Entry, covering Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class and Federal Skilled Trades, plus Provincial Nominee Programs. Temporary routes include LMIA-based work permits, International Mobility Program, and the Post-Graduation Work Permit.
- Official portal
- IRCC
- Languages
- English, French
- Currency
- Canadian dollar
Republic of the Philippines
The Bureau of Immigration, under the Department of Justice, administers most visas in the Philippines, while the Philippine Retirement Authority runs the well-known Special Resident Retiree's Visa (SRRV). Headline routes include the 9G pre-arranged employment visa (paired with a Department of Labor and Employment work permit), the 13A non-quota immigrant visa by marriage, the SRRV and investor routes (SIRV, SVEG), and a Digital Nomad Visa established by Executive Order in 2025.
- Official portal
- Bureau of Immigration (Philippines)
- Languages
- Filipino, English
- Currency
- Philippine peso
How Canada and Republic of the Philippines differ
| Dimension | Canada | Republic of the Philippines |
|---|---|---|
| Total routes covered | 8 | 8 |
| Routes without employer sponsor | 7 | 6 |
| Routes leading to permanent residence | 6 | 5 |
| Typical full settlement timeline | Arrival as PR → citizenship eligibility at 3 years. Temp-to-PR transition (Express Entry or PNP from inside Canada) typically adds another 1-3 years. | — |
| Dominant skilled visa | Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) | 9(G) Pre-Arranged Employment Visa |
| Skilled visa salary minimum | — | — |
| Skilled visa processing time | IRCC service standard for Federal Skilled Worker under Express Entry is 5–8 months from AOR. | — |
| Skilled visa government fees | Canada Express Entry (Federal Skilled Worker) costs about CA$1,675 in government fees for a single applicant, plus roughly CA$550 in pre-application third-party costs (ECA + language test). | — |
| Official languages | English, French | Filipino, English |
| Currency | Canadian dollar | Philippine peso |
| Primary regulator | CICC | IBP |
| Policy changes (last 12 months) | 1 | 0 |
Skilled-route head-to-head
Comparing each country’s most-used skilled-migration route side by side.
Canada
Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- Canada Express Entry (Federal Skilled Worker) costs about CA$1,675 in government fees for a single applicant, plus roughly CA$550 in pre-application third-party costs (ECA + language test).
- Processing time
- IRCC service standard for Federal Skilled Worker under Express Entry is 5–8 months from AOR.
- Sponsor required
- No
- Leads to settlement
- Yes
Republic of the Philippines
9(G) Pre-Arranged Employment Visa
- Salary minimum
- —
- Government fees
- —
- Processing time
- —
- Sponsor required
- Yes
- Leads to settlement
- No
Recent policy activity
Last 6 months. Each entry links to its primary government source.
- 30 April 2026Canada
Canada: PR fees rise (30 Apr 2026), category-based Express Entry, Start-up Visa closed, arranged-employment points removed
A run of IRCC changes through 2025-26 reshaped Express Entry economics and closed the Start-up Visa to new applicants.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Routes unique to Canada
Visa routes side by side
Canada (8)
Express Entry — Canadian Experience Class (CEC)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker (FSW)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Express Entry — Federal Skilled Trades (FST)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to 3 years.
Start-Up Visa (Canada)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Canadian Study Permit
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Programme length plus 90 days.
Spousal / common-law sponsorship (Canada)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence.
Republic of the Philippines (8)
9(G) Pre-Arranged Employment Visa
Sponsor · Non-settlement · Granted in line with the employment contract, commonly for periods of one to three years and renewable.
13(A) Non-Quota Immigrant Visa by Marriage
Sponsor · Leads to settlement · Probationary for the first year, then permanent on conversion once the marriage is confirmed subsisting.
Special Resident Retiree's Visa (SRRV)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Indefinite stay with multiple-entry privileges while the qualifying deposit and conditions are maintained.
Special Investor's Resident Visa (SIRV)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Probationary on issue, then indefinite stay for as long as the qualifying investment is maintained.
Special Visa for Employment Generation (SVEG)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Resident status with multiple-entry privileges while the qualifying enterprise and employment continue.
Digital Nomad Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Up to one year initially, renewable once for a two-year maximum.
9(A) Temporary Visitor Visa
No sponsor · Non-settlement · Short initial stay on entry, extendable in increments up to the maximum allowed for temporary visitors.
Quota Immigrant Visa (Section 13)
No sponsor · Leads to settlement · Permanent residence once granted, subject to maintaining status.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has an easier skilled-migration route, Canada or Republic of the Philippines?+
Canada’s Express Entry — Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) is the dominant skilled route; Republic of the Philippines’s 9(G) Pre-Arranged Employment Visa is the dominant skilled route. “Easier” depends on your salary, sponsor situation, and nationality — see each visa’s eligibility detail.
Which immigration system has changed more recently, Canada or Republic of the Philippines?+
In the last 6 months: 1 logged policy change for Canada, 0 for Republic of the Philippines. See the recent-policy section above for the details, each linked to its primary source.
Does Canada or Republic of the Philippines have more visa routes without an employer sponsor?+
Canada has more: 7 of its covered routes can be pursued without an employer sponsor, against 6 for Republic of the Philippines. No-sponsor routes — such as digital-nomad, self-employment, and points-based skilled migration — matter most if you do not yet have a job offer.
Cite or reuse this dataset
This comparison is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0. Cite the page for the compiled head-to-head table and use the country-comparisons JSON endpoint to retrieve the indexed pair, destination profiles and underlying source datasets.
Suggested citation
Visa Atlas, "Canada vs Republic of the Philippines immigration comparison", https://visaatlas.org/compare/canada/vs/philippines. Last verified 1 June 2026.
- JSON endpoint
- https://visaatlas.org/api/public/country-comparisons