Canada Entry and Immigration
In terms of area, Canada is the second largest country in the world. It has one of the lowest population densities in the world. Located in North America, Canada borders the Atlantic Ocean in the east and the Pacific Ocean in the west. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north and the United States to the south and northwest.
Time Difference Canada
Canada has six time zones. In the far east, the time difference to Central European Time (CET) is minus four and a half hours. In the far west there is the greatest time difference of minus 9 hours to Central European Time.
In Canada, too, there is summer time and winter time, where the clocks are set by one hour. Daylight saving time begins at 2:00 a.m. local time on the second Sunday in March. The clocks are put forward by one hour – to three o’clock. On the first Sunday in November, the hour is set back at 2:00 a.m. – to one o’clock. However, there are no time changes in some regions in Canada.
Climate and Weather
In Canada there are different climatic zones, ranging from polar to moderate climates. Mostly one finds a cold temperate climate with long cold winters and short hot summers. The exception is the west coast with a maritime climate and high rainfall. The Prairie Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are the driest areas.
Area: 9,984,670 km²
Residents: 36,503,097 (1st quarter 2017)
Population density: 3.6 E / km²
Form of Government: Parliamentary monarchy
System of Government: Parliamentary democracy
Neighboring countries: USA, Greenland
Capital: Ottawa National
language: English, French
Religions:
43, 2% Catholic,
29% Protestant,
2% Muslim,
1.1% Jews,
1% Buddhists + Hindus,
0.9% Sikhs,
0.3% Jehovah’s Witnesses
Currency: Canadian dollar ($), CAD
1 $ = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
1 EUR = 1.53 CAD
1 CAD = 0.65 EUR
1 CHF = 1.41 CAD
1 CAD = 0.71 CHF
(rate from 02/22/2021)
Telephone area code: +1
time zone: UTC −3.5 to −8
Mains voltage: 110/120 volts, 60 Hz
In 2020, 1,449 Germans officially emigrated to Canada and 1,517 came back to their homeland. Within the 10 years from 2010 to 2019, 25,783 Germans officially emigrated to Canada and 18,886 moved back to Germany. This page gives an overview of the country and immigration. We go into detail on the following pages.
Most of Canada’s almost 37 million residents live in the provinces of Ontario (13,448,494 residents), Québec (8,164,361 residents) and along the St. Lawrence River, i.e. around Toronto, Montreal, Québec, Ottawa, London and Hamilton. There are 4,648,055 people in British Columbia and 4,067,175 in Alberta. The rest of the country is very sparsely populated.
Canada is a classic immigration country. In 2017, 21.5% of the population was born abroad. German-Canadians are the third largest population group in the country after the residents with roots in Great Britain / Ireland and those with roots in today’s France, although many families in the second, third or fourth generation no longer speak German.
Canada’s official languages are English and French, although the distribution is quite different. In Québec, for example, French is the predominant language. Otherwise, the following languages are spoken by the immigrants and their children: Chinese (around 1 million speakers), Italian (around 455,000), German (around 450,000), Punjabi (around 367,000) and Spanish (around 345,000).
Either the charm of this huge country with its seemingly endless expanses, its partially untouched nature attracts many emigrants year after year or the vision of a new, carefree life, family friendliness, acceptance and friendliness of Canadians, a safe job or…
Entry and immigration
Visitors to Canada with a nationality of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, France and other EU countries do not need a visa for entry, up to a stay of 6 months, only a valid passport (the one for the Duration of stay in Canada is valid) as well as an electronic entry permit (eTA), which is applied for online (information on eTA application). However, if you want to stay in Canada for more than 6 months, you will need a visa.
In order to be able to emigrate to Canada, there are various possibilities to obtain a permanent residence permit and to be able to settle and work as a “permanent resident” for an indefinite period of time.
Special features and advantages at a glance
- Regulated immigration
- Stable political system
- High legal security
- Low crime
- Low unemployment
- Little network of rules and regulations
- Tax favorable
- Entrepreneur friendly
- Well paid jobs (skilled workers)
- Very high quality of life
- Basic food inexpensive
- Cheap gasoline
- Foreigner friendly
- Family-friendly, child-friendly
- Good school system (e.g. compulsory up to grade 12)
- Very cheap or free health care
- Unique, protected nature
- Species rich flora and fauna
For those who have a good command of English or French and are flexible, Canada is a very good immigration country. A language trip to your new home is also recommended.