Last Updated on November 18, 2016

Port of Entry: This denotes a place where a person could seek entry into Canada. It could typically include places such as airports, land or marine border crossings.

Post-Graduation Work Permits: This denotes a document issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to eligible foreign students who have:

• Graduated from an approved program of study at eligible post-secondary institutions in Canada that are participating in the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program and,

• Applied to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) within 90 days of completing all degree or program requirements

These work permits typically enable the bearer to work legally in Canada after completing their studies.

Post-Secondary Institutions (or Higher Education): This refers to a stage of higher education that typically comes after high school. It could typically refer to a college, a university or a technical school that offers various programs of study. For more details, refer to the definitions of the terms ‘University’ and ‘College’.

Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA): This refers to a thorough process that evaluates whether a person could face persecution, torture, risk to life or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment, if the Canadian authorities were to return the person to the person’s country of origin.

Principal Applicant: When a family applies together, one member would typically end up being the main or the ‘principal’ applicant. For instance, if a mother applies for permanent residence with her three children, the mother would end up being the principal applicant. In situations where parents are included in an application, the dependent children cannot be the principal applicants.

Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR): This refers to a process that schools, colleges, universities, employers and government across Canada typically use for formally recognising a person’s skills that the person has acquired outside of formal education settings. This process enables people to have these kinds of skills assessed and possibly recognised in the form of academic credits. For more information on Prior Learning Assessment and Recognition (PLAR), readers would need to visit the website of the Canadian Association of Prior Learning Assessment (Pan-Canadian).

Privately Sponsored Refugee (or Community Sponsor or Group of Five or Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH)): This denotes a person outside Canada whom the authorities have determined to be a Convention refugee or member of the Country of Asylum class. These individuals would typically receive financial support along with other kinds of support from a private sponsor for one year after their arrival in Canada. It is worth mentioning that private sponsors could typically include:

• Community Sponsors

• Groups of Five or,

• Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAHs)

Probation: People on probation would probably have been convicted of crimes or offences and have been released without their having to go to a penitentiary jail, reformatory or prison. It is worth mentioning that people on probation would typically need to live under certain conditions specified by the court. For instance, such people might need to live in conditions of a curfew or in situations where they are not permitted to take alcohol.

Professional Training: This denotes a type of training usually offered to a person who is already a professional in a given field. The authorities usually recognise this type of training as meeting an official standard of an industry, profession or an association.

Prohibition: The authorities do not consider permanent residents who have committed crimes either in Canada or outside Canada to be eligible for becoming Canadian citizens for a specified span of time. For instance, people could be considered to be under a prohibition and cannot get citizenship if they:

• Are in prison, on parole or on probation in Canada, or are serving a sentence outside Canada

• Have been convicted of an indictable offence in Canada or an offence outside Canada in the four years prior to applying for citizenship or,

• Are charged with, on trial for, or involved in appeals of indictable offences in Canada or offences outside Canada

Readers might be interested in viewing a complete list of prohibitions. For this, they would need to refer to the section titled ‘Situations that May Prevent You from Becoming a Canadian Citizen’ given on the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

Proof of Citizenship (or Citizenship Card or Citizenship Status or Clarification of Status or Confirmation of Status or Citizenship Certificate): This refers to a document issued by the Government of Canada, which confirms a person’s status as a Canadian citizen. For more details, refer to the definition of the term ‘Certificate of Canadian Citizenship’.

Protected Person: This denotes a person whom a Canadian visa officer outside Canada has determined as being a Convention refugee or a person in similar circumstances. This could also refer to a person whom the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada has determined to be a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection in Canada. In addition, this term could refer to a person who has had a positive Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) in most cases as well. For more details, refer to the definition of the term ‘Refugee Claimant’.

Protected Person Status Document: This denotes an official document issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) that confirms the holder’s status in Canada as a protected person.

Protected Temporary Resident: This refers to a person admitted to Canada on a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP). This would typically be the case when a Canadian visa officer abroad has determined that the person faces an immediate threat to the person’s life, liberty or physical safety.

Provincial Nominee Program (PNP): This denotes a program that permits provinces and territories to nominate candidates for immigration to Canada.

Provincial or Territorial Nominee: This denotes a person nominated for immigration to Canada by a provincial or territorial government that has a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). It is worth mentioning that such nominees would typically possess the skills, education and work experience needed for making an immediate economic contribution to the province or territory that has nominated them.

Qualification Recognition: This denotes a process that typically involves the assessment of credentials, competencies and work experience in order to assist employers, educational institutions and professional regulatory bodies in making informed decisions.

Qualifications: This denotes the combination of credentials, knowledge, skills and work experience.

Qualifying Canadian Business: The authorities consider a qualifying Canadian business as one in which the percentage of the business controlled by the entrepreneur meets at least two of the following thresholds in one year:

• The full-time job equivalents are equal to or greater than two

• The total annual sales are equal to or greater than $250,000 Canadian dollars

• The net income in the year is equal to or greater than $25,000 Canadian dollars and,

• The net assets at the end of the year is equal to or greater than $125,000 Canadian dollars

This definition enables officers to determine whether an entrepreneur has managed and controlled a qualifying Canadian business.