The document checklist to start six months before you apply

Nothing in an immigration file is difficult on its own. The difficulty is that six slow things have to happen in parallel, and most people start them one at a time.

Order these first — they take longest

1. Educational credential assessment — weeks to months, depending on your institution
2. Police certificates from every country you lived in for six months or more
3. Reference letters from former employers, while contacts are still findable
4. Passport renewal, if yours expires within two years

Then these

• Language test booking — seats fill weeks ahead in some cities
• Six months of bank statements showing settlement funds
• Marriage, birth and custody documents, translated and certified
• Medical exams — only after you know your timeline