Getting a Canadian or UK visa from Jordan

Which route fits you

Canada: Express Entry. No job offer needed. You are scored on age, education, language and work history, and the highest scores are invited to apply. Strong French adds points on top of your English (CRS criteria), but for most applicants from Jordan the English test result is the lever that matters.

Canada: Provincial Nominee Programs. A province nominates you, which adds enough points to make an invitation all but certain. Worth checking if your score is mid-range or your occupation is in demand in one province.

UK: Skilled Worker. You need a licensed employer to sponsor you first. Then the salary rule applies: you must be paid whichever is higher, the general threshold or the going rate for your specific job. Care worker recruitment from overseas has closed; anyone selling UK care jobs from Jordan cannot deliver that route.

UK: Health and Care Worker. For doctors, nurses and other health and adult social care professionals with an eligible job offer. You, your partner and your children do not pay the healthcare surcharge (gov.uk).

→ Work out your Canadian points: it takes about two minutes and tells you where you stand before you spend anything.

What it costs from Jordan

Government fees are set in Canadian dollars and pounds. Your bank converts them at its own rate on the day you pay, so the cost in dinars depends on the exchange rate that day.

The health surcharge is what most people miss. Over three years it costs more than the visa itself, and it is paid upfront. For Canada, also budget for your language test, your credential assessment and certified translations.

What is different for Jordan

Canada wants two police certificates. For permanent residence you need both (IRCC Jordan):

• a Good Conduct Certificate from the General Intelligence Department, at its offices in cities across Jordan, with the police certificate form for travel abroad, two passport photos, a copy of your passport and fee stamps;
• a Non-Conviction Certificate from the Courts of First Instance, at court offices across the country, with the non-conviction form, valid ID or passport and the fees.

From abroad, both can be requested through any Jordanian embassy. The process is the same whether or not you are a Jordanian citizen, which matters if you have lived in Jordan on another passport.

Arabic documents need a certified translation, and not by a relative. IRCC accepts documents in English or French. Anything else needs a translation by a translator accredited where the translation is made, or an affidavit sworn by the translator, together with the original or a certified copy. You, your representative and your family members cannot do the translation (IRCC translation rules). The UK asks for a certified translation of any document not in English or Welsh (gov.uk).

You are not exempt from proving your English. Jordan is not on the UK's list of majority-English-speaking countries (Appendix English Language), even if your degree was taught in English. That degree can replace the test, but only once Ecctis confirms it (gov.uk). Canada exempts nobody: you need CELPIP-General, IELTS General Training or PTE Core, or TEF Canada or TCF Canada for French. IELTS Academic does not count (IRCC language tests).

No TB test for the UK. Jordan is not on the UK's list of countries whose residents need a tuberculosis test (gov.uk). That changes if you have recently lived for a long period in a country that is on the list.

Your degree needs assessing for Canada. An Educational Credential Assessment is required for the Federal Skilled Worker program and to score points for education outside Canada. Use a designated organisation such as WES, ICAS, IQAS, the University of Toronto's Comparative Education Service or BCIT's ICES; doctors and pharmacists who need a licence go through their professional body instead. The organisation you choose tells you how your documents must reach it (IRCC: ECA).

Health and education jobs in the UK need a criminal record certificate too. If you apply from outside the UK for work in healthcare, education or social services, the UK asks for one from each country you have lived in (gov.uk).

Biometrics. Both countries collect fingerprints and a photo at visa application centres run by contractors. Use only the official finders: IRCC and gov.uk.