Canada vs Australia: which is easier to move to?
A straight side-by-side on the eight things that decide it — work routes, study, family, residency, citizenship, cost, healthcare and jobs.
| 🇨🇦 Canada | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | North America | Oceania |
| Population | 41.5 million | about 27 million |
| Foreign-born | about 23% of residents | roughly 30% of residents |
| Language(s) | English, French | English |
| Currency | Canadian dollar (CAD) | Australian dollar (AUD) |
| Work Visas | Most work in Canada requires a job-specific work permit, and most employer-sponsored permits require the employer to first prove no Canadian could do the job. The exceptions — intra-company transfers, treaty professionals, and post-graduation permits — are where most people actually get in. Full guide | Australia separates skilled work into two families: points-tested visas where the applicant competes in a central pool without any employer, and employer-sponsored visas where a business nominates a specific person for a specific role. Both require the occupation to appear on a relevant list, and most require a formal skills assessment by a designated assessing authority. The employer-sponsored temporary route was restructured in late 2024, when the Skills in Demand visa replaced the former Temporary Skill Shortage visa. Full guide |
| Student Visas | A Canadian study permit is now harder to get than it was: numbers are capped, a provincial attestation letter is required, and the proof-of-funds threshold was more than doubled. It remains the single most reliable pathway to permanent residence for people under 30. Full guide | The Student visa (subclass 500) covers full-time study with a registered provider and is assessed against a genuine student requirement, which replaced the older genuine temporary entrant test in 2024. Applicants must show enrolment, English at the level the provider and the department require, health cover for the whole stay, and funds for tuition, travel and living costs at a threshold that has been raised more than once in recent years. Full guide |
| Family & Spouse Visas | Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor a spouse, partner, or dependent child, and the sponsored person usually receives permanent residence directly rather than a temporary visa. Parents and grandparents are a separate, lottery-based queue. Full guide | Partner, child and parent visas are grouped under the family stream, which operates on planning-level places rather than a points test. Partner visas are granted in two stages, temporary then permanent, carry one of the highest visa application charges anywhere in the world, and commonly take a long time to process. Parent visas exist in contributory and non-contributory forms, and the queues attached to them are extraordinary by any comparison. Full guide |
| Permanent Residency | Permanent residence is granted mainly through Express Entry, a points-ranked pool from which the government invites top scorers, and through Provincial Nominee Programs, where a province selects you for its own labour needs and adds a decisive 600 points. Full guide | Permanent residence is reached in three broad ways: directly through the points-tested skilled visas that grant it on approval, through employer nomination, or by first holding a provisional regional visa and converting it once residence and income requirements are satisfied. Permanent residents hold most of the rights of citizens apart from voting and the passport, and their right to re-enter Australia depends on a travel facility that expires. Full guide |
| Citizenship | Canada naturalises quickly: three years of physical presence within the previous five, a language test if you are 18 to 54, a 20-question knowledge test, and an oath. Dual citizenship is fully permitted. Full guide | Citizenship by conferral generally requires around four years of lawful residence in Australia immediately before applying, including roughly the final twelve months as a permanent resident, with limits on time spent outside the country. Most applicants aged between eighteen and fifty-nine sit a citizenship test covering values, history and government, and attend a ceremony at which the pledge is made. Dual citizenship is permitted. Full guide |
| Cost of Living | Canada is not cheap, and the reason is housing. Outside Toronto and Vancouver, a professional salary goes a long way; inside them, rent absorbs a share of income that surprises almost every newcomer. Full guide | Australian salaries are high in international terms, and so is almost everything else. Housing is the decisive variable: rents and purchase prices in Sydney and Melbourne are extreme relative to income, while Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and regional centres are materially cheaper without a proportionate fall in wages. Compulsory superannuation contributions paid by employers are additional to headline salary and should be read as part of total pay. Full guide |
| Healthcare | Public healthcare is universal for residents but administered province by province, and several provinces impose a waiting period of up to three months before coverage begins. Dental care, prescriptions outside hospital, and vision are mostly not covered at any point. Full guide | Medicare is the public system and covers Australian citizens, permanent residents and, in defined circumstances, some applicants for permanent residence and visitors from countries with reciprocal health care agreements. Everyone else, including most temporary visa holders, must arrange private cover, and for students that cover is a visa condition. Private health insurance also interacts with the tax system through the Medicare levy surcharge. Full guide |
| Finding a Job | Canadian hiring is credential-conscious and network-driven. Foreign experience is discounted more than newcomers expect, regulated professions require re-licensing, and the phrase 'Canadian experience' does real work in hiring decisions even where it is not stated. Full guide | The labour market is concentrated in the east coast cities, hiring is credential-conscious, and many occupations are licensed or registered at state level. Shortages are persistent in health care, care work, construction trades, engineering and parts of education, which is reflected in the occupation lists used for skilled migration. Local experience and local referees carry weight, and applicants without either commonly need a first Australian role before their career resumes its previous trajectory. Full guide |
Neither country is "better". They are better for different people:
the deciding factors are usually your occupation, your age, your language, and how
long you are willing to wait. General information only. Not legal advice. No lawyer-client or consultant-client relationship is created.