UAE Immigrants to Canada | Annual Arrivals and Census Trends
In 2025, 10 Emiratis were admitted to Canada as permanent residents.
- In 2025, 393,530 immigrants were admitted to Canada, Chilean immigrants accounted for 0.003% of the annual immigration intake.
- From 2020 to 2025, a total of 105 citizens from the United Arab Emirates moved to Canada as permanent residents.
Source: IRCC
Emirati Immigration to Canada in Recent Years
Emirati immigration to Canada since 2020 has remained relatively modest in scale compared to larger source countries, with United Arab Emirates citizens and residents primarily pursuing permanent residency through economic pathways such as Express Entry. Annual admissions of permanent residents from the UAE have typically numbered in the low hundreds rather than thousands, reflecting the small overall population of Emirati nationals and their high living standards at home. Many applicants leverage strong education, professional skills in fields like finance, engineering, and technology, and English proficiency to meet Canadian selection criteria. Temporary migration, including international students and workers, has supplemented these flows, facilitated by visa-free travel for short stays introduced in 2018. Overall numbers stayed low during the early pandemic years due to global travel restrictions but have continued at a steady pace amid Canada’s broader efforts to attract skilled talent, contributing to the growing but still limited Emirati diaspora in provinces such as Ontario and British Columbia.
Emiratis living in Canada (2016 Census)
- In 2016, 20,990 Emirati immigrants resided in Canada.
- Most Emirati immigrants resided in Ontario.
Source: Statistics Canada
