National Household Survey (NHS)

Year of immigration of immigrant, time

Year of immigration refers to the year in which the immigrant first obtained his or her landed immigrant/permanent resident status. A landed immigrant/permanent resident is a person who has been granted the right to live permanently in Canada by immigration authorities.

In the 2011 National Household Survey, 'Year of immigration' is referred to as 'Period of immigration' when data are shown aggregated by periods of more than one year.

Immigrant refers to a person who is or has ever been a landed immigrant/permanent resident. A landed immigrant/permanent resident is a person who has been granted the right to live in Canada permanently by immigration authorities. Immigrants are either Canadian citizens by naturalization (the citizenship process) or permanent residents (landed immigrants) under Canadian legislation. Some immigrants have resided in Canada for a number of years, while others have arrived recently. Most immigrants are born outside Canada, but a small number are born in Canada.

The data for this variable are reported using the following measurements:

• 'Calendar year' is expressed in single years, from the earliest year on the file to the reference year.
  
  Note: Single years can be collapsed to form larger categories of five or ten years, beginning with those years that are five or ten years before a specified reference year.
  
  Example for 2006: 2001-2006, 1996-2000.