Fastest ways to immigrate to Canada as a panel beater in 2024/2025

If you’re looking to immigrate to Canada as a Panel Beater you’re in luck! Panel beaters are in demand right across Canada and you may be able to secure a Canadian Permanent Residency Visa either with or without a job offer.

Panel beaters also called smash repairers, are people who repair cars and other vehicles after a collision. A panel beater can return your car to its pre-accident condition.

The panel beating process involves removing, repairing, and replacing damaged panels, as well as spray painting, chassis alignment, and refitting body hardware.

No doubt you will have read online that having a job offer to move to Canada is a prerequisite to accessing the Express Entry process but as a panel beater, you also have other options to secure your Canada Visa from the start.

For starters, Panel beaters are eligible to apply to immigrate to Canada under the Canadian Government’s Immigration program due to the demand for Panel beaters in Canada being so great they have included the occupation on the targeted occupations list, known as the NOC list (National Occupation Code List).

There is a huge amount of work that goes into repairing a vehicle after an accident. Cars are more complex and carry more technology than ever before, so repairing them requires expert training and processes.

The tasks involved in panel beating include:

• Removing, repairing, and replacing damaged panels
• Repairing dents and scratches with specialty fillers
• Filing and sanding the bodywork to ensure a smooth finish
• Replacing damaged parts with genuine parts from the vehicle manufacturer
• Installing body hardware such as door locks and sensors
• realigning the chassis and body frame
• Repainting the vehicle and matching the original color.

Panel beaters are experts in a wide range of tasks needed to return a vehicle to its pre-crash condition.

The code for Panel beaters on the NOC is 7322

This is great news for qualified Panel beaters the world over hoping to live and work in Canada.

Express Entry for Canada is not a visa class at all, it is simply the method (or database) that Canadian Immigration uses to select the right candidates for a permanent residency visa and in that case, as a panel beater looking to immigrate to Canada we’ll be looking at the Federal Skilled Trades visa and Provincial Nominee program.

Panel beaters from all over the world are eligible to make an Express Entry for Panel beater Canada Residency providing they have the right skills, experience, and qualifications in their home country.

Panel beaters looking to move to Canada to work under this NOC category 7322, might be employed under work titles including

• antique vehicle body restorer
• apprentice painter – motor vehicle repair
• r – motor vehicle repair
• used car renovator etc

All these roles held by panel beater are eligible to apply under this specific NOC category of 7322

Tasks for those looking to Immigrate to Canada as a Panel Beater

In general panel beater moving to Canada will be able to demonstrate knowledge or experience of the following:

Review damage report and estimates of repair cost and plan work to be performed

Repair and replace front end components, body components, doors and frame and underbody components

Hammer out dents, buckles and other defects using blocks and hammers

Operate soldering equipment or use plastic filler to fill holes, dents and seams

Remove damaged fenders, panels and grills using wrenches and cutting torch and bolt or weld replacement parts into place

File, grind and sand repaired body surfaces using hand and power tools

Mask and tape auto body surfaces in preparation for painting

Mix paint, blend and match colours

Apply primers and repaint surfaces using brush or spray guns.

In the U, for example we’ll be looking for NVQ Level III

From South Africa, you will be expected to hold your Red Seal

We’re happy to represent panel-beater clients from all over the World so regardless of your country of qualification feel free to contact us today for a full breakdown of your Canadian Immigration chances.

How to Immigrate to Canada as a Panel beater

The first stage in your Canadian immigration process is to calculate your Canada Immigration points for Express Entry using the Canadian Comprehensive Ranking System.

CRS Points are awarded for (amongst other things)

Age

Qualifications

English ability

French ability

Your partner’s skills

Work experience

As well as providing you with important CRS points these factors also count towards your overall Immigration Points score which must equal or exceed a total of 67

Once you receive an ITA (Invitation to apply) from Canadian Immigration as a result of your Express Entry application you’ll only have 60 days in which to lodge a formal application so under no circumstances should you lodge an Express Entry application ‘claiming’ to have certain points without first having all of your points verified through different testing, education equivalence certificates and skilled trades assessments.

Once you are invited to apply for your Canada Visa you cannot go back and have these things verified retrospectively, they must be done before you claim any points for them and given that your express entry profile is only valid for one year it makes sense to present the best possible case right from the start.

Here are the 5 steps to Panel Beating

1. Shrinking/Stretching

2. Planishing

3. Welding

4. Filling

5. Sanding

Shrinking/Stretching

This involves applying heat to the damaged area of the panel whilst using a special hammer to reshape the metal. This technique is used together with Planishing to  restore the panel to original shape and contours.

Planishing 

A planishing hammer is used to finely shape and smooth the panel surface. This metalworking technique helps push out the damaged metal where the metal is pushed against a shaping tool, known as a dolly or stake.

Welding

Welding may be use to join pieces of metal together by melting the work pieces together, once cooled it becomes a strong joint ensuring a strong vehicle structure. There are several ways to weld, such as by a gas flame or an electric arc but is dependent on the type of materials to be joined.

Filling

This involves adding putty filler to fill in some small holes in the surface so the original shape and contours can be achieved. It needs to be applied carefully our onto the area as fast as possible as once it hardens it’s not usable anymore. As the filler hardens, then it’s time to smoothed and shaped by sanding.

Sanding

Sanding is the procedure used to finely shape and smooth area ready for spray painting. Depending on the stage of work, a different texture can be achieved by changing the coarseness of the sanding pad.

Skills Assessment to Emigrate to Canada as a Panel Beater

The process of getting your panel beating skills, experience and qualifications verified is called Skills Assessment and it serves two purposes.

Canada Panel beater Skills Assessment purpose one: With a positive skills assessment you’ll be able to claim the requisite points on both the Express Entry CRS and eventual Federal Skilled Trades application.

Canada Panel beater Skills Assessment purpose two: Your positive skills assessment will also double as your Red Seal qualification so having your panel beating skills assessed means that you’ll be qualified to work as a panel beater in Canada from day one.

As part of your immigration process, your dedicated Panel beaters Canada account manager will arrange for your Red Seal equivalency process so there’s no need to worry about how to move to Canada; we’ll have you covered from the moment you get the ball rolling.

Can I emigrate to Canada as a Panel Beater without a job offer?

The answer is a resounding yes, providing you have a reasonable total CRS score on your Express Entry application and can meet the 67 immigration point threshold for your Canada Federal Skilled Trades Visa.

Technically there is no minimum CRS score required to submit a Panel beater Canada Express Entry profile.

Of course, securing a job offer (documented in the right way for immigration purposes i.e. LMT) will give you an instant CRS boost of 600 points so it makes sense to start this process as soon as is practical.

Panel beater Jobs in Canada

Occupations on the Canada NOC list can be classed as being ‘in demand’ and the panel beaters code 7322 has been firmly established on the list for many years with lots of opportunities right across the country.

As a qualified new and highly skilled Permanent resident of Canada, you may work full-time from day one, either as a direct employee, contractor, or in a self-employed capacity. Panel beater jobs in Canada are often better paid than in the UK, Europe, and Asia and Canadian employment law respects the work-life balance.

Canada as a Motor Collision industry accreditation Program.  Any Panel Beater looking to start their own shop once they have emigrated to Canada should look into the accreditation required.

Emigrate Canada are the Panel beater Canada Visa specialists with a dedicated Skilled Trades desk ideally placed to take care of not just your immigration paperwork, but also to get you registered to work from day one.

Tools Used by Panel Beaters