May 2, 2017 | Blog, Family Immigration, New Laws, Permanent Residency, Spousal Sponsorship
On April 28, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced the elimination of the conditional permanent residence provision for sponsored spouses and partners. This provision, put in place in October 2012, was meant to prevent fraudulent marriages entered into for the sole purpose of immigration. Under this provision, a sponsored spouse or partner of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident was required to live with their sponsor for two years if, at the time of applying, the couple did not have any children together and the relationship was less than two years old.
Effective immediately, sponsored spouses and partners will be relieved of this requirement to live with their sponsor and instead receive full permanent resident status upon landing. By getting rid of the conditional permanent residence provision, the government of Canada hopes to promote gender equality and battle violence. Under the conditional permanent residence provision, vulnerable spouses or partners may have felt the need to remain in an abusive relationship for fear of losing their status. While there did exist an exception to the condition that addressed violence, this does not mean that victims were aware of it or that no other factors might have prevented them from coming forward. Fear is a big factor in these situations and abuse is not always an easy case to present. As such, it is believed that sponsored spouses were put in a difficult position under this conditional status. With this change, sponsored spouses and partners can feel secure in their status without staying in a bad or dangerous relationship. As noted on the Government of Canada website, “any case that was under investigation for non-compliance with the cohabitation condition has ceased. However, cases involving marriage fraud will continue to be investigated.”
Violence is not tolerated in Canada. If you or someone you know is suffering from abuse or neglect under the hand of a sponsor or sponsor’s family, you can get help.
For more information about spousal sponsorship, click here or contact us to discuss your options for permanent residence.
Apr 28, 2017 | Blog, Express Entry, Immigrate to Canada, Permanent Residency, Provincial Nominee Program
The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) – Ontario’s Provincial Nominee Program – aims to help the province meet labour market demands by fast-tracking permanent residence (PR) applications for skilled workers. It has been announced that the program will issue Notifications of Interest (NOI) to religious workers under the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program Human Capital Priorities Stream. Qualified applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program and have a profile in the Express Entry pool. Notifications of Interested will be issued to individuals whose occupations are listed in National Occupation Classification (NOC) code 4154 (Professional occupations in religion) or 4217 (Other religious occupations).
Occupations listed under NOC 4154 – Professional occupations in religion:
- Archbishop
- Bishop
- Cardinal
- Chaplain
- Evangelist
- Granthi
- Imam
- Minister
- Moderator – Religion
- Pastor
- Priest
- Rabbi
Occupations listed under NOC 4217 – Other religious occupations:
- Brother / Sister – Religion
- Christian Science Practitioner
- Deacon
- Missionary
- Monk
- Nun
- Pastoral Animator
- Religious Education Worker
- Salvation Army Field Worker
Additional job titles listed under these NOC codes may also be included. To see if your job matches one of the eligible job titles for this program, contact us or take our free online assessment to determine whether you qualify for the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program.
Apr 26, 2017 | Blog, Express Entry, In the News, Provincial Nominee Program
A part of the Nova Scotia Nominee Program (NSNP), Nova Scotia Demand allows candidates to apply through Express Entry for faster processing of their permanent residence applications. This particular stream has been closed since December of 2015 but is expected to reopen in the coming weeks.
As with any other Provincial Nominee Program, the Nova Scotia Demand stream grants applicants an additional 600 Comprehensive Ranking Score (CRS) points. These additional points make it very likely that candidates will receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence in the next Express Entry draw seeing as how the most recent draw invited applicants with as low as 415 points.
High-skilled individuals looking to reside in the province of Nova Scotia may be interested in the Nova Scotia Demand stream. Interested applicants must meet the minimum eligibility requirements:
- Have at least one year of skilled work experience in a target occupation;
- Have a Canadian high school credential or equivalent;
- Prove language ability in either English or French at Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) 7;
- Score a minimum of 67 points on the stream’s six selection factors;
- Show enough financial resources to successfully settle in Nova Scotia; and
- Have a profile in the Express Entry pool.
Considering it takes time to prepare a complete application, we highly recommend that you get a start early. Individuals looking to settle in Nova Scotia should contact us or take our free online assessment to see if you qualify for this or one of the other provincial nominee programs.
Apr 24, 2017 | Blog, Canadian Employers, In the News, Temporary Foreign Workers
Alberta has launched a new pilot program that prevents Canadian employers in the province from hiring temporary foreign workers in one of 29 high-skilled occupations. Applications through the Temporary Foreign Worker program for these occupations will be placed on a “refusal to process list” and employers who attempt to hire foreign workers in one of these prohibited occupations will be redirected to available local workers. This two year pilot program will be closely watched by the federal government and, if successful, might be implemented in other provinces or federally. The goal of this initiative is to ensure that Canadians are first in line for available jobs. The jobs included in the 29 banned occupations include engineers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, construction, and truck drivers. The selection of these particular jobs was based on the unemployment in Alberta and may be adjusted as time goes on.
If you are a Canadian employer looking to hire foreign workers, click here for more information or contact us to speak with a qualified immigration consultant.
Foreign workers wishing to come to Canada with a temporary work permit, take our free online assessment or contact us to see if you are eligible to apply.
Apr 20, 2017 | In the News
In December 2016, the Canadian government lifted the requirement for Mexicans to obtain a visa prior to entering the country. With this came a prediction that the number of Mexicans claiming asylum would rise in 2017. The numbers now show that there have been 266 new claims for asylum this year – a huge increase from 2016, in which there were 241 claims in the whole year. When lifting the requirement, Canada informed Mexico that the visa would be reinstated if the number of claims reached a certain level. It is unknown how many claims would have to be made before the visa would be reinstated though it is believed that the current number is well below the limit. There has been an increase in the number of flights between Canada and Mexico with the majority of newcomers claiming asylum at Vancouver airport.
Mexican citizens looking to enter Canada have many options. For more information click here or contact us to speak with an immigration consultant.
