Dec 12, 2012 | Immigrate to Canada, Immigration, In the News, New Immigration Programs, New Laws, Permanent Residency, Skilled Workers, Working In Canada
Among the many program updates being made for the new year, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is changing the requirements of the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) to make it easier and faster for qualified applicants to obtain permanent residence in Canada. Changes to the program will allow skilled workers to apply for the Canadian Experience Class with only 12 months of Canadian work experience instead of the 24 months which was previously required. Skilled workers applying for Canada immigration through the Canadian Experience Class will therefore be able to become permanent residents of Canada a year sooner than before.
In addition to these changes for skilled workers, the Canadian Experience Class will now be easier for international students who are applying for permanent residence. Students applying for immigration to Canada through the Canadian Experience Class are required to earn one (1) year of work experience prior to their application for permanent residence. In the past, students were required to earn this experience within 24 months of graduating. Part of the changes to the Canadian Experience Class will now allow students 36 months in which to obtain their work experience.
With these changes to the Canadian Experience Class, CIC expects to accept close to 10,000 applications for permanent residents. This is a huge number compared to previous years. The Canadian Experience Class is growing quickly and the government is intent on making it easier for skilled workers to transition to permanent residence status. These changes will be put in place on January 2nd.
If you are a skilled worker or an international graduate who is interested in immigration to Canada, you may contact our office to speak with an immigration consultant about the Canadian Experience Class. You may also take our free assessment to find out if you qualify for this Canada immigration program. We urge you to share your thoughts with us and to spread the good news to any of your friends and family who may be affected by these changes. Call us today for more information on the Canadian Experience Class and/or to get answers to any of your Canada immigration questions.
Dec 11, 2012 | Immigrate to Canada, Immigration, In the News, New Immigration Programs, Skilled Workers, Working In Canada
In an ongoing effort to improve Canada’s economic health and fill gaps in skilled trades, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has developed a new program for foreign workers wishing to immigrate and work in Canada. The Federal Skilled Trades Program, which will be launched at the start of the new year, will “help address serious labour shortages in some regions of the country, and support economic growth,” according to Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. This new Federal Skilled Trades Program is designed to replace the outdated Federal Skilled Worker Program and make it easier for skilled workers to immigrate to Canada. Minister Kenney has added that “The Federal Skilled Trades Program will help transform Canada’s immigration system into a fast and flexible system focused on jobs, growth and long-term prosperity.”
While the specifics of the Federal Skilled Trades Program have not yet been released, we do know that there will be minimum requirements that one must meet in order to be eligible for immigration to Canada under this new program. Applicants for the Federal Skilled Trades Program must show that they have the skills and experience required to be successful in Canada.
You may be eligible to apply for the Federal Skilled Trades Program if you meet the following four requirements:
- You must have a job offer from a Canadian employer or a certificate of qualification from a province or territory which attests to the fact that you are qualified and available to work upon entry to Canada;
- You must meet the basic language requirements for Canada immigration;
- You must have a minimum of two years of work experience in your trade; and
- You must have the necessary skills and experience as set out in the National Occupational Classification (NOC B) system.
Applicants for the Federal Skilled Trades Program must be skilled in a trade which is in high demand and for which Canadian employers are unable to find Canadians to fill the gaps. Some of the occupations which will be included in the Federal Skilled Trades Program include electricians, welders, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, pipefitters, and others. More specific details regarding the Federal Skilled Trades Program – including a list of occupations that qualify for the program – will be made available at the launch of the program on January 2nd, 2013. We recommend that you contact our office after January 2nd to speak to an immigration consultant and get more information about the Federal Skilled Trades Program. Our consultants can assess your situation and tell you whether you qualify for this or any other Canada immigration program.
As always, we wish to hear from our readers about this new plan. Do you think the Federal Skilled Trades Program will benefit Canada’s economy? Are you a skilled tradesperson who is interested in immigration to Canada and would like to know if you qualify? We urge you to share your opinions on this new program and to share this news with your friends and family on Facebook, twitter, or any other social network. Comments posted on our blog are monitored closely but if you have specific questions, we recommend that you contact us directly or take our free assessment (after January 2nd) to see if you meet the eligibility requirements for the Federal Skilled Trades Program. We look forward to hearing from you!
Aug 24, 2012 | Immigrate to Canada, In the News, Legally Speaking, Permanent Residency, Skilled Workers, Why you need an immigration specialist
The Canadian government has been incredibly busy this year making major changes to it’s immigration system. With the pause of the Skilled Worker program, sponsorship of parents and grandparents, and the hold on investors and business class immigration, it has been an incredibly active year for minister Jason Kenney.
Recognizing that immigrants are an integral part of the Canadian economy, and growing labour shortages in the country overall, Minister Jason Kenney has made plans to improve the system as a whole.
As the Skilled Worker program is one of the most important in bringing in skilled immigrants, we are hearing that the government has a proposal to re-instate the Skilled Worker program, but this time without a list of priority occupations. In 2008, Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) implemented a requirement that one must have work experience in a priority occupation to qualify for the program. In 2009, CIC limited the number of Skilled Worker applications to a maximum of 20,000 per year and the following year reduced it once more to 10,000.
We are now hearing from the Federal government that the Skilled Worker program will be redesigned to better accept the applicants that Canada wants. There will be changes to the points system and when it comes to the occupation list, there will be none! Those who would like to submit applications under this category will need to meet the minimum points based on 5 categories and their work experience will need to be of a management or skilled position (NOC O, A or B).
We do understand that the sponsorship program for parents and grandparents may reopen in 2014, but until then the Super Visa is the way to go. If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and want to sponsor your parents or grandparents to Canada you will have to apply for a Super Visa. The Super Visa is a multiple entry visa that will allow your parents and/or grandparents to live (but not work) in Canada for a period of up to 2 years at a time.
Investors, entrepreneurs and business class applicants will have to wait for further information on these programs as there has been no update at this time.
If you are interested in immigrating to Canada we strongly suggest that you contact our office to speak with our immigration counsel for the most accurate and up to date information. You may complete our free online assessment form to determine whether you are or will be eligible to immigrate. Feel free to call and speak to us directly at 1-416-665-3939 or toll-free within North America at 1-888-808-7338.
Jul 6, 2012 | Immigrate to Canada, In the News, Legally Speaking, New Laws, Permanent Residency, Skilled Workers
On June 29, 2012 Citizenship & Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced that they will stop accepting and processing applications under the Federal Skilled Worker category. July 1st, 2012 was supposed to reset the quota for the immigration year, however the federal government decided to stop accepting new applications all together in order to try and tackle the backlog. This does not affect applicants who have pre-arranged job offers.
Those applicants who had submitted their applications prior to February 27, 2008 should read the chart below to determine if their application will continue to be processed or whether CIC will return their application along with the fees.
Processing Instructions
| If the officer… |
and |
Then… |
| has not established whether the applicant meets the selection criteria prior to March 29, 2012 |
|
- the application is terminated; and
- fees paid to CIC are to be returned to the person who paid them.
|
| has established whether the applicant meets the selection criteria prior to March 29, 2012 |
the application has not been finalized before June 29, 2012… |
- processing of the application continues to a final decision; and
- fees paid to CIC will not be returned to the person who paid them.
|
| established whether the applicant meets the selection criteria on or after March 29, 2012 |
the application has not been finalized before June 29, 2012… |
- the application is terminated; and
- fees paid to CIC are to be returned to the person who paid them.
|
| established whether the applicant meets the selection criteria on or after March 29, 2012 |
the application has been finalized before June 29, 2012… |
- the final decision on the application stands;
- processing continues to visa issuance or refusal; and
- fees paid to CIC will not be returned to the person who paid them.
|
Mar 22, 2012 | Immigrate to Canada, In the News, Legally Speaking, New Laws, Permanent Residency, Skilled Workers
If you submitted your application prior to February 27, 2008 your application may never be processed. Minister Jason Kenney expressed that he is considering wiping out the current immigration backlog by introducing new legislation. This is similar to what New Zealand had done in 2003 to wipe its backlog.
In 2008, Minister Kenney gave priority to those applicants with specific work experience, and those who have job offers in Canada. This did help to reduce the number of overall applications, however it did not help those who applied prior to 2008. Those applications have been put on “hold”, if you will. The Minister said that at 80 per cent of skilled workers are being pulled from the backlog, 20 per cent are newer applications chosen under the new criteria.
As of September 2011, the current backlog includes 472,549 skilled worker applicants, 96,085 business class applicants and their dependants. The current worldwide wait for processing skilled worker applicants is approximately 8 years. Some applications are taking nearly 15 years to process.
Minister Kenney is considering creating legislation that would wipe the current backlog and allow for more timely processing of newer applications from people who can improve Canada’s economy. He proposed a “just-in-time” immigration system, one that would give me businesses a more important role in selecting immigrants. New Zealand created a “pool” from which it selected those applicants who benefited the current economy. Minister Kenney is planning to create a similar “pool” from which individual provinces could sift through applications for their own provincial nominee programs.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been waiting patiently for years for their applications to be processed. In October of 2011, 128 upset skilled workers launched a law suits in the Federal Court pleading the court to order CIC to process the dusty files. Now over 650 applicants from the following visa posts are involved: London, Vienna, Accra, Pretoria, Nairobi, Colombo, Singapore, Damascus, Bogota, Warsaw, New Delhi, Seoul, Port of Spain, Manila, Hong Kong and Beijing.
We’re interested to hear what you have to say about this. Comment below and share!
Dec 4, 2011 | Immigrate to Canada, Where to seek help, Why you need an immigration specialist
Unfortunately, there are plenty of people out there who would like to take advantage of innocent immigrants. These people are scam artists who claim to be regulated immigration consultants, but who are “ghost consultants”. Before you hire an immigration representative, make sure they really are licensed!
Certain types of people are especially at risk. If you do not speak English well or if you are not currently in Canada, you are more at risk. You should investigate and ask questions, such as their license number, and should look at their website or Google them in order to find out more information. Can-Am Immigration is a consulting firm with regulated, licensed and insured immigration consultants available to help you. Give us a call and we will be happy to explain to you everything about our experience and licensing that you need to know.
If you are not currently in Canada, you should beware. In countries like India, “immigration consultants” or “travel agents” will claim to sell you a visa for $10,000 – $25,000 Canadian or more! They will tell you that they are taking care of all of the paperwork when in reality, they simply sell you a plane ticket and then disappear. Therefore, if they are filing paperwork for you or “representing” you, you must be careful because the applications can be deemed fraudulent and the visas might be fake. The best thing to do if you are outside of Canada is still to contact a Canadian consulting firm, like ours, and work with them directly.
If you have experienced any of these types of problems, please give us a call and we will try to help you. If you do not hire a licensed immigration consultant, you never know what kind of trouble you could have! You could lose your money, end up in jail, or be deported back to your home country. It is better to avoid any scams and hire a licensed expert immigration consultant!
Contact Can-Am Immigration today.
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