As of June 30, 2011 Bill C-35 came into effect to amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.  The most significant change is that immigration consultants are regulated by a new government appointed authority: the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC).

Because Kael and I have been and continue to be members in good standing with the previous organization, our membership transfers over to the ICCRC.  During this transition we are able to continue practicing, advising and completing immigration applications as normal because we are deemed to be members of ICCRC.  Kael and I will both be formally registered with this new council in the upcoming months.

I think most immigration consultants are looking at this as a change for the better.  The hope is that the new regulator will build a positive and strong reputation for immigration consultants.   Red Seal Immigration will need to update some things to reflect the new regulator such as business cards, the web site, and retainer agreements etc. There may be some internal changes to ensure our company continues to comply with the ICCRC’s requirements for record keeping and file maintenance.  Overall, the change of regulator has no impact on Red Seal Immigration’s ability to provide immigration services. 

Click here to read the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announcement.

Ruth Eden
Immigration Consultant, B.Comm, CCIC
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.

The new ministerial instructions for Federal Skilled Workers (FSW) applications are out and the caps for each occupation will be set to zero for a new season of FSW applications.

What are the changes to the priority occupation list?  NONE!  The priority occupation list is exactly the same as it was in 2010-2011.

So… what did CIC change? The cap or maximum number of applications accepted under each of the priority occupations is now set at 500, with a total maximum of 10,000 applicants under the Federal Skilled Worker category. This is half of what it was in the 2010-2011 Federal Skilled Worker season. 

The new caps will be in effect on July 1, 2011 when the existing number of applications accepted to date will be set to zero and the new count will commence.

Last summer we saw significant revisions to the FSW program with the initial announcement of a cap on the number of FSW applications that would be accepted into the program for permanent residence; this cap was set at 20,000, with a maximum of 1,000 applications per priority occupation.

These caps and limits on the priority occupation list do not apply if you have an approved job offer (AEO). There have been no further revisions to the points calculations for a FSW application.

It is crucial to the success of your FSW application to complete it correctly from beginning to end. It could be returned due to incompletion (which could range from anything from incorrect fee payment, a missing supporting document, incorrectly filled forms, etc.) or simply even rejected due to accidental discrepancies or typos.  By the time you rectify the misfile and are ready to re-submit, your occupation could easily have reached its cap –  which means that you cannot resubmit the application until next year with the risk that the following year further revisions are made that invalidate your eligibility to qualify under the FSW program. Not good.

If you are hoping to apply under one of the categories that had reached its cap last year (Restaurant and Food Service Managers, Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management, Biologists and Related Scientists, Architects, Specialist Physicians, General Practitioners and Family Physicians, Dentists, Pharmacists and Registered Nurses) you can be sure that those will be the first categories to reach the cap because hopeful applicants have been waiting for the limit to be reset back to zero.  

Time will be of the essence for this year’s FSW category in addition to a well-put together, unerring application and up-to date knowledge of the ever-changing regulations.  Contact Red Seal Immigration for more information on the Federal Skilled Worker program.

BY:
Amberley Rondeau
Assistant Immigration Consultant
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.

AND

Ruth Eden
Immigration Consultant, B.Comm, CCIC
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.

CIC is proposing and implementing a number of changes across multiple categories of temporary and permanent immigration.

Another week, another set of changes to immigration categories and procedures!

In addition to the changes related to Temporary Foreign Workers that will come into effect in April 2011, and the significant changes to Federal and Family Class  permanent immigration targets for 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has also announced proposed changes to the qualifying criteria for the Federal Skilled Worker category of immigration.

Applicants hoping to qualify under the Federal Skilled Worker program will still be required to meet a minimum of 67 points, however, the number of points you can obtain under the criteria of language, age, education and experience could be changing. CIC will also be introducing new assessment criteria for establishing the genuineness of a job offer from a Canadian employer. 

Language: Currently, you can receive up to 16 points for a primary language (either English or French) based on your IELTS test score (or the French equivalent – TEF).  Studies have shown that someone with stronger English or French abilities has a greater rate of successfully obtaining gainful employment once they are in Canada. Because of this, CIC proposes to increase the points available in this category to 20.

Age: CIC is going to increase the number of points available for permanent resident applicants between the ages of 25 and 34, again to due to research related to employability and adaptability factors within Canada.  The maximum number of points available in this category would be 12, up from 10.

Education: It is no secret the Federal Skilled Worker program is challenging for trades occupations to qualify for due to the combination of school and experience required in their post-secondary education.  Due to the shortage of skilled trades all across Canada, it is proposed that the number of years of required education for trades occupations be lowered. There wouldn’t be a change in the number of points awarded, just a change in the criteria to obtain those points, based on your occupation.

Experience: “Do you have any Canadian Experience?” is a common interview question for new residents in Canada.  However, irrelevant this question is or isn’t, CIC may start issuing less points for experience in your field of expertise.  The proposed change is to decrease the maximum number of points obtainable under this criterion from 21 down to 15.

Job Offers: It is no surprise that the degree of proof required for an approved job offer (for both Temporary workers and Permanent workers!) will be increasing this year!  Employers will be required to provide more documentation and further evidence of the genuineness of the job offer. Companies and employers – be prepared to pull out your HR strategic recruiting material and overall company objectives for hiring internationally!

And don’t forget, the Federal Skilled Worker Priority Occupations list will be changing June 30, 2011.  Contact Red Seal Immigration for more information on the Federal Skilled Worker program.

By Ruth

The recent Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, 2010 speaks to all areas of immigration, proposed changes and goals for 2011. One thing that caught my eye, was the reference to changes in the spousal sponsorship and common-law sponsorship application.  The gazette states:

“Under the current provision, it has been difficult to properly identify [bad faith] relationships. This is because R4, as it currently reads, specifies two mandatory elements for determining “bad faith” relationships: (a) that a relationship is not genuine and (b) that it was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act. This leads to a requirement that CIC be satisfied that both elements have not been met when refusing a case under this regulation and supporting that decision on appeal. However, a “bad faith” relationship is present when either of these related factors is apparent.”

The proposed changes request that “and” be changed to “or” which would raise the bar that couples will be required to meet when they are applying under the sponsorship category.  Not only do they have to prove that the marriage is genuine, they also have to prove that the relationship was not entered into for the purpose of obtaining status in Canada. 

For example, a married couple is living in Canada and the spouse is here on a visitor visa.  They decide to apply under spousal sponsorship so that they can remain unified as a couple and the international partner can begin working in Canada.

This is common sense and a natural progression to many relationships; people want to be able to get a job and help support the household and in many cases they need to, in order to stay afloat financially.  Under the proposed changes, this reasoning can be misconstrued as an element of a “bad faith” relationship, because they are making the application for a spousal sponsorship so that the spouse can work in Canada, which could potentially violate R4(b).

Wording and phrasing of applications will be of the utmost importance should these changes be approved.

In light of all of the negative media and attention “bad faith marriage” and “marriage of convenience” have received over the last year in Canada, it is not surprising that they are looking at increasing the standards for sponsorship immigration to Canada.  It is a hot button issue here in Canada.

For information on sponsoring your spouse or partner, please contact us!

By Ruth Eden
Immigration Consultant, B.Comm, CCIC
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) provides individuals with the option to apply online or by mail for temporary resident applications from within Canada. They have now started posting the various processing times associated with each type of application and they differentiate between a paper submission and an online submission. 

This is excellent news for temporary resident applicants within Canada. Now you are able to see what application method has processing times that are best suited for your situation.  For example, if you prefer the paper submission method, you can see the difference filing a paper application will have on the timing of your decision from immigration.  Click here to view the updated processing times on the CIC web site for temporary applications within Canada.  It is always important to plan ahead and know your options!

By Ruth Eden
Immigration Consultant, B.Comm, CCIC
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is now updating their web site weekly with a list of the total number of Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) applications received to date.  So far, only one category, the NOC 1122: Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management, has reached the maximum number of applicants. 

Registered Nurses have the second highest number of applications received with just over 700. 

Once the cap of the number of applications received has been reached, applicants must have an approved job offer, known as an Arranged Employment Opinion (AEO) to apply under that category.

To find out if you qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker category of immigration, please contact us for a free assessment!

To view Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s list of total applications received in the category, please click here.

By Ruth Eden
Immigration Consultant, B.Comm, CCIC
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.

This past summer CIC announced significant changes to the Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) program.  A maximum number of 20,000 Federal Skilled workers will be accepted into the program for permanent residence, with a maximum of 1000 applications per priority occupation.  These limits do not apply if you have an approved job offer (AEO).

Last week CIC released a list of FSW applications received to date:

This is the first public release of the numbers received into the newly revised Federal Skilled Worker Permanent Resident Application.

Number of Federal Skilled Worker Applications Received by CIO

By Ruth Eden
Immigration Consultant, B.Comm, CCIC
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.

Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism issued a news release on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada web site that the following changes related to Canadian Temporary Foreign Workers will come into effect on April 1, 2011:

1)  “A more rigorous assessment of the genuineness of the job offer.”

CIC has not yet issued clarification and what a “more rigorous assessment” will entail.  Speculation leads me to believe that the following are potential changes:
- Both CIC and HRSDC will require an increased amount of contact with the employer at the LMO and Work Permit application stages.
- More supporting documents from the employer such as, payroll statements, may be required as part of an application, similar to the past E-LMO application requirements.�
- It could be more difficult for smaller, relatively unknown employers to hire international workers because the criteria will become too steep for them to meet.
- Further delays for LMO or AEO processing times.
- The establishment of another regulator, such as the Philippines Overseas Employment Agency (POEA), to examine each job offer after approval through an overseas CIC visa office.  (I’m sure a few people who have had experience with the POEA just gave a little shutter at the thought of another office similar to the POEA)

2)  “A two-year prohibition from hiring temporary foreign workers for employers who fail to meet their commitments to workers with respect to wages, working conditions and occupation…. Employers seeking to hire temporary foreign workers, including live-in caregivers, will now be assessed against past compliance with program requirements before authorization can be granted. Employers found to have violated worker rights may be refused authorization to hire a foreign worker.” 

Employers can be banned from hiring foreign workers for 2 years if it is found that they are not in compliance with the terms established in the original agreement with the worker, and the company name will be posted on the CIC website.

3)  “A limit on the length of time a temporary foreign worker may work in Canada before returning home”; 

After 4 years in Canada as a temporary worker, CIC will not be extending work permits.  Temporary foreign workers will be required to wait for 4 years before re-applying as a temporary foreign worker. The 4 year limit does not impact permanent resident applications.

CIC has had guidelines surrounding these topics for years. For example, an immigration officer takes into consideration that a foreign worker who has been in Canada on a Temporary basis for four or more years is blurring the definition of “temporary”.  If someone has lived in one place for years, is there any intent to return back to their country of nationality?  If an immigration officer deems that there is no intent to return to their home country, they will be refused a Work Permit extension. 

These upcoming program changes for Temporary Foreign workers should help clarify the standards that immigration officers use when issuing work permit extensions and it will give employers further incentives to protect international workers.  

It will be interesting to see what a “more rigorous assessment of job offers” translates to in practice.  It will be important to keep track of the changes that are put in place leading up to April 1, 2011.  To view the CIC new release visit the CIC web site.

By Ruth Eden
Immigration Consultant, B.Comm, CCIC
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.

 Citizenship and Immigration Canada issued an operational bulletin this morning that limits the validity period of Labour Market Opinions (LMO’s) and slightly alters the way that work permit applications can be filed.  LMO’s are applications that are submitted to Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and an LMO approval is required for a company or employer to hire foreign workers on a temporary basis.

Specifically, this operational bulletin, similar to the one issued in March 2010, is instructing the HRSDC offices to only issue LMO’s for a maximum of 6 months. This means that from the date of the LMO approval the applicant, or employee, has 6 months to file their application for a work permit at the applicable in Canada processing centre, or the overseas visa office. As the bulletin states:

“The LMO expiry date does not affect the processing time needed by CIC after the LMO is submitted with a WP application. The WP may be issued after the LMO expiry date, as long as the application was received before the expiry date.”The most significant change this operational bulletin states is that the visa offices are no longer accepting the application method called “concurrent processing”. 

Previously, there was an operational bulletin that allowed an application for a work permit to be submitted at a visa office, prior to the final LMO approval. The visa office would accept the work permit application and hold it until the LMO was approved.  This allowed the work permit application to be in the queue for processing at the same time the LMO was in the queue for processing, which increased the speed of processing from start to finish.

This is a continuation of the increased levels of restrictions put on the employers due to the current state the economy. Three (3) years ago, it was not uncommon for LMO’s to be valid for 2 years.  During that 2 year period the employer had the opportunity to interview, screen and select international candidates and submit the work permit applications.  Further to this, it is becoming a rarity to see LMO approvals that allow the foreign worker to obtain a work permit for more than 1 year.  

Plan ahead to keep your skilled foreign workers within Canada! If they are only issuing work permits for up to 1 year, you need to be considering options for extensions or permanent residency within the first few months of the workers arrival in Canada. 

Provincial nominee programs are an excellent method for extending or issuing work permits in Canada and they also provide the employee with the opportunity for permanent residency.

For information on the BC Provincial Nominee Program, visit our web site, or contact us directly for information on programs available in other provinces.

By Ruth Eden
Immigration Consultant, B.Comm, CCIC
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.

Romeo Magno and his family are living in Victoria, BC Canada as Permanent Residents.

Deciding where you want to raise your family is a tough decision. There is so much to consider when you want the best for your family; healthcare, economy, environment, education, quality of life, and the list goes on.

Canada has a lot to offer to families and individuals, which is why it is not surprising that preliminary statistics from Citizenship and Immigration Canada show that in 2009 alone there was 252,124 new Permanent Residents in Canada.

Canada has a publicly-funded health care system to ensure fair and equitable access to health care regardless of your annual income or family composition.  Canada’s health care system is federally regulated and individuals or families are issued a health card by the Provincial Ministry of Health so that everyone has access to doctors and other health professionals and specialists. 

Canada has the tenth largest economy in the world and it is one of the world’s wealthiest nations. While every economy experiences fluctuations, Canada’s overall economy is financially stable with an abundance of natural resources and a variety of international trade niches. 

The UN continues to list Canada as a top ranked country awarding it the designation of being a ‘Very High Human Development’ country. Their annual report is based on a country’s ability to create an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accordance with their needs and interests.

The Canadian education system is a provincial system of public education that is provided, funded and overseen by federal, provincial and local governments. Children in elementary and high school can attend public schools at no cost to receive their education from kindergarten to grade 12.  In terms of post-secondary schooling, Canada offers a wide choice of over 90 universities and 150 colleges and technical institutes, featuring virtually every program imaginable.  Canadian degrees or diplomas are instantly recognized around the world as being of the highest standard.

Canada is wonderful place to raise a family and will continue to be so as a result of our values, goals and resources.  This is a remarkable modern country that has not lost its sense of community and hospitality in spite of its growth and development.

By:

Amberley Rondeau
Assistant Immigration Consultant
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.Ruth Eden
Immigration Consultant, B.Comm, CCIC
Red Seal Immigration Ltd.

And