In September 2017 I attended a luncheon to hear you address local business leaders and immigration lawyers on your views about Canadian immigration policy. I was encouraged to hear that you share the view that international students make great permanent residents, and that we should aim to provide better client service to immigrants.
The Liberal government election promise of relaxed citizenship requirements have finally arrived! As of October 11, 2017, new rules have come into effect to make it easier for Canadian permanent...
The hard truth is that not all immigration applications are approved. Clients often come to us asking what their options are for challenging a negative decision. The course of action to take depends upon the type of application that has been made.
Canada has experienced ongoing labour shortages for many years causing more employers to hire foreign workers to meet their business needs. The growth of Canada's foreign worker program has led to the introduction, in recent years, of strict compliance measures for employers in all aspects of Canada's immigration delivery system with Service Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Canada's Express Entry Immigration program is a selection system for economic immigrants comprising four distinct immigration streams - the Federal Skilled Worker stream, the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Program and the Provincial Nominee Program. Each of these Immigration categories has their own distinct criteria both federally for the first three programs and provincially or territorially for the PNP programs.
Canada’s Express Entry system continues to make headlines with more upcoming changes announced to the points scoring system called the “Comprehensive Ranking System” or CRS. Starting June 6, 2017, additional CRS points will be awarded to Express Entry candidates with strong French language ability and those with siblings living in Canada.
On March 9, 2017, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour announced that Canada’s new Global Talent Stream will be launched on June 12, 2017. The Global Talent Stream is part of Canada’s Global Skills Strategy to attract highly educated and highly skilled workers to enable Canadian companies to compete on the world stage. Originally announced in 2016, the Global Skills Strategy is built upon the cornerstone of an ambitious promise to establish a two-week service standard for processing work visas and permits to bring in-demand and highly skilled workers to begin employment in Canada. The Global Talent Stream will operate under the framework of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program starting June 12, 2017.
On January 27, 2017, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) announced the first details of a pilot project that offers a direct pathway to Canadian permanent residence for applicants who wish to permanently settle in Atlantic Canada. The “Atlantic Immigration Pilot Project” (AIPP) begins in March 2017 and will accept up to 2000 applications in its first year of operation. Citing a shrinking labour force and ageing population in Atlantic Canada, IRCC hopes that the pilot project will improve the economic outlook in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador in the years to come.
On December 13, 2016 the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) repealed the “four-in, four-out” rule originally introduced in April 2011 that applied to certain temporary foreign workers to prevent them from working in Canada for more than four consecutive years without returning to their home countries.
The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) has been busy making changes to Canada’s family reunification programs in December. In consecutive weeks during this holiday season the Minister has announced important changes to how sponsorship applications for spouses and parents and grandparents will be made in the new year. These changes will affect many families, since the Minister has already announced earlier in October this year that his department expects to admit 84,000 new family members to Canada as permanent residents in 2017.
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