Immigration Archives - Immigration Lawyer Vancouver, Canada | Sas & Ing Immigration Law Centre
 

HomeTagImmigration Archives - Immigration Lawyer Vancouver, Canada | Sas & Ing Immigration Law Centre

The Canadian immigration law landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years. New programs and guidelines are being introduced at a fast and furious pace and many of the old rules that govern immigration processing have either been amended or discarded entirely. More than ever it is crucial to recognize the important role that immigration representatives play in our immigration system to advise clients on suitable immigration strategies based on the current legal landscape and to represent them in their applications and in their immigration hearings.

Last week’s announcement by Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees Canada (IRCC), the Honourable Sean Fraser, was indeed a welcome development for international students in Canada who have unknowingly fallen prey to unscrupulous immigration representatives.  But let’s be clear - this does not let all Canadian international students off the hook for transgressions while studying.  The onus on all foreign nationals seeking status in Canada is a very high standard and it is worth reviewing to remind students what their responsibilities are while studying in Canada.

Today, June 14, 2023, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Honorable Sean Fraser, did something truly honorable for international students in Canada who have been victims of immigration fraud by unscrupulous representatives - he introduced a policy directing immigration officers and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers to grant a temporary resident permit to students who have actually studied in Canada and were clearly unaware of the improper actions of their representatives.

On May 8, 2023 the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced the extension of the Agri-Food Pilot until May 14, 2025. This unique pathway to permanent residency was first introduced in May 2020 and offers an immigration pathway for workers in the farming and food processing industries.

Federal employees of Service Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), and the Canada Border Services Agency (CSBA) are all members of the largest workers union in Canada: The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). Many of the non-essential workers of PSAC went on strike on April 19, 2023, which is expected to cause significant delays and disruption to immigration-related services across the country.

As we approach the holidays it is customary to pause and reflect on this past year’s milestones and challenges. 2022 was another busy year highlighted by numerous and significant immigration policy changes and, frankly, bad headlines for the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. You do not have to reach far into your memory banks to recall that the CBC published several articles in the summer reporting that there was a backlog of more than 2 million immigration applications. Just this week, the CBC published a scathing report that tens of thousands of immigration applications have been assigned to inactive immigration officer accounts for processing. Despite these negative headlines, however, there have also been many examples of positive immigration changes and today I will review what I think is one of this year’s most underrated immigration success stories.

This past Friday, December 2, 2022, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Sean Fraser, and Tourism Minister and Associate Minister of Finance, Randy Boissonnault, introduced a significant expansion of employment opportunities for the spouses and working-age children of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) already in Canada. Recognizing the significant challenges that employers are facing in the current Canadian labour market, the changes introduced will now provide for employment opportunities for the spouses of lower and low skilled workers as well as for their working-age children. This new measure is set to be implemented in January 2023 and will last for a period of two years.

On November 1, 2022, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, announced that his department plans on welcoming 500,000 new immigrants to Canada annually by 2025. The announcement comes on the heels of a record-setting year in 2021 when Canada welcomed over 405,000 newcomers. While most observers will focus on the 500,000 figure itself, it is important to also focus on the types of immigrants that the Minister is targeting.

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