The process for bringing film and television production workers to Canada will become much easier as of February 17, 2016 with the elimination of the need for a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA).
The beginning of a new year is often a time to contemplate what to expect in the coming months.
The remaining revisions to Canada's Citizenship laws came into force on June 11, 2015. Last year the government introduced Bill C-24, the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act which introduced many changes to the citizenship application process. However, many of those were not implemented until just recently. Most significantly the eligibility period for citizenship has increased and residency requirements have been defined to a strict physical presence in Canada. Prospective citizens must also be resident in Canada for tax purposes and demonstrate that they meet their personal income tax obligations.
Canada's new immigrant selection system for economic immigrants, Express Entry came into effect on January 1, 2015 and has dramatically changed our immigration program. What used to be an immigrant driven self selection model is now a government driven selection model. The government will only choose the very best applicants and offer them an "invitation to apply" - an ITA. Without an ITA, a prospective immigrant can not apply for permanent residence to Canada. The basis upon which Citizenship and Immigration Canada ( CIC) selects which applicants to provide with an ITA, is the information contained in a profile that a potential applicant submits to the government. The higher the score an applicant receives on the ranking of their profile, the more likely they will receive an ITA. Obviously, the temptation to enhance one's profile is very real. Resist that temptation! Inaccurate information that is provided in your profile could result in a finding of misrepresentation and a five year bar to ANY application to Canada - permanent or temporary!
2015 promises to be a banner year for Canada's immigration program with dramatic changes in virtually every aspect of program delivery: selection of skilled immigrants, processing of inland spousal applicants, and new criteria for both business immigration and citizenship applicants. Here are the highlights of the many changes in Canada's immigration program in store for the year ahead:
Sas and Ing Immigration Law Centre LLP
A partnership between Catherine Sas Law Corporation and Victor Ing Law Corporation
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