LPS said:
Well yeah... it is a risk to issue credit to residents without strong ties to the community, and whose status in Canada literally has an expiry date. There is a price on that risk. The fact that foreign credit histories are not recognized is not ideal, but this situation is hardly unique to Canada.
And a mortgage? Why should temporary residents be shopping for real estate?
These inconveniences are part and parcel to being a temporary worker and that's why permanent residence is more than just a work permit with no expiry date printed on it.
Well if status has an expiry date, then you shouldn't be charging Pension and other old age contributions from these people. Specially when you are not allowing child benefits for a good length of time. What if when these people apply for PR and get refused for some reason. Government doesn't return any of those deductions. Shouldn't they be returning when they claim "this is a deduction for your old age benefits OR this is what we will pay you if you become disabled or out of job".
The YOU is for permanent residents. Either you count temp workers / students IN OR OUT. It cannot be that when you wish to CHARGE MONEY from them, they are included but it goes the opposite, when time comes to pay them.
I agree with the difficulty on recognizing credit histories. But all these factors combined makes one feel quite odd. The least they could have done is, get some thing establish with employers. All over the world many banks maintain relationships with employers. Their business is the guarantee. If a person is here on a well paid job, you cannot expect him to default say 1/6th of that amount from a credit card. The fact is that having a job doesn't change ANY thing in this regard unfortunately, which was shocking to me.
Another point is, it is rarely seen in practice as a temp thing. People don't fly half way across the world just for the sake of having fun for a couple years. In most cases it is done with the intention of moving permanently and the reason of starting with tfw program is that the timings of government for immigration are just impossible for any business.
Also one more thing is that none of these are written on paper as such any where. You only realize those once you actually get to face them. Imagine a mid career guy who has had perfect credit history back home with banks running after him to get credit business and here situation turns exact opposite. Moreover, you just can't get away with most things without credit history even if you are willing to pay cash. Several land lords would ask for credit checks for rentals.
Imagine some body living through all this for a few years while contributing every thing a citizen does to society. Probably more because still apply for visa (pay fee) again if they travel abroad or any thing. To me it sounds VERY fair to give that person the credit of that time towards citizenship.
It is not about "how many years" you have to wait further. That is not an issue when you intend to make Canada your home. It is a question of fairness.
Seems like CIC has recognized it, hence the "express entry" to PR has been introduced. If you look at the minister's announcement, it highlights the exact same reasons i cited above, suggesting using those PR programs instead to get rid of all these issues.
Lastly, why not a mortgage? If some one wants to live permanently in the long run and doesn't want to waste all his spending each month on rent. He rather prefers paying more and end up owning something. Or as mentioned already, he could sell it if he plans to leave early. What is wrong with this as a right? I mean mostly people live on rent, it is a given. But the right to own a house, sounds like a pretty basic thing to me? No?
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