Whats New in Canada-Update on CA

[Can10]

Canadian Immigration introduces new citizenship documentation
http://workpermit.com/news/2012-02-24/canada/canadian-immigration-introduces-new-citizenship-documentation.htm

From 1 February 2012 Canadian Immigration and Citizenship (CIC) has started issuing new citizenship documents to new citizens in an effort to cut down on fraud. CIC will no longer produce the current plastic wallet-sized citizenship certificate or the commemorative certificate and will instead provide new citizens with a letter-sized paper citizenship certificate. The new paper certificate features information that can be validated through a new electronic validation system.

According to CIC, the new certificate contains a unique number and basic information about its holder, such as names, date of birth and gender. This allows other government departments to validate citizenship information via an electronic validation system, reducing the possibility of citizenship fraud.

It is important to note that the certificate is a legal status document, not an identity document or a travel document. Also, Canadian citizenship certificates issued before 1 February 2012 are still valid. Holders do not need to apply for a replacement.

In order to apply for Canadian citizenship, you must meet the following requirements:

Age: You must be at least 18 years old to apply for Canadian citizenship, unless your parent or guardian is applying on your behalf.

Permanent resident status: To become a Canadian citizen, you must have permanent resident status in Canada. This can be gained through different immigration programs such as the Provincial Nomination Program or Skilled Worker Immigration.

Time lived in Canada: You must have lived in Canada for at least three years in the past four years before applying. Children under the age of 18 do not need to meet this requirement. You may be able to count time you spent in Canada before you became a permanent resident if that time falls within the four-year period.

Language abilities: You need to have adequate knowledge of English or French in order to become a Canadian citizen.

Criminal history: You cannot have been convicted of a crime in the three years prior to your application submission date.

Knowledge of Canada: To become a citizen, you must understand the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, such as the right and responsibility to vote in elections.

 

[hondubai]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/canada-politics/recent-immigrants-cost-taxpayers-over-16-billion-canada-225603638.html

Recent immigrants cost taxpayers $16B a year: Fraser Institute

The common refrain is that Canada needs immigration to mitigate current and future labour shortages and to help pay the medical bills for our aging population.

The Fraser Institute says hogwash to that. The sometimes controversial right-wing think tank says recent immigrants are actually a huge burden to Canadian taxpayers.

According to its report released Thursday, those who arrived in Canada between 1987 and 2004 received about $6,000 more in government services per immigrant in 2005 than they paid in taxes.

"Immigrants arriving in Canada since 1987 are not doing as well economically as immigrants who arrived before 1987," said Herbert Grubel, Fraser Institute senior fellow and co-author of the study titled Fiscal Transfers to Immigrants in Canada: Responding to Critics and a Revised Estimate.

"As a result of Canada's welfare-state policies, our progressive income taxes, and universal social programs, these immigrants impose a huge fiscal burden on Canadian taxpayers of between $16 billion and $23 billion annually."

Grubel and his co-author Patrick Grady cited recent figures from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey showing that the average hourly earnings of recent immigrants were $6.30 below comparable Canadian-born workers in 2010. The statistics also show unemployment rates among immigrants who had been in Canada for less than five years is now 3 to 5 per cent more than that of the general population.

The Harper government, like its Liberal predecessors, have taken a two-pronged approach to curb the declining economic welfare of its immigrants. It has implemented a comprehensive foreign credential recognition program while at the same time investing heavily in settlement services.

But the Fraser Institute report rejects the notion that we need high levels of immigration - at least not the current levels of around 250,000 people every year. The authors say the demand for immigrants is being driven by the private sector.

"The immigrants keep wages down, which raises their profits and allows them to avoid the need to invest in the training of Canadian-born workers and labour-saving capital and technology," the authors told Postmedia News.

The report also argues that high immigration levels also exacerbate labour shortages, since high numbers fuel demand for public services such as housing, health care, education and infrastructure such as roads and sanitation.

Grubel and Grady suggest the solution to our immigration 'troubles' is to rely exclusively on applicants holding pre-arranged employment offers. In other words, no family class immigration.

"As the data show, language proficiency, work experience, as well as desirable levels of age and education, all contribute to the likely success of immigrants who have not benefited from arranged employment," they argue.

"It is exactly these characteristics, which are used by employers when offering jobs to applicants and those who possess them would therefore be able to obtain such offers."

 

[Can10]

New website aims to connect immigrants with employers in Toronto

Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) launched a the Professional Immigrant Networks website last month to help connect immigrants with jobs. Financed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada as well as Scotiabank, the networking site will connect various groups of skilled immigrant workers with Greater Toronto Area firms.

Racquel Sevilla, TRIEC's program development manager, says the new Professional Immigrant Networks website is a way for employers to seek out a broader talent pool. It will help raise awareness of immigrants offering different types of professional skills, and will collaborate with the numerous immigrant networks in the Toronto area already doing the same work along industry and cultural lines.

Its goal is to "forge connections between immigrants, employers and community agencies," with the ultimate objective of advancing immigrant employment, says manager Raquel Sevilla. TRIEC works with immigrants to help them integrate into the local labour market.

According to a 2009 survey of immigrant job networks, there were 70 such groups operating in the Greater Toronto Area. The website features a searchable directory, individual success stories, an event calendar and background on each of the 32 community groups and agencies that form the network.

"A lot of times, immigrants are not accessing the (settlement and employment) programs because they don't know they exist," explains Sevilla. "And they make their first stop within their own community. These community groups are the natural gateway. We are working with these groups to arm them with the right, relevant information and keep them up to speed. It is important that we open up the channels of communications."

As more small companies in Toronto start to realize the benefits of hiring skilled immigrants, it has become easier for them to find jobs here, says Charles Achampong, manager of corporate and stakeholder relations at TRIEC.

Source: http://workpermit.com/news/2012-03-15/canada/new-website-aims-to-connect-immigrants-with-employers-in-toronto.htm

 

[Can10]

Canadian Immigration redesigns website to help employers find skilled workers

Canadian Immigration announced last week that they will provide more help to local employers seeking to recruit immigrant workers from abroad for both permanent and temporary positions.

anadian employers will now be able to access more information online about Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) programmes as part of a government commitment to make sure the best people are selected for jobs. CIC stated that the website had "been redesigned to include a new section to guide employers to the most suitable program".

"The economy and job growth remain the number one priority of the Government," said Immigration Minister Jason Kenney. "Labour shortages are becoming a growing problem in many regions, and this website will help employers access information that will help them hire permanent or temporary foreign workers when no Canadians are able to fill a position."

Employers can learn what steps are needed in order to bring in foreign workers to Canada either on a temporary or permanent basis, or to hire international students studying in Canada. CIC is also reaching out directly to local employers through public consultations to explain the benefits of the new website.

Under the Canadian skilled worker category overseas workers can apply independently for Canadian skilled immigration. However, there are only ten thousand visas available for only twenty-nine occupations available under this category. Canadian employers can also sponsor an immigrant's visa application as long as there is a shortage of your skills in Canada.

Foreign workers wishing to immigrate to Canada can come under the following visa programs:

Temporary

Temporary Foreign Worker Program - Allows employers to hire foreign workers to fill temporary labour and skill shortages.

International Student Program - Students who have come to Canada to study are eligible to apply for work permits.

Permanent

Federal Skilled Worker Program - Assesses applicants based on their ability to adapt to Canada's labour market. CIC currently has an annual cap of 10,000 new applications under this program and caps of 500 for each of the 29 occupations, but applicants with qualifying job offers are not affected by the cap.

Provincial Nominee Program - Provinces and territories can nominate foreign workers for permanent immigration.

Canadian Experience Class - Allows temporary foreign workers and foreign students who graduated in Canada to apply to stay permanently.

The new website also features a Foreign Credentials Referral Office that offers information and services on the Canadian labour market and Canada's credential assessment processes.

Source: http://workpermit.com/news/2012-03-15/canada/canadian-immigration-redesigns-website-to-help-employers-find-skilled-workers.htm

 

[Can10]

Canadian immigration tightens spousal sponsorship rules

Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced 5 March that the government was tightening spousal sponsorship rules in an ongoing effort to deter people from undertaking marriages of convenience to come to Canada.

Starting immediately, sponsored spouses or partners will have to wait five years from the day they are granted permanent residence status in Canada to sponsor a new spouse or partner. The move is meant to prevent people from fraudulently marrying Canadians for the purposes of immigration only to leave them and then sponsor a new partner while their Canadian spouse is still financially responsible for them for three years.

"I held town hall meetings across the country to hear from victims of marriage fraud," said Kenney. "In addition to the heartbreak and pain that came from being lied to and deceived, these people were angry. They felt they had been used as a way to get to Canada. We're taking action because immigration to Canada should not be built upon deceit."

Spousal sponsorship becomes abuse of the immigration system when a person enters into a relationship, such as a marriage or common law partnership, in order to circumvent Canada's immigration law. Australia, New Zealand and the US have similar restrictions on spousal sponsorship. For example, Australian immigration law states that if the sponsor was sponsored or nominated to Australia as a partner, they must wait five years before sponsoring a different partner.

"We welcome the steps taken by the Honourable Jason Kenney to stop marriage fraud," said Sam S. Benet, President of Canadians Against Immigration Fraud. "These measures will definitely protect the integrity of our immigration system."

However not all critics agree with the new changes. New Democratic Party immigration critic Don Davies, said the new rule falls short of addressing the real problem. He claims Canada should be investing more resources into overseas immigration bureaus that vet applicants before they come to Canada to stop marriage fraud before it occurs.

"Of all the problems in the immigration system -we have a backlog of a million, wait times are appalling, we have hundreds of thousands of families in this country who are unable to sponsor their parents because there's a freeze ... and Minister Kenney thinks the most important thing to legislate on is the relatively small number of people who are engaged in marriages of convenience. I don't think that that's where the focus of immigration reform should be," said Davies.

Source: http://workpermit.com/news/2012-03-09/canada/canadian-immigration-tightens-spousal-sponsorship-rules.htm

 

[Can10]

Canada continues to admit high numbers of skilled immigrants and those on family based Super Visas

According to preliminary data just released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), Canada continued to admit a high number of new immigrants into the country in 2011.

According to the data, there were 248,660 new permanent residents in 2011. This consisted of 156,077 new economic immigrants, including those on the Canadian skilled worker visa, 56,419 new family class immigrants and others.

The Canadian Skilled Worker visa currently has an annual cap of 10,000 new applications with a cap of 500 for each of the 29 occupations. Applicants with a job offer in an occupation where there is a shortage area are not affected by the cap. If you do not have such a job offer there are only a very limited number of visas available; The 500 visa cap per occupation can be reached quite quickly.

"Canada's per-capita immigration rate remains one of the highest in the world. Immigration has always been a sustaining feature of Canada's history and continues to play an important role in building our country," said Citizenship & Immigration Minister Jason Kenney.

Also, the new Parent and Grandparent Super Visa has proved to be a popular choice for new immigrants with more than a thousand applications approved since the programme began in December 2011. There has been an overall approval rate of 77 percent.

"I'm pleased that the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa is working as intended and giving large numbers of eligible parents and grandparents an opportunity to spend extended periods of time with their families in Canada," said Kenney.

In order to apply for the Super Visa applicants must meet the following requirements:

- Submit proof that the host child or grandchild meets a minimum income.
- Demonstrate that they have purchased comprehensive Canadian medical insurance.
- Undergo the Immigration Medical Examination.

As of 26 February 2012, 80 percent of Super Visa applications were being processed within 41 calendar days. Kenney noted as application volumes continue to increase, CIC will continue to aim for a Super Visa processing time of eight weeks or less.

Source: http://workpermit.com/news/2012-03-09/canada/canada-continues-to-admit-high-numbers-of-skilled-immigrants-and-those-on-family-based-super-visas.htm

 

[Can10]

Ontario to create its own immigration strategy

Ontario is in the process of developing its first-ever immigration strategy to compete for immigrants against other Canadian provinces.

Last Friday, Immigration Minister Charles Sousa announced the creation of a 13-member expert panel whose aim is to create an immigration strategy that best supports Ontario's economic development and help new immigrants find jobs.

The Canadian province remains the number one destination for new immigrants to Canada, but the number of immigrants settling in the province has declined by 21 percent from a peak of 148,640 in 2001 to 118,114 in 2010. This may be due to the economic downturn, but also the province is laying part of the blame on the federal immigration system, which the Ontario government claims has tens of thousands of Ontario-bound applicants in its backlogs.

"It's a priority for us to ensure that Ontario has fairness in the system. Right now things are happening at the expense of Ontario and I'm trying to change that," Sousa said.

The decline is mostly due to other provinces' strong economies and aggressive marketing campaigns. According to a recent federal report, Ontario has not fully benefited from the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), which allows provinces to select their own immigrants based on local economic needs. Instead the province continues to rely on the federal skilled immigrant program as its main source of immigrants.

Research has shown PNP nominees often arrive with a job offer by local employers, have higher employment rates and incomes than those through the standard federal skilled program.

Also, Ontario was the last province to join the PNP and receives only 1,000 visas a year, a small portion of the more than 30,000 visas handed to other provinces.

"Federal immigration policies are hurting Ontario . . . I am interested in a national framework that benefits all provinces and is not at the expense of Ontario," said Sousa.

The expert panel will include academic and business leaders, along with employers and others in the financial and IT sectors. This summer the panel is expected to submit a report to the government detailing their recommendations for the province's immigration strategy.

Source: http://workpermit.com/news/2012-03-07/canada/ontario-to-create-its-own-immigration-strategy.htm

 

[Can10]

Canadian immigration considers citizenship rule changes to cut down on 'birth tourism'

Canadian Immigration is considering changes to the citizenship rules in order to target so-called birth tourism. Birth tourism is where a foreign national comes to Canada to give birth so the baby can receive Canadian citizenship.

The citizenship review comes after a Hong Kong newspaper revealed in an investigation that bogus birth consultants, mainly in Hong Kong, were advising Chinese women to hide their pregnancies and apply for Canadian visitor or student visas so they could give birth in Canada.

"We don't want to encourage birth tourism or passport babies", Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said. "This is, in many cases, being used to exploit Canada's generosity. The vast majority of legal immigrants are going to say this is taking Canada for granted."

Hospital administrators and doctors in Montreal have complained that an increasing number of women without legal immigration status had given birth there and left without paying the bill, according to Kenney.

"We need to send the message that Canadian citizenship isn't just some kind of an access key to the Canadian welfare state by cynically misrepresenting yourself.… It's about having an ongoing commitment and obligation to the country," said Kenney. He also admitted this kind of fraud has been a problem for some time but that it's difficult to get a handle on the numbers.

Although, critics argue that changing the citizenship rules will deter genuine immigrants from coming to Canada and harm the economy in the long run.

"It's an overblown knee-jerk reaction to a problem that the government has no formal statistics on," said Toronto immigration lawyer Michael Niren. "Does is happen? Sure it does, but the government should not move to throw out birth citizenship, which is entrenched in our democratic culture, based on some loosey-goosey evidence. A protectionist approach may be politically savvy in the short term but it won't support Canadians in the long run."

Canada and the US are the only countries in the developed world that give automatic citizenship to babies born on in their country regardless of their parents' immigration status. Most other countries, including most European nations, Japan, Australia and New Zealand require people to have permanent legal status prior to obtaining citizenship or require at least one parent to be a citizen.

Source: http://workpermit.com/news/2012-03-05/canada/canadian-immigration-considers-citizenship-rule-changes-to-cut-down-on-birth-tourism.htm

 

[Can10]

Canadian Immigration Minister outlines plans for immigration system overhaul

Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced last week his vision for a more efficient immigration system that would allow Canadian employers a greater say in selecting new immigrants.

"Immigration is playing an increasingly important role in our economy and we need a system that does a better job of attracting the people who have the skills that are in demand and getting them here quickly," Kenney said. "We have made some great strides towards an immigration system that is fast and flexible, but know that there is more work to do."

Kenney said he plans to redesign Canada's immigration points system to be more flexible and place greater emphasis on language ability, and on encouraging immigration of younger immigrants with high quality credentials that can be recognized quickly.

Kenney pointed out that the current points system used to assess federal skilled worker applicants needs to be more "flexible and intelligent". He said: "It should place greater emphasis on the importance of language while recognizing that the language ability needed to successfully integrate in Canada is different for a doctor as opposed to a welder."

He added that Canada needed to do a better job of attracting entrepreneurs, noting that in the US, half of the top 50 venture-capital backed companies were founded by immigrants.

Additionally, he promised to reduce the backlog in the immigration system. There are currently wait times of up to seven years in some categories. He explained his plans to create an expedited immigration system in which immigrants, particularly those with strong language skills, would be offered a job, have their credentials assessed, get accepted and settled in Canada – all within a year of applying. He called on employers to actively seek out and recruit the skilled immigrants they needed so that the Immigration Department can fast-track their applications in order to address Canada's skills shortages.

"It makes no sense to tell people 'apply now, but put your life on hold for a few years before we'll even let you know if you qualify,'" Kenney said. "I will continue to make changes to create a faster, more flexible immigration system. Canadians need and deserve a system that boldly puts Canada's best interests first."

Kenney is calling on employers to actively seek out and recruit the skilled immigrants they need, so that the Immigration Department can fast-track their applications and address Canada's skills shortages. He said the federal government will also look at giving more preference to applicants with a direct job offer. This already happens to a certain extent. However, processing times are still too long. The private sector should benefit from changes in the federal skilled worker program.

Not everyone agrees with the proposed plans, including New Democratic Party immigration critic Don Davies who said Kenney has failed to substantially improve the ability of immigrant professionals to get their credentials recognized. And added that Kenney is allowing too many low-wage temporary foreign workers to immigrate to Canada.

Source: http://workpermit.com/news/2012-03-05/canada/canadian-immigration-minister-outlines-plans-for-immigration-system-overhaul.htm

 

[Can10]

Alberta, Canada looking for skilled workers to immigrate to fill labour shortages

Alberta's Premier Alison Redford is in the US last week to look for US workers to immigrate to Canada to fill labour shortages. While the main focus of her visit to Chicago is to highlight Alberta's energy relationship with the US, the province's labour shortage will also be an important discussion topic when she meets with US political officials and union leaders.

"We've had discussions with a number of labour organizations in Chicago who've been doing work with decision-makers in the United States — and with the Canadian and US ambassadors — to try to find avenues where we might be able to accelerate access of skilled labour into Alberta," said Redford adding that the province is looking for workers with specific skill sets to fill key positions in Alberta.

A new Calgary Economic Development study reveals the 25 occupations that will be most needed in the coming years. The list includes engineers, geologists, nurses, plumbers and carpenters. The following information was obtained:

- The salary typically paid in other cities in Canada to people in each occupation.
- The likelihood that professionals in Alberta would choose to stay and not move elsewhere.
- The age of the workforce. This is useful to know. It has been found that statistically younger people are more likely to move.

The demand for labour in Alberta is expected to increase by more than 600,000 workers by 2021. It is estimated that if nothing is done there will be about 114,000 unfilled vacancies.

The study also included several cities in Canada, the US, the UK, and Ireland that are most likely to have suitable candidates to help deal with the impending labour shortages. Some of the cities in the list are Los Angeles, Phoenix, Denver, Chicago, Dublin and London.

If you wish to work in Alberta you can apply for a work visa under Canada's Temporary Foreign Worker Program which allows Canadian companies to hire foreign workers temporarily to help support economic growth. In order to apply you must meet the following requirements:

- Have a job offer from a Canadian employer.
- Have written confirmation from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) that the employer cannot find a local worker to fill the vacancy.
Please note, in most cases, it is up to your employer to get that written confirmation and, also, in some cases, you do not need a labour market opinion.
- Show that you have enough money to support yourself and your family while you are in Canada.

The labour market opinion assesses how the offer of employment would likely affect Canadian jobs and Canada's labour market. When assessing a job offer, HRSDC considers the following:

- the occupation that the foreign worker will be employed in;
- the wages and working conditions offered;
- the employer's advertisement and recruitment efforts;
- the labour market benefits related to the entry of the foreign worker;
- the consultations, if any, with the appropriate union; and
- whether the entry of the foreign worker is likely to affect the settlement of a labour dispute.

Source: http://workpermit.com/news/2012-03-05/canada/alberta-canada-looking-for-skilled-workers-to-immigrate-to-fill-labour-shortages.htm

 

[L7]

Canada to target younger, language proficient immigrants

by Harleen Kaur - March 20, 2012

Canada’s changed immigration rules will favor young immigrants having language proficiency.

This has been announced by Canada immigration minister Jason Kenney while unveiling new package of Canada immigration reforms.

Canada immigration reforms for increasing employability for newcomers—Revealing the woes of majority of immigrants, especially those possessing high-skill sets, Kenney said newcomers become frustrated when they don’t get jobs in accordance with their skill levels.

So, Canada is going to change Canada immigration rules. Canada will, no longer, invite highly trained professionals who are likely to taste failure after coming here.

From now onwards, Canada will invite only those foreigners who either have offers of jobs in their hands or have the probability of succeeding in Canada labor market, Kenney affirmed.

Major changes in Canada immigration rules—Following are the changes in Canada immigration rules---

• Increasing minimum investment for investor immigrants(currently, minimum investment is $800,000);

• Changes to points system for Canada Skilled Workers;

• Preference to skilled trades persons.

Impact of Canada immigration changes—

• Top priority to language proficiency--New rules for Canada immigration will give priority to language proficiency while selecting potential immigrants wanting to come to Canada. Kenney has highlighted that language proficiency is the top factor for succeeding in Canada. So, only those immigrants will be allowed entry into Canada who are proficient in either English or French, the two official languages of Canada.

• Pre-assessment under Federal Skilled Worker Program—Applicants wanting to come to Canada under Federal Skilled Worker Program(FSWP) will be required to get their credentials pre-assessed to ensure their success in Canada labor market.

• Changes in Canada points system—Changes in Canada points system will enable skilled workers including welders to come to Canada even though their level of language proficiency might be lower than high-skilled professionals like a doctor.

• Streamlining of Canada permanent residency process—Canada will also change the system of Canada permanent residency for foreign students. It will help international students coming to study in Canada to become Canada permanent residents at the earliest without having to leave the nation and apply again. This will help make Canada globally competitive, Kenney informed.

 

[nokiadesire]

Hey Can10,

+ 1 for keeping this thread live and sharing such important information here

Regards
Nokiadesire

 

[ItsBeenLongNow]

Thanks alot buddy, keep it up

 

[Can10]

Dear nokiadesire

Thank you for +1. Great to know that there are people out there noticing and appreciating others contributions on this forum.

Regards,
Aamir

 

[Can10]

Visas available for youth wishing to work and travel to Canada

The Canadian High Commission has just released 5,350 working visa places for young people wishing to spend a year in the country under the International Experience Canada (IEC) programme.

The Guardian reports that Canada is not suffering from the high levels of unemployment faced by many other countries at the moment. The programme is popular among graduates and students wishing to take a gap year, but is also available to all young people, regardless of their educational background. A gap year is defined as time individuals take out to travel between life stages, typically those who have just finished schooling and who intend to continue further studies after their travels.

Work permits under IEC are available for young people aged 18-35 who are from one of the countries that have a bilateral reciprocal youth mobility arrangement or agreement with Canada. Eligible countries include New Zealand, Australia, the UK, and France. Under this permit you can travel and work in Canada for up to one year.

Source: http://workpermit.com/news/2012-03-27/canada/visas-available-for-youth-wishing-to-work-and-travel-to-canada.htm