Canadian Immigration News

It is expected that the government of Canada will soon announce changes to the processing of Canadian permanent residence applications from international graduates of Canadian study programs.

A recent report from the Advisory Council on Economic Growth — which recommended that Canada boost its immigration levels to 450,000 in order to optimize economic growth in Canada — advised that Canada welcome more international graduates as permanent residents. The Council proposed two ways to ease the pathway to permanent residence for international students in Canada: increasing the number of points allocated under the Express Entry system, and simplifying the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process for employers who want to hire international graduates who studied at Canadian institutions.

Canada issued 53.8 percent more work permits to U.S. residents through the first eight months of 2016 than for the same period last year, with many analysts pointing to the relatively calm political climate north of the border as a reason why more U.S. residents are working in Canada.

Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump has called the North American Free Trade Agreement (NATFA) with Canada and Mexico one of the worst trade deals ever mad and blames it for U.S.-based manufacturing jobs being moved abroad, particularly to Mexico.

That same deal, however, also allows U.S. residents in certain occupations, as well as individuals working with a company that has a Canadian office or affiliate, easier access to Canadian work permits.

The government of Canada has unveiled a Global Skills Strategy that will set an ambitious two-week standard for processing visas and work permits for global talent. Federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau outlined the proposal to Parliament while delivering his department's Fall Economic Statement.

The largest Express Entry draw of all time has taken place, with 2,080 candidates in the pool receiving an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence on November 2, 2016. This is the first time in which the number of ITAs issued in any one draw has surpassed the two thousand mark, and draw sizes are now nearly three times what they were through the summer months. Moreover, the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cut-off mark continues to go down; the latest draw required candidates to have 472 or more CRS points in order to receive an ITA.

Du 31 octobre au 5 novembre 2016, les francophones à travers le Canada célébrent la semaine de l’immigration francophone. Cet événement, qui intervient maintenant pour la quatrième fois, a été créé par la Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne, ou FCFA) et par les Réseaux en immigration francophone, or RIF) afin de mettre en valeur la diversité et l’immigration francophone.

By the end of 2017, citizens of Romania and Bulgaria will no longer need a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) in order to visit Canada. The development was referenced in the EU-Canada Summit Joint Declaration, which was released over the weekend. Romanian Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos hailed the move as “an important moment” for Romanian citizens, as well as for business people.

Pour la version française, cliquez içi.

From October 31 to November 5, 2016, French speakers across Canada are celebrating Francophone Immigration Week. The week-long event, now in its fourth year, was created by the Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities of Canada (Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne, or FCFA) and the Francophone Immigration Networks (Réseaux en immigration francophone, or RIF) to highlight Francophone immigration and diversity.

In a move that may affect many thousands of applicants across a range of Canadian immigration programs, the government of Canada is planning to change the maximum age of dependent children accompanying their parents to less than 22 years old (i.e. 21 or under). If approved, the maximum age is expected to be increased in fall 2017.

Currently, children less than 19 years of age may be included as accompanying dependents on an application for Canadian permanent resident status. This definition applies to all Canadian immigration and refugee classes, as well as principal applicants who may be sponsored in the family class immigration program. In a statement, the government of Canada described the current regulations as “too restrictive”.

On October 29, 2016, the government of Canada released a draft of a change to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), which would repeal the conditional permanent residence regulatory provisions for certain sponsored spouses and common-law partners. If approved, the change is expected to come into force in spring 2017.

The Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) continues to be active in inviting new immigrants to the province, with the latest MPNP draw seeing a total of 176 skilled workers being issued a Letter of Advice to Apply (LAA) to the program.

The October 28 draw, the 22nd since the Expression of Interest system in Manitoba was first launched last year, saw LAAs issued to 150 candidates in the Skilled Workers in Manitoba sub-category, each of whom had at least 654 points in the MPNP ranking system for skilled workers.

The remaining 26 LAAs were issued to candidates in the Skilled Workers Overseas sub-category who had at least 712 points and who were directly invited by the MPNP under a Strategic Recruitment Initiative.