Canadian Immigration News

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has published instructions on increasing the validity period of work permits under the International Experience Canada (IEC) program.

Through the IEC program, citizens of countries with a bilateral youth mobility arrangement with Canada who are between 18 and 35 years old may be eligible to work in Canada under one of three categories: Working Holiday, Young Professionals, and International Co-op.

The government of Canada is considering a stay of proceedings for a law that allows citizens who misrepresented themselves in their citizenship or permanent residence applications to be stripped of their citizenship without a hearing. The existing law, which was introduced by the previous Conservative government, could affect a Liberal member of Cabinet, Maryam Monsef, who it was found was actually born in Iran, rather than Afghanistan, as previously thought.

There has been a significant increase in the number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued in the latest draw from the Express Entry pool, and the number of Comprehensive Ranking System points required in order to receive an ITA has decreased for the second draw in a row. The latest draw from the pool took place the morning of September 21, 2016. A total of 1,288 ITAs were issued to candidates in the pool with 483 or more CRS points.

The leniency period leading up to full implementation of Canada's new pre-screening system for visa-exempt visitors has been been extended until November 9, 2016. The Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) system was due to become mandatory for visitors to Canada from certain countries on September 29, but this has now been delayed in order to give travelers and airlines more time to prepare for changes when flying to or transiting through Canada.

A comprehensive immigration report published this week by the government of Nova Scotia reveals that 2015 was a breakthrough year for the province, and it looks like 2016 will see even more positive news.

In 2015, 3,403 people settled in Nova Scotia as permanent residents — the highest level for more than 10 years. Remarkably, this figure has already been eclipsed for just the first half of 2016, with 3,418 newcomers having made the province their home by the end of June. More than 1,000 of those newcomers are Syrian refugees who began arriving in December, 2015.

The province of British Columbia has invited a total of 477 candidates to apply for immigration to Canada through the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) in the latest draw for that program, which took place on September 15, 2016. More than half of the Invitations to Apply (ITAs) were issued to international graduates, with the remaining ITAs issued to skilled, semi-skilled and entry level workers.

Canada's Minister of Immigration, John McCallum, today stated his belief that most Canadians want to boost the overall number of immigrants coming to Canada.

Canada may soon allow easier pathways to permanent residence for temporary foreign workers, the Minister of Immigration, John McCallum, said on Sunday on national television. Details of modifications to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) are likely to be revealed in the coming weeks, with a parliamentary report on the matter set to be introduced.

The number of Invitations to Apply (ITAs) issued to Express Entry candidates for immigration to Canada has increased to 1,000 in the latest draw from the pool, which took place on September 7, 2016. The past nine draws have each seen between 750 and 800 ITAs issued, with only 750 candidates having been invited to apply in the previous draw, which took place exactly two weeks ago. The minimum number of Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points required in order for a candidate to be issued on ITA in the September 7 draw was 491, representing a drop of 47 points since the previous draw.

The government of China has stated that it will authorize Canada to open seven additional visa application centres across China. The announcement, which was widely expected following a recent visit to China by Canada's Immigration Minister, John McCallum, comes during an official visit to China by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.