MAJOR CHANGES TO PROCESSING OF PARENTAL IMMIGRATION FILES

TEMPORARY HOLD FROM NOV 5, 2011 FOR 24 MONTHS – SUPER VISA FOR 10 YEARS – 24 MONTHS OF STAY ALLOWED – PRIVATE HEALTH INSURANCE REQUIRED

In an effort to reduce the backlog of more than 165,000 applications of parents and grandparents for Canadian permanent residence, the government has discontinued accepting new applications temporarily from starting Nov 5, 2011 for 24 months. Nearly 38,000 such applications are received each year. The current wait time for such applications is currently in excess of seven years and hence this action was felt necessary.

Overall, the government is aiming at faster family-unification in Canada. For this, the government will increase by over 60% the number of sponsored parents and grandparents who are admitted next year (from 15, 500 in 2010 to 25,000 in 2012). This will be the highest level in nearly 20 years.

The government is also introducing the new “Parent and Grandparent Super Visa,” which will be valid for up to 10 years. The multiple-entry visa will allow an applicant to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time without the need for renewal of their status. The Parent and Grandparent Super Visa will come into effect on December 1, 2011, and the government will be able to issue the visas, on average, within eight weeks of the application. This means that instead of waiting for eight years, a parent or a grandparent can come to Canada within eight weeks. Parent and Grandparent Super Visa applicants will be required to obtain private Canadian health-care insurance for their stay in Canada.

For any questions contact info@eaglelegal.ca

GREAT NEWS - IMMIGRATION OPPORTUNITIES FOR SKILLED WORKERS:

The Government of Canada is planning to welcome more federal skilled workers in 2012.

The Federal Skilled Worker Program is the principal avenue for permanent immigration to Canada. In 2012, the government of Canada plans to welcome 55,000–57,000 federal skilled workers. In 2011, it was 47,000–47,400. Canada is committed to facilitate the arrival of the best and the brightest people to the country.

An important milestone was reached this year, when the backlog of Federal Skilled Worker applications was reduced by more than 50 percent who applied before 2008 – two years ahead of schedule. The higher range in 2012 will support labour market responsiveness and sustain progress on backlog reduction.

An extensive evaluation was completed in 2010, showing that the program is working well and selecting immigrants who perform well economically. 95 percent of the employers surveyed indicated that Federal Skilled Workers were meeting or exceeding their expectations. The evaluation indicated a strong continuing need for skilled immigrants in Canada.

RESIDENCY OBLIGATIONS

This is a requirement to be in Canada for a specific number of days after obtaining Permanent Resident status. There are two related issues here. One is the requirement to maintain the permanent-resident status and the other is to meet the residence-in-Canada requirement to be able to subsequently apply for Canadian citizenship. The residency requirements for both these situations are different. One is required to maintain residence in Canada for two years out of every five years to maintain PR status. To be eligible to apply for citizenship, one should have had residency for at least three years out of the last five years. Note: there could be several situations which could be slightly different from the above-mentioned requirements.

Language requirements for Canadian Citizenship (proposal for changes)

Changes have been proposed to the way the government of Canada assesses the language abilities of prospective new citizens. Under the proposal, adult citizenship applicants would be required to provide objective evidence of language ability with their citizenship applications. This change will encourage applicants to ensure that they can speak English or French when they apply for citizenship, thereby improving the integrity and effectiveness of the citizenship program for Canada and for new Canadians alike.This proposed change would not increase the language level required, but would change the way that citizenship applicants aged 18-54 prove their language ability.Applicants would be able to demonstrate language ability by submitting a variety of evidence, including: the results of a third party test; evidence of completion of secondary or post-secondary education in English or French; or evidence of achieving CLB/NCLC 4 in certain government funded language training programs. As per the release, the language skills to be assessed would be speaking and listening only.

Study-Work Programs in Canada

Study-Work programs in Canada are usually an interesting options for young adults around the world (including those who have held J-1 visas in the US). These programs give an opportunity to the aspirant to be able to come to Canada on a Student Permit and subsequently apply for an Open Work Permit. This means that the individual can work anywhere, so long as the field of study is similar to the field of work, while the study continues and work is integral part of the study. Such programs may also be classified as co-op programs. Such programs are usually in high demand because they offer the option to the individual, of being able to work in the field, as part of their education. The positions during this working are paid. Individuals who are already in the US on a J-1 visa may find this program attractive as it gives them an option to 'feel' Canada while being in North America. They can apply for visa from the US, without being required to go back to the home country. The permission to work under such programs is usually for less than 50% of the total time allocated for studies.

'Farmers' and "Young Farmers' - Immigration to Canada

Farmers may immigrate to Canada if they meet the requirement by Canadian Federal or Provincial Governments. There are several programs available. Generally speaking, farmers are required to meet the following requirements for one of the programs for immigration to Canada:

1. Possess net worth of $500, 000 (Canadian Dollars) ($300, 000 for Young Farmers program who have to be under the age of 40).
2. Proposal of commercial  farming in Canada.
3. You or your spouse should possess marketable employment skills.
4. Conduct exploratory visit to the province.
5. Practical experience of farming (minimum of 3 years for young farmers).
6. Make investment of $150,000.
7. Refundable deposit of $75,000.

This is your opportunity to permanently immigrate to Canada with your family if you generally meet the above requirements. However, please note that this is only a summary and there could be other requirements to be met. Providing all the details here is beyond the scope of this note.

Compliance requirements for employers in Canada (Foreign Workers)

In Canada, it is becoming extremely important for employers to comply with Foreign Worker requirements when they higher Foreign Workers. Non-compliace can lead to 2-year bar on recruiting foreigners and addition of name to the default list. Compliance requirements includes: genuine job offer letters for positive LMOs, sal...ary standards, occupational discriptions, efforts to hire local workers (Canadians), following provincial and federal labour laws; employment is being made by an employer that is actively involved in the field which the job offer is being made, the offer is consistent with the employer’s labour needs, the employer can reasonably fulfill the terms of the job offer, and whether the employer, or recruiter acting on behalf of an employer, has previously complied with provincial and federal laws regulating employment or recruiting of workers.

Employers who incur a two-year TFW penalty will have all subsequent offers deemed to be “lacking in genuineness” for the duration of the penalty period, regardless of whether the above criteria are met. Prior violations of provincial or federal laws regulating employment (irrespective of whether those violations were connected to a TFW or a local worker) could also result in an officer determining that the job offer lacks genuineness.

The new rules will limit the number of years that a TFW may be authorized to work in Canada. Most foreign workers will be allowed to extend their work permit for a maximum cumulative period of four years. Once this cap is reached workers will be required to wait four years before they can reapply. However, certain categories of foreign workers are exempted from this limitation. These include workers employed in specific fields of significant social, cultural or economic benefits to Canada and TFW’s working under specific international agreements like NAFTA or GATS.

As a result of this new cap employers will be encouraged to initiate the process of applying for permanent residence on behalf of their foreign workers well in advance of the four year limitation.

Under the new regulations, a number of regulatory and administrative changes will affect the Live-in Caregiver Program.

Employers will be required to include mandatory clauses in their employment contracts that address employer paid benefits, accommodations, duties, and hours of work, wages, holiday and sick leave entitlements and conditions for termination.

Reliance on legal counsel will become more paramount for human resource managers.