Proposed ‘Entrepreneur Program’ for Canadian Immigration: What do you think?

‘Entrepreneur Program’ is one of the ways to immigrate to Canada based on your expertise and experience and possibly some minor investment. The program is currently on hold. The Canadian government has now launched consultations on whether to create a new and specialized Entrepreneur Program? This could lead to several  new, short-term programs under the Economic Immigration Class! Here are some proposals for the program.  

Please provide your comments as to what are your thoughts? Do you think any part of this program should be different?

• Proposal of 2750 applications per years; program to end in five year trial year; if suitable will be launched formally with changes to Canadian Law.
• Program to be proactive, targeted, efficient, fast and flexible based on jobs, growth, long-term prosperity and new & emerging needs of Canadian economy!
• Program to beat the competition from other immigrant-receiving countries, so that Canada can attract the best foreign entrepreneurs.
• Be proactive to attract entrepreneurs who have the potential to build innovative companies on global scale and create jobs for Canadians.

Economic Action Plan 2012 highlights Canada’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurs, innovators and world class research. This could lead to other Business Programs targeting active investment in Canadian growth companies. Consultations on start-up visa  programs to link immigrant entrepreneurs with private sector organizations having experience and expertise in start-ups!

Q: Will I get points (for years of education) that do not contribute towards obtaining the educational credential being assessed?

A: In a recent decision, the question has been answered in negative and it has been said that these years of education will not be counted because they are not contributing towards the credential.

Transformational Changes to Canadian Immigration System; Point system to be reformed; Old applications to be affected by new regulations

In an announcement by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney  on April 17, 2012, some major positive changes are anticipated in Canadian Immigration. These include:

·         System that  actively recruits talent rather than passively receives and processes applications

·         Economic and labour force needs to be central focus of immigration efforts

·         Groundwork has begun for this long-term economic success

·         CIC will work with provinces, territories and employers to create pool of skilled workers

·         Transformational changes to Canada’s immigration system

·         Fast and flexible system that attracts younger people – grow economy the minute they arrive

·         Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) – point system to be reformed – to reflect younger immigrants with Canadian Experience and better official language skills

·         Strengthen assessment of educational credential – begin work on arrival in Canada

·         FSW applicants to have educational credentials assessed and verified abroad

·         FSW to meet current labour market needs

·         Ministerial Instruction to apply to people who have already submitted an application

·         New regulations to apply retrospectively to people who have already submitted an application

·         Ensure Canada’s current needs and priorities

·         Develop a responsive immigration system – make Canada more competitive – attract best and brightest from around the world – to match Canadian Economy.

J-1 designation holders exempt from Social Security and Medicare Taxes

In general aliens performing services in the United States as employees are liable for U.S. Social Security and Medicare taxes. However, certain classes of alien employees are exempt from U.S. Social Security and Medicare taxes.

F-visas, J-visas, M-visas, Q-visas. Nonresident Alien students, scholars, professors, teachers, trainees, researchers, physicians, au pairs, summer camp workers, and other aliens temporarily present in the United States in F-1,J-1,M-1, or Q-1/Q-2 non-immigrant status are exempt on wages paid to them for services performed within the United States as long as such services are allowed by USCIS for these non-immigrant statuses, and such services are performed to carry out the purposes for which such visas were issued to them.

Exempt Employment includes:
-On-campus student employment up to 20 hours a week (40 hrs during summer vacations).
-Off-campus student employment allowed by USCIS.
-Practical Training student employment on or off campus.
-Employment as professor, teacher or researcher.
-Employment as a physician, au pair, or summer camp worker.

Limitations on exemption:

-The exemption does not apply to spouses and children in F-2, J-2, M-2, or Q-3 non-immigrant status.
-The exemption does not apply to employment not allowed by USCIS or to employment not closely connected to the purpose for which the visa was issued.
-The exemption does not apply to F-1,J-1,M-1, or Q-1/Q-2 nonimmigrants who change to an immigration status which is not exempt or to a special protected status.
-The exemption does not apply to F-1,J-1,M-1, or Q-1/Q-2 nonimmigrants who become resident aliens

EXTENSION OF STAY IN UNITED STATES FOR J-1 VISA HOLDERS:

Foreigners come to United States to work as interns and trainees on J-1 visas. The salaries are in line with those offered to Americans in such positions. Usually one has to be a current student, recent graduate or a young adult (less than 35 years of age) to be able to qualify for such positions. Such opportunities can be for 4 months to ...18 months. On completion of such programs the individual is required to go back to the home country however there are exceptions to this. One can obtain a waiver and then be sponsored for H-1 work visa which can be for 3 years and then extendable by another 3 years. The H-1 visa can also lead to green card and then citizenship of USA. However this is a long process.

For more information on J-1 visas, email us at info@eaglelegal.ca

Immigration: Canadian Experience Class going great! PhD and Doctoral programs coming soon under Federal Skilled Worker Class!

Immigration to Canada under the Canadian Experience Class (for those possessing sufficient Canadian experience or education) - brings the world's best and brightest individuals to Canada. Federal programs anticipated for PhD students soon!

Canadian Experience Class is a category under which foreigners can obtain permanent resident status in Canada based on education or work experience in Canada. The program, created in 2008, offers a pathway to permanent residency for international students and skilled and highly skilled temporary foreign workers. Through this program, those eligible can apply from within Canada and expect a decision quickly, whereas in the past, they may have spent several years waiting in the immigration queue.
The program has received praise from many educational organizations across Canada. To promote this program, the federal government has given a $10 million, two-year commitment in Budget 2011 towards developing and implementing an international education strategy. This strategy will promote Canada’s reputation as one of the top countries to study and conduct world-class research.
Retaining international PhD students will also be easier with proposal that foreign nationals studying at a doctoral level in Canada, as well as recent graduates of a Canadian PhD program, will soon be able to apply as Federal Skilled Workers.
The Canadian Experience Class program already exists while the PhD program is currently at some provincial levels but will soon be part of Federal Program.
For applying under these programs you can email us at info@eaglelegal.ca

CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AND IMMIGRATION (FEDERAL SKILLED/ TEMPORARY SKILLED WORKER PROGRAM AND PROVINCIAL NOMINEE PROGRAM)

As part of Canadian Pre-budget Consultations, the Canadian Construction Association (CCA) speaks of immigration-requirements for construction industry. The following information comes from CCA.
To meet the shortage of Construction Workers, Canada must increase the number of foreign skilled workers entering the country under the Federal Skilled Worker Program , the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the Provincial Nominee Program. Furthermore, entrants under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program should be given longer-stay visas, be provided with additional flexibility to change employers within the industry, and fast-tracked for permanent residency after working in Canada for an acceptable period of time.
The construction industry now anticipates a skilled labour shortage of 335,000 workers by 2019, or roughly a quarter of its existing workforce. Traditional domestic sources are only expected to fill approximately 50 per cent of this demand. Consequently, the industry will remain dependent upon foreign skilled workers to overcome anticipated workforce shortfalls for years to come. Current immigration policy fails to meet the needs of the construction industry. Policy reforms are required in order to increase the domestic pool of skilled labour. Tied to these reforms is a pressing need to increase the speed at which Citizenship and Immigration Canada processes skilled worker applications. In this context, CCA believes the department’s current budget must be significantly increased in order to eliminate application backlogs and fast-track the entry of skilled workers into Canada.
In a recent report on global construction trends, PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated Canada will surpass France and Germany over the course of this decade and become the world’s fifth largest construction market. Driven by the need to build new and replace existing infrastructure to satisfy international demand for natural resources, only China, the United States, India and Japan will outspend Canada. However, in order to achieve this potential, the construction industry must have an adequate supply of skilled and unskilled workers.
While such scenarios may seem implausible today, according to the most recent Construction Sector Council (CSC) forecast, demand growth for construction services in Canada will outpace the sector’s growth capacity due to chronic shortages of skilled and unskilled workers. Therefore, even with aggressive domestic recruitment and training programs, the industry will continue to rely on Canada’s immigration system to supply the remainder of its workforce.
Based on their further analysis, Canada’s construction industry will need to add approximately 42,000 new workers each year to keep up with growing demand for construction services and replace retiring workers. Since domestic recruitment efforts can only supply approximately 50 per cent of the overall demand, the industry must add approximately 21,000 new workers each year through immigration to avoid skilled labour shortages. While Statistics Canada’s Occupation and Skill Level Labour Market Intention data does not specifically identify construction professions, the industry estimates that fewer than 2,500 immigrants to Canada presently take up professions within the construction sector.
Current processing backlogs within Citizenship and Immigration Canada are also barriers to the entry of the skilled workers. According to the department, there was a 500,000 skilled immigrant applicant backlog as of December 2010. Clearly, not all of these applicants will qualify to immigrate, but with such growing labour challenges across the economy, more must be done to reduce skilled immigrant backlogs. From a CCA perspective, this remains an area of considerable concern. Other countries with similar immigration programs seem to have faster processing times for economic class immigrants, which places Canada at a competitive disadvantage. If not addressed, Canada may lose some of the best and brightest available immigrants to other nations due to application processing delays.
CCA believes the solution rests with public policy makers who must increase skilled worker training capacity across the country, as well as reform Canada’s immigration system to place a greater emphasis on arranged employment and acquired job skills, rather than on formal, post-secondary education. In addition to these important policy reforms, the Parliament of Canada must increase funding for Citizenship and Immigration Canada in order to decrease application processing times.
Eagle Legal Services assists employers in processing the paperwork for their Foreign Workers under the Federal Skilled Worker Program , the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the Provincial Nominee Program. We also deal with HRSDC for Labour Market Opinions and Arranged Employment. We may be contacted at info@eaglelegal.ca