Canada’s new immigration rules put premium on young people

Happy Canada Day
Happy Canada Day (Photo credit: Anirudh Koul)

BILL CURRY
OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail


New immigration rules will target workers aged 18 to 35 as the Conservative government provides the clearest sense yet of how Canada will rely on young immigrants to soften the fiscal pain of a demographic crunch.

The federal regulations reveal a sweeping overhaul of the points system used by Canada for approving foreign worker applications.


The new points grid provides details that are in line with previous government pledges to gear the immigration system toward younger workers with strong language skills in English or French who already have a job lined up in Canada.

Under new rules that will take effect next year, workers aged 47 and over will receive no points for age, compared with 12 for those between 18 and 35, the most coveted age group under the Federal Skilled Worker Class of immigrants.

The available points for applicants decreases by one for each year above 35.

The government says the change, announced over the weekend, is based on clear evidence that older immigrants are much less likely to succeed in the work force, although that position is not without its critics who say that the government points system should be more flexible.

Driving the change is the concern that the ratio of working-age Canadians to retirees is shifting dramatically.

“An aging population … represents a significant policy challenge for Canada,” a federal analysis of the changes says. “The immigration of young people able to work at relatively high wages for a number of years can help lessen the consequences of this phenomenon.”

Independent research supports the government’s claims that younger immigrants perform better financially, but some say there shouldn’t be hard and fast rules.

“The next Frank Stronach could be 38 years old, and then what do we do?” said Ratna Omidvar, president of the immigration-focused Maytree Foundation and board chair of the Toronto Region Immigrant and Employment Council. “I think a little less rigidity would be preferable.”

On language, the new rules will give significantly more points to applicants who have strong language skills in either English or French, but points for speaking both official languages will be cut in half from eight to four.

Some immigration experts say this could, at least temporarily, have the effect of curbing immigration from regions with relatively poor average English or French skills like China and South Asia.‬ A spokesperson for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney rejected such theories as “innapropriate.”

In addition to changing the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the new regulations also create a new Federal Skilled Trades Class and updates the Canadian Experience Class, which was created by the Conservative government in 2008.

Over all, the changes aim to help employers bring in the workers they need and make it easier for temporary workers to apply for citizenship while in Canada. The rules also decrease the points for work experience outside of Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration has posted an extensive rationale for the changes in the Canada Gazette, citing numerous academic studies to support specific measures.

One of the cited researchers, McMaster University economics professor Arthur Sweetman, who co-authored a paper called “Immigrant Earnings: Age At Immigration Matters,” says the federal age rules are clearly supported by data.

“It makes a lot of sense,” he said. “Immigrants who arrive later in life – on average – have a lot more difficulties in the labour market.”

However, on the broader objectives of the federal rules, Dr. Sweetman noted that the government discusses how they will benefit employers and new immigrants, but is silent on their potential impact on existing Canadian workers.

“If you were going to design an immigration system that was going to help employers keep wages low, this is pretty close to what you’d want,” he said, noting that it will be important to ensure employers are really making an effort to find Canadian workers before turning to the immigration system.

NDP immigration critic Jinny Sims said the government’s approach to changing demographics seems poorly thought out. She said that listing workers over 35 as “too old” to come to Canada seems at odds with the government’s plans to have Canadians work until 67 before qualifying for Old Age Security.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” she said.



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Chinese continue to seek residency overseas

English: The Great Wall of China, near Beijing...
English: The Great Wall of China, near Beijing in July 2006. This is a section of Mutianyu. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Cheng Guangjin in Beijing and Li Xiang in Paris (China Daily)

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Despite tightening immigration rules in many destinations popular with Chinese immigrants, the number of applicants — who have growing wealth and a desire to live elsewhere — continues to rise.
This year it has become even more difficult for many Chinese citizens to realize their immigration dreams, as most of their favorite destinations are adjusting immigration rules with higher qualification requirements and fewer openings.
Canada announced in late June that it would temporarily suspend new applications to the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Federal Immigrant Investor Program, effective on July 1. The government is expected to accept applications again in January.
Meanwhile, Quebec, a province of eastern Canada, has limited the maximum number of investor applications between March 21, 2012, and March 31, 2013, to 2,700.
"This has been a heavy blow to new applicants, applicants being processed and the immigration intermediaries in China like ours," said Ding Wei, director of the Canadian immigration department at JJL Overseas Education, a Beijing-based education and immigration intermediary.
According to Ding, many ongoing application cases in his company have stalled.
"Applicants being processed have to wait longer, with a higher chance of being turned down," Ding told China Daily.
Canada is not alone in having new immigration rules.
Australia, for which China is the biggest source of immigrants, on July 1 introduced a new Skilled Migrant Selection Model, one of the biggest changes to the Australian immigration system in years.
The new system will be less convenient for prospective immigrants to Australia. They will have to wait probably about six months to find out if they are allowed to make an application.
According to Ma Jing, who is in charge of the Australian immigration department at JJL, the new model has higher requirements, including education, language ability and business experience.
Because more detailed rules have yet to come out, "now is a transition period with fewer new applicants to Australia", Ma said.
However, Ma is optimistic about a continued increase in the number of new applicants in the future.
"Generally speaking, it has become more and more difficult to move to other countries with higher requirements, including investments, but Chinese people's wealth is also on the rise," Ma said.
Ding said that people may turn to other countries such as the United States and some European countries instead of Canada, since not all news is bad news.
The US on Aug 14 directed young illegal immigrants to fill out new forms and pay $465 if they wanted to apply under a new program that will let them avoid deportation and obtain a US work permit.
Earlier this month, the US Congress agreed in principle to a three-year reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program, which grants residency permits to foreign investors, a program that is due to expire in September.
Ding is not surprised: "The US knows well the benefits to the development of its regional economy and employment as a result of Chinese investors."
In Europe, at the French Senate's Judicial Committee hearing on July 24, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls signaled that the new Socialist government of President Francois Hollande intended to make changes to French immigration law.
Valls' plans would make it easier for foreign students to work in France after their graduation, said Daniel Kahn, founding partner of French law firm Kahn & Associes in Paris.
Furthermore, if other measures are made regarding the residence and work permit authorization, the lives of foreign employees in France will be more stable, and they will be encouraged to settle in France for good, Kahn said.
Kahn noted that the French government recognizes that non-EU students who have graduated from French universities are an asset to the French economy.
"All companies established in France will benefit from this change in French immigration law," he said.
Many Chinese students are studying in France. Some of them graduated from the most famous French business, commercial and engineering schools and institutes of political science.
"They speak two or three languages and have a Sino-French cultural background," said Kahn.
"The new immigration policy should enable many of them to find suitable and interesting positions in French companies and obtain the appropriate work permit."
No matter how the rules are changed, people's wish to live elsewhere simply won't fade.
Ma said that many of her clients have children who study abroad.
"They feel it's a pity if their children spend years studying in a foreign country without obtaining citizenship there. So they apply for immigration, which can also help their children," Ma said.
"People also want to have a life with less pressure and to enjoy a better pension when they grow old after emigrating to countries like Australia," Ma said.
As for businessmen who travel around the world from time to time, a foreign passport can mean less time waiting for a visa, compared with a Chinese passport, Ma said.
Yao Lei, 29, a senior system administrator on global infrastructure in the IT industry at a US company in Beijing, will soon join the middle-class force with a good salary.
But he has found new momentum for life after making a decision to emigrate to the US.
He plans to acquire permanent residence under the EB-1A category, which is for immigrants who can demonstrate extraordinary ability, with the help of his US-based company. He has found that his specialty is increasingly in demand, even in the US.
"I think I can get a higher salary, a life with less pressure and easier access to educational opportunities for my children in the future," Yao said.
Contact the writers at chengguangjin@chinadaily.com.cn and lixiang@chinadaily.com.cn

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