FREDERICTON - The provincial government has changed immigration rules to allow residents to sponsor family members to move to the province from outside of Canada.
The changes to the Provincial Nominee Program are targeted to attract skilled workers and entrepreneurs to the province.
"The immediate family members of permanent residents should be afforded an opportunity to be successful in New Brunswick," said Business New Brunswick Minister Victor Boudreau, who is also responsible for the Population Growth Secretariat.
"This program change encourages retention by attracting newcomers with a genuine desire to stay in New Brunswick. Ultimately, we want our staff processing applications from individuals who are sincere about establishing businesses in our province."
Under the program's existing categories, nominees must have a job offer or a business plan. The changes will create a new category for skilled workers who already have family within New Brunswick.
Boudreau said residents will be able to help skilled family members find jobs and integrate into the province.
"Anyone looking for a job can tell you that the process often takes time and requires face-to-face contact with potential employers," he said.
"The process is even more difficult for those who live abroad."
In 2008, almost 2,000 immigrants arrived in New Brunswick through the program. The Population Growth Secretariat has a government mandate to attract 5,000 immigrants by 2015 and to significantly increase the retention rate once they arrive.
Lorraine LeClair, the executive director of the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area, said the new categories will make the program more effective for both the province and new immigrants.
"I think it's going to be a good initiative for New Brunswick," she said. "It's also going to be a great thing for our newcomers so that they'll be able to keep their families together and have an opportunity to bring more folks to New Brunswick."
LeClair said that should help New Brunswick meet its population growth goals, as well as provide benefits to immigrants.
"It shows that there are roots that are going to be built here," she said. "It keeps that family unit as a whole and it shows that we're a welcoming community, not just for the bottom line, but for a healthier, overall family environment."
Entrepreneurial immigrants looking to set up a business in New Brunswick must now submit a deposit, which will be refunded if they establish a business within two years of arriving in the province and it stays in operation for at least one year.
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island also have similar programs that require a refundable deposit.
Source: timestranscript.com
New rules help draw foreign students
Colleges laud move to speed visa process
Source: thestart.com
Nicholas Keung,
Immigration Reporter
Until nine months ago, prospective students from India had to wait up to eight months for a visa to study in Canada – with many of them being rejected after a long delay or missing the course deadlines.
But a pilot program to fast-track applicants by Citizenship and Immigration Canada has dramatically reduced the visa-processing time to mere weeks for students like New Delhi's Dharam Pratap Singh, 29, who is enrolled in Centennial College's one-year project management post-graduate program.
Until the visa change was made, he says, students had to pay a fee and wait, possibly for too long, until they missed a term "and it's a year lost."
Canadian colleges laud the program, saying it will help them compete with schools in the United States, Britain and Australia in attracting international students, who pay far higher tuitions than local students.
The joint program between Canada's visa offices in India and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges has tightened the screening of applicants. Among other things, college officials must verify an applicant's financial resources and English proficiency.
"We want our international students' first experience with Canada to be a welcoming one," said Lorraine Trotter, dean of international and immigration education at George Brown College.
Under the pilot program, visa offices in India have received more than 4,000 applications with an approval rate more than double the previous year. Visa processing averages only 2 1/2 weeks.
As a result, Centennial College has seen its students from India increase from 450 to 975, with the visa-approval rate jumping from 27 per cent to 87 per cent.
"We want good students. Canada wants good immigrants. The program is marrying both," said Virginia Macchiavello, Centennial's international education director.
The number of foreign students in Canada has doubled since 1998 to 178,000, creating an estimated 83,000 jobs for Canadians last year. A 2009 government report found the students contributed $6.5 billion to the local economy.
As a result of globalization, George Brown's Trotter said many colleges have developed international strategies that include the delivery of programs overseas through partners and the globalization of curriculum for Canadian students.
"Employers are always looking for global-savvy employees," said Trotter, who just returned from a month-long tour of China and Korea to meet with overseas partners and promote the college.
Macchiavello said many visa students are keen on immigrating to Canada after graduation.
Their investment in a Canadian education can help cut integration costs, she said.
Rashmeet Kaur, a food and nutrition post-graduate student at Centennial, is one of those interested in staying in Canada.
"I like Canada," the 23-year-old New Delhi native said.
"I like its multicultural environment."
WHERE THE STUDENTS COME FROM
China: ..................................... 42,154
Korea: .................................... 27,440
U.S.: .......................................... 11,317
France: ..................................... 8,553
India: ......................................... 7,314
Japan:....................................... 6,627
Saudi Arabia: .......................... 4,672
Taiwan:...................................... 4,127
Hong Kong: .............................. 4,116
Mexico: .................................... 3,853
TOTAL: ................................ 178,227
Source: Citizenship and Immigration
Source: thestart.com
Nicholas Keung,
Immigration Reporter
Until nine months ago, prospective students from India had to wait up to eight months for a visa to study in Canada – with many of them being rejected after a long delay or missing the course deadlines.
But a pilot program to fast-track applicants by Citizenship and Immigration Canada has dramatically reduced the visa-processing time to mere weeks for students like New Delhi's Dharam Pratap Singh, 29, who is enrolled in Centennial College's one-year project management post-graduate program.
Until the visa change was made, he says, students had to pay a fee and wait, possibly for too long, until they missed a term "and it's a year lost."
Canadian colleges laud the program, saying it will help them compete with schools in the United States, Britain and Australia in attracting international students, who pay far higher tuitions than local students.
The joint program between Canada's visa offices in India and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges has tightened the screening of applicants. Among other things, college officials must verify an applicant's financial resources and English proficiency.
"We want our international students' first experience with Canada to be a welcoming one," said Lorraine Trotter, dean of international and immigration education at George Brown College.
Under the pilot program, visa offices in India have received more than 4,000 applications with an approval rate more than double the previous year. Visa processing averages only 2 1/2 weeks.
As a result, Centennial College has seen its students from India increase from 450 to 975, with the visa-approval rate jumping from 27 per cent to 87 per cent.
"We want good students. Canada wants good immigrants. The program is marrying both," said Virginia Macchiavello, Centennial's international education director.
The number of foreign students in Canada has doubled since 1998 to 178,000, creating an estimated 83,000 jobs for Canadians last year. A 2009 government report found the students contributed $6.5 billion to the local economy.
As a result of globalization, George Brown's Trotter said many colleges have developed international strategies that include the delivery of programs overseas through partners and the globalization of curriculum for Canadian students.
"Employers are always looking for global-savvy employees," said Trotter, who just returned from a month-long tour of China and Korea to meet with overseas partners and promote the college.
Macchiavello said many visa students are keen on immigrating to Canada after graduation.
Their investment in a Canadian education can help cut integration costs, she said.
Rashmeet Kaur, a food and nutrition post-graduate student at Centennial, is one of those interested in staying in Canada.
"I like Canada," the 23-year-old New Delhi native said.
"I like its multicultural environment."
WHERE THE STUDENTS COME FROM
China: ..................................... 42,154
Korea: .................................... 27,440
U.S.: .......................................... 11,317
France: ..................................... 8,553
India: ......................................... 7,314
Japan:....................................... 6,627
Saudi Arabia: .......................... 4,672
Taiwan:...................................... 4,127
Hong Kong: .............................. 4,116
Mexico: .................................... 3,853
TOTAL: ................................ 178,227
Source: Citizenship and Immigration
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