Canada consultation on immigration

The Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney, recently paid homage to the role immigration has played in Canadian history, while also announcing future levels of immigration were under the spotlight.

In a speech last month at the Vancouver Board of Trade, Minister Kenney acknowledged:“Immigration has always been an important part of the Canadian story. It has been a sustaining feature of Canada’s history and continues to play an important role in building our country.”
The Immigration Minister then went on to announce that input was being sought from key stakeholders and members of the Canadian public to establish the correct level of immigration in the future: “Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is in the middle of consulting with Canadians on… how many people we invite to immigrate to Canada, and who are they? We’re also looking for feedback on how we can better manage the system to make it more
efficient.”

The consultation process will involve discussions with settlement organisations, employers, industry bodies and community associations; there will also be online consultations. The main focus of the process is to determine: which immigration schemes CIC should focus on; how skilled migrants should be selected to fill shortages in the Canadian workforce; and how to reduce the time between skilled workers applying for and being granted visas.

One part of the current Canadian immigration system that looks set to continue into the future is the Provincial Nominee Programme (PNP). This programme was singled out for praise by Minister Kenney as a way of making immigration policy more responsive to labour market needs. The programme is a way Canada’s Provinces and Territories can react to the workforce needs they recognise in their areas.

“We intend to welcome a record number of provincial nominees this year,” Minister Kenney announced. “In 2011, we plan to admit about 40,000 immigrants in the provincial nominee category, five times more than the 8,000 welcomed in 2005. The previous high was 36,428 provincial nominees in 2010.”

The consultations the Minister is engaging in with stakeholders will continue across Canada and the Canadian government has promised to take into account the responses to the consultation when it sets future immigration policy.

 

CIC Announcement

The Government of Canada will not deal with non-authorized immigration representatives who charge for their services

The Government of Canada will not deal with non-authorized immigration representatives who charge for their services. Only the following people may charge a fee or receive any other type of consideration, to represent or advise you in connection with a Canadian immigration proceeding or application:
•lawyers and paralegals who are members in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society
•Notaries who are members in good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, and
•Immigration consultants who are members in good standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council

Pilot Project to Attract More Working Families to B.C.

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ICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Aug. 12, 2011) - Family members of most temporary foreign workers in British Columbia will be able to work for any employer in the province, thanks to a pilot project launched today.

The announcement was made by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney and British Columbia Minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation Pat Bell.

"Since I became Minister, I have heard from workers, employers, labour advocates and others who have asked me to make Canada more welcoming for working families coming to Canada as temporary residents," said Minister Kenney. "With this pilot project, we will examine the benefits of allowing family members of temporary foreign workers to work while they are here with a principal applicant who has been hired because of his or her skills."

In general, temporary foreign workers come to Canada to meet the needs of a specific employer who has been unable to find citizens or permanent residents for the available jobs. An open work permit, however, allows the holder to accept any job with any employer.

Previously, only spouses and common-law partners of temporary foreign workers employed in a managerial, professional or skilled trades job have been eligible to obtain an open work permit in British Columbia. Starting August 15, spouses, common-law partners and working-age dependants of most temporary foreign workers will be eligible, including many workers in occupations that require lower levels of formal training.

"More than a million jobs will open up in B.C. by 2020, and we will need foreign workers to help meet the skills shortages our businesses are already beginning to face," said Minister Bell. "Giving more spouses and working-aged children of temporary foreign workers the chance to take jobs will support local businesses, while contributing to local, regional and provincial economic growth."

Up to 1,800 open work permits will be available under the pilot project, which will end on February 15, 2013.

"Nearly 32,000 temporary foreign workers made the transition to permanent status in 2010, and of those, almost 2,300 chose to immigrate permanently to BC," Minister Kenney noted. "We understand the important role that foreign workers have in every region of the country and we will continue to look at ways to attract workers who have the skills we need now and into the future."

British Columbia's shared role in immigration was cemented in April 2010 with the signing of the Canada-British Columbia Immigration Agreement.

Follow Citizenship and Immigration Canada on Twitter at www.twitter.com/CitImmCanada.

Connect with the Province of B.C. at www.gov.bc.ca/connect.

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Long- term Multiple-Entry visas to Canada.

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Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has recently confirmed that the issuance of long-term (up to 10 years) multiple-entry visas is now the norm for temporary resident visas (TRVs).

The new policy aims to ease travel for “low-risk” frequent visitors to Canada (such as business travellers) who are citizens of visa-required countries and to make better use of government resources by reducing the use of visa offices.

Until recently, multiple-entry TRVs were issued for a maximum of five years at a time.  The new policy reflects the reality that countries are increasingly issuing passports which are valid for 10 years.

While the ultimate duration of a TRV depends on the circumstances of each case and remains at the discretion of the visa officer, according to operational instructions recently released by CIC, as long-term multiple-entry visas are now to be considered the “norm”, officers who issue a single-entry visa, or a multiple-entry visa for less than the full validity period of the passport (up to 10 years), must provide written reasons for doing so in their case notes.

The new policy will be welcomed by employers in visa-required countries who frequently send employees to Canada for meetings or other business-related activities.

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Canadian Visa Application Centres Improved

By Government of Canada Aug 11, 2011 - 1:11:21 PM

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On August 11, 2011, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced improvements to visa services and the opening of a Visa Application Centre in San José, Costa Rica. The improved services – which support Canada’s efforts to strengthen its engagement in the Americas – aim to make applying for Canadian visas more convenient, address the number one irritant for the business community, and help position Canada as a preferred destination for business, study and leisure.

Visa Application Centre agents are available to help applicants fill out their forms and answer questions about the application process. They ensure applications are complete, which reduces the rate of returned applications and ultimately leads to faster processing. This low-cost service also lessens the potential for people to fall victim to fraud. 

Visa Application Centres send applications to Visa offices and transmit decisions to applicants in a confidential manner, which eliminates the need for applicants to queue at Visa offices. 

The Visa Application Centre in Costa Rica will also provide the option to applicants to have their visa issued at the Canadian Embassy in Costa Rica, eliminating the need to send their passport outside of the country to be issued a visa. The advantage is that travelers will be able to hold onto their passport and continue to travel while their visa application is being processed.

Canada currently has Visa Application Centres in 20 countries: Algeria, Armenia, Bangladesh, China, Guinea, Kazakhstan, Kenya, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Mongolia, Moldova, Nepal, Philippines, Romania, Russian Federation, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Uganda and Vietnam.

In addition to the new Visa Application Centre in Costa Rica, nine more centres are scheduled to open in August 2011: Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Venezuela, as well as in Brasília, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Seven further centres are scheduled to open in September 2011: Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay.

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