Canadian immigration by the numbers

BY TOBI COHEN AND JORDAN PRESS, POSTMEDIA NEWS NOVEMBER 2, 2011

Canada expects to have welcomed about 260,000 immigrants to Canada by the end of this year; that's one of several findings in the annual immigration report, released Wednesday.

Photograph by: Brent Foster/National Post/files, The Conservative government wants to cut down a heavy immigration backlog by capping the number of parents and grandparents of immigrants who can come to Canada

Highlights from Citizenship and Immigration's annual report:

- Canada expects to have welcomed about 260,000 immigrants to Canada by the end of this year;

- Canada admitted 280,681 permanent residents in 2010, an increase of 11.3 per cent over 2009 and the highest level recorded in 50 years;

- Canada welcomed 182,276 foreign workers in 2010, an increase of 2.2 per cent over the previous year;

- The number of international students permitted into Canada in 2010 was up 13 per cent over 2009 to 96,157;

- Canada issued 12,452 temporary resident permits in 2010 to foreigners deemed inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act but who offer compelling reasons for special consideration;

- By 2013, such foreign nationals will be required to provide their biometrics as part of a border security initiative;

- The number of asylum claimants fell by 10,000 in 2010, in large part due to the introduction of temporary resident visa requirements for people from the Czech Republic and Mexico;

- Immigration levels for 2012 will remain between 240,000-265,000;

- For the second consecutive year, Canada resettled 12,000 refugees in 2010;

- 26.6 per cent of new immigrants don't know either official language; 57.1 per cent know English, six per cent know French, 10.3 per cent know both;

- Authorities fell shy of processing time targets for family class applicants. Officials expect to meet the 12-month target by March.

Tests now required for language points under Quebec Skilled Worker program

As of December 5^th, new candidates to the Quebec Skilled Worker program who want to receive points for language for French and/or English, will have to submit test results along with their application.

For French, only the following tests are valid:

For English, only the following test is valid:

International English Language Testing System (IELTS)

Only in the case of French can a spouse be awarded points, and in this case he/she must also take a French test from the establishments mentioned above, and submit results along with the principal applicant's results.

This change is not retroactive, so applications received at Quebec Immigration visa offices before December 5th (or postmarked before December 5th) do not need to submit language test scores - in these cases their language proficiency will continue to be evaluated at an interview. However, according to Robert Baril, Quebec Assistant Deputy Minister for Immigration, "[We] suggest that all candidates whose applications were received before December 5th to [also] submit test scores to confirm their language skills in French and English; this can help the candidate and accelerate the processing of their application."

These changes are universal, applying to all applicants, no matter whether they come from a French or English speaking country or not.

The government states that its aim is to standardize testing to make it more fair for all applicants - whereas previously tests were not required and it was left up to individual visa officers to evaluate each candidate at an interview.

The Quebec Skilled Worker program works on a points system, allocated according to training, age, language proficiency, work experience, family characteristics, and other criteria.

Source: canadavisa.com

Canadians more tolerant of immigration levels as doors open wider: study

By: Andy Blatchford, The Canadian Press

Posted: 12/5/2011 3:12 PM | Comments: 1 (including replies) | Last Modified: 12/5/2011 9:52 PM

MONTREAL - A new study suggests Canadians have grown more tolerant of the country's immigration levels — even as the number of newcomers has increased over the years.

A poll of 2,020 people, taken for the Institute For Research on Public Policy, found that 58 per cent of Canadians surveyed last year supported the country's level of immigration.

The findings also suggest that Canadians have had positive views of immigration levels for more than a decade.

The results tell a contrary story to one occasionally found in news headlines that suggest Canadians might be increasingly fed up with accommodating newcomers.

There were actually two prominent news stories Monday in Quebec related to disputes over minority accommodations.

Talk TV was exercised over a report on a Montreal-area municipality's decision to remove Christmas and Hanukkah decorations at city hall. A community group had requested to have Islamic symbols erected as well, and the Town of Mount Royal responded by taking down symbols from all religions, save for a Christmas tree.

There was also a report on the city of Gatineau's immigrant guide book, asking newcomers not to take part in honour killings or cook smelly foods.

But the research director for IRPP's diversity, immigration and integration program said while disputes make flashy headlines, they overshadow the many positive stories of integration that are never told.

"We think sometimes these debates are kind of tough in Canada and things are getting worse — but we're in a lot better shape, in all kinds of ways, than a lot of other countries," Leslie Seidle said Monday in Montreal.

"Contrary to many other countries, particularly in western Europe, we have a strong majority who think that the level of immigration we have right now is about right."

The IRPP study cited a 2010 survey that found close to 60 per cent of people in the United Kingdom thought there were too many immigrants in their country. By comparison, less than 20 per cent of Canadians felt the same way.

In the poll taken by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, Canadians were also found to be more tolerant of immigrants than people in Italy, Spain, the U.S., France, Netherlands and Germany.

But Canadians' views toward immigrants haven't always been as welcoming.

The study by IRPP, a non-partisan, Montreal-based public policy think-tank, suggests there was a shift in public opinion about a decade ago.

From the late 1970s until the early 1990s, the majority of Canadians held negative attitudes about the country's immigration levels.

Following a shift in the 1990s, Canadians' view of immigration has been more positive than negative since the latter part of that decade.

The country opened its doors to 280,000 immigrants last year and has accepted more than 200,000 newcomers annually since 2000, according to Citizenship and Immigration Department statistics cited in the study. In the mid 1980s, fewer than 100,000 immigrants per year came to Canada.

The report argued that Canadians who support immigration believe that multiculturalism is a source of national pride and creates economic benefits.

The research also found that attitudes about immigration varied by region, though each area had majority support for existing levels.

The Prairies (62.8 per cent), Atlantic Canada (62.5 per cent) and Quebec (61.8 per cent) scored higher than the Canadian average. The other regions, included British Columbia (57.4 per cent), Alberta (54.4 per cent) and Ontario (53.5 per cent).

Seidle was asked whether he was surprised the study found one of the most pro-immigration areas in Quebec, a province that has been at the centre of heated debate over minority accommodations.

He blamed Quebec media for putting too much emphasis on disputes, such as a request a few years ago by a Montreal Jewish community group that a local YMCA frost its windows.

The group no longer wanted its youth to be able to see people wearing revealing clothes as they exercised inside.

"These stories have been blown up," said Seidle, who, for example, added that little adjustments to accommodate diet, dress and days of religious observance are made in schools throughout Montreal every day.

"But maybe we end up paying too much attention to this kind of stuff because it's got conflict underneath it.
"

Government of Canada Helps Internationally Trained Engineers Get Jobs

Canada's Economic Action Plan is helping new canadians find work in their fields

OTTAWA, ONTARIO, Dec 05, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Please note that HRSDC now provides audio quotes of Minister Finley at the end of some of its news releases, for your use.

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, today announced a Government of Canada investment to help foreign-trained engineers get jobs in Canada faster. Engineers Canada received over $785,000 to improve the application process for engineers educated in other countries.

"Our government's top priority is jobs and the economy. This is why we are helping newcomers find meaningful work that contributes to Canada's long-term growth, competitiveness and overall prosperity," said Minister Finley. "Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, we are working with partners to improve foreign credential recognition so that newcomers can put their skills and experience to work sooner."

Verifying work experience can be a significant barrier to employment for foreign-trained professionals. With the support of the Foreign Credentials Recognition Program, Engineers Canada will compare foreign work experience with Canadian standards so applicants can demonstrate that they have the experience necessary to obtain a provincial or territorial licence. This builds on the progress that Engineers Canada has already made to help foreign-trained engineers get jobs in their fields faster.

Under the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, the Government of Canada is working with the provinces and territories and other partners, such as regulatory bodies, to improve foreign credential recognition.

In 2010, service standards were established so that internationally trained professionals in eight priority occupations, including engineers and nurses, can have their qualifications assessed within one year, anywhere in Canada. This year, the Government has started streamlining foreign qualification recognition for six more target occupations, including physicians and dentists.

This project is an example of how the Framework is bringing meaningful change to the way that newcomers' qualifications are assessed in Canada.

Additionally, Budget 2011 announced that Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Citizenship and Immigration Canada will test ways to help internationally trained professionals cover costs associated with the foreign credential recognition process, with specific details to be announced shortly. This initiative will complement the already significant investments the Government of Canada has made to support the labour market integration of newcomers to Canada.

For an audio quote of Minister Finley (for your use), please click here.

IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.

TTY (Telecommunications device for the hearing impaired)

This news release is available online at: www.actionplan.gc.ca .

BACKGROUNDER

With the Economic Action Plan's $50-million investment, the Government is:

        
        --  developing the principles that will guide the process of foreign
            credential recognition;
        --  establishing standards for the timely handling of requests;
        --  identifying key occupations that will be the priority for developing
            recognition standards; and
        --  helping people who want to come to Canada understand what they need to
            know before they arrive.

Under the Pan-Canadian Framework for the Assessment and Recognition of Foreign Qualifications, recognition of foreign credentials and experience is being streamlined for key occupations.

The following is the first set of target occupations in the Framework:

        
        --  architects
        --  engineers
        --  financial auditors and accountants
        --  medical laboratory technologists
        --  occupational therapists
        --  pharmacists
        --  physiotherapists
        --  registered nurses

The next set of target occupations in the Framework is the following:

        
        --  dentists
        --  engineering technicians
        --  licensed practical nurses
        --  medical radiation technologists
        --  physicians
        --  teachers (K-12)

Under the Framework, internationally trained professionals who submit an application to be licensed or registered to work in certain fields, along with all fees and relevant documents needed to process the application, will be advised within one year how their credentials compare to Canadian standards. They may also be advised of additional requirements or be directed to alternative occupations that would benefit from their skills and experience.

The Foreign Credential Recognition Program aims to improve the integration of internationally trained workers into the workforce. The Program provides funding to and works with the provinces and territories and with stakeholders, including regulatory bodies, post-secondary institutions, sector councils and employers, to implement projects that facilitate the assessment and recognition of qualifications acquired in other countries.

The Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) was established in May 2007 to help internationally trained workers receive the information, path-finding and referral services, in Canada and overseas, to have their credentials assessed quickly so they can find work faster in the fields for which they have been trained. The FCRO works with federal, provincial and territorial partners, as well as foreign credential assessment and recognition bodies, to strengthen foreign credential recognition processes across the country. Internet services for internationally trained workers can be found on the FCRO website at www.credentials.gc.ca .

Engineers Canada is the national organization of the 12 provincial and territorial associations that regulate the practice of engineering in Canada and license the country's more than 234 000 professional engineers.

        
        Contacts:
        Alyson Queen
        Press Secretary
        Office of Minister Finley
        819-994-2482
        
        Media Relations Office
        Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
        819-994-5559

SOURCE: Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and Next Phase of Canada's Economic Action Plan

'Super Visa' Program Launches

A program that allows Canadians to apply for so-called super visas launches Thursday, but the NDP immigration critic is worried that the new 10-year visa for parents and grandparents may be hard to obtain.

The new visa is part of the Conservative government's plan to battle an enormous backlog of about 165,000 parents and grandparents who are trying to join family in Canada.

The so-called super visa will be good for 10 years, but will have to be renewed every two years.

People applying to sponsor a parent or grandparent will have to show they can support their visiting relatives. To be accepted, the visitors will be required to have private health insurance coverage during their stay in Canada.

NDP immigration critic Don Davies likes the new super visa for parents and grandparents, but he wants assurances that they will be easy to get, unlike a five-year visitor's visa that has been available for years.

"I have cases in my office in Vancouver where someone's sponsoring their parents, say from New Delhi, and their application is in the lineup for 10 years," Davies said.

"So they apply for a visitor visa to come and they're turned down because they have a permanent resident application in the queue and the officials think that they won't leave."

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney says that won't be a problem — people who have applied for permanent residency will definitely be eligible for the visa.

"The department informs me that they're confident that the approval rate for these parent super visas will actually be very high," Kenney said last week at an appearance before a parliamentary committee.

Kenney said the new health insurance requirement may make it easier for visa officers to say "yes."

'Really good way forward'

"One of the reasons we are requiring that people demonstrate they have health insurance when they come into Canada, is to add greater certainty for our visa officers that admitting people is not going to end up representing a net cost to Canadian taxpayers," he told the committee last week.

Debbie Douglas, the executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, said that overall, the new program is a "really good way forward" in terms of serving parents and grandparents.

She also said the new program would give the government a chance to create a more transparent system.

"It also gives us a chance to ensure that our visa posts are being consistent and fair and transparent in terms of who it is that they're granting visas to," Douglas said.

But she noted that there are still concerns about how visas will be allocated, as well as the health insurance requirement.

"We really do have to pay attention to the fact that the requirement for private health insurance is not disproportionately affecting who we let into Canada," Douglas said.

The new super visa program was announced in early November as part of a broader plan to try and clear the backlog.

Canada Tax Advantages

Information on prospective tax advantages in Canada.

People are attracted to Canada for many reasons: stable political climate, safety and security, free universal health care, good job opportunities, excellent educational facilities, clean air and a well deserved reputation for quality of life are just some of them. Tax benefits, however, are not usually included on this list. They should be.

To begin with, the following principles of taxation apply:

Canada taxes individuals on the basis of their residence and not their citizenship. A Canadian Permanent Resident may apply for Canadian citizenship and a Canadian passport after three years.
Canada taxes its residents on their worldwide income, but allows offshore trusts for new permanent residents.
Canadian citizens who are non-residents of Canada do not pay Canadian tax on their worldwide income. Non-residents pay Canadian tax only on certain Canadian sourced income and capital gain.
There are no estate duties or succession duties in Canada.

New Canadian Permanent Residents can significantly reduce or even eliminate Canadian taxes with proper planning in advance of their arrival. They are permitted to establish a properly structured offshore trust to shelter non-Canadian sourced income and capital gain for up to five years after their arrival in Canada. During this five-year tax holiday the individual can acquire Canadian citizenship and choose to become a non-resident for Canadian tax purposes. In this manner the income and capital gain generated by the trust never falls into the Canadian tax net.

Taken all together, Canada is the right choice even from a taxation point of view.
Source: Canadavisa.com

Wealth outflow: Most of China's rich seeking to emigrate

According to the Private Banking White Paper 2011 released on Oct. 29 by the China-based Hurun Research Institute together with the Bank of China, one of the country's big four state-owned commercial banks, more than half of the individuals in China whose assets exceed 10 million yuan (US$1.57 million) plan to emigrate abroad.

The white paper showed there are 960,000 people in China whose assets exceed 10 million yuan, while the number of the people with assets over 100 million yuan (US$15.7 million) is 60,000. 60% of these wealthy individuals intend to emigrate or are already completing immigration applications. Among them, 70% are from eastern and southern parts of China.

A manager surnamed Zhou at an agency handling immigration affairs in China told a reporter from the Shandong-based Luzhong Morning News that emigrating does not mean these individuals have to renounce their Chinese nationality. It should be clarified that many Chinese who emigrate abroad actually only want to become permanent residents in foreign countries and still retain their Chinese nationality. The difference between being a citizen and a permanent resident lies in having or not having the right to vote, stand for election and the obligation to undertake military service if it exists.

Among the more than one thousand cases of immigration processed by Zhou, 80% chose not to become a citizen of the country to which they emigrated.

Zhou said that it is not permitted in China to have dual nationality, and thus it is difficult for those who move overseas to make the decision to renounce their Chinese nationality. "Of course, we don't encourage them to, either," Zhou said.

One of the motivations for Chinese people to emigrate is the desire to give their children the advantage of an overseas education. According to the National Business Daily, a news agency mainly for small and medium enterprises in China, statistics offered by a company for studying abroad and immigration showed that the purpose of the 58% of investment immigration was to allow their children receive an overseas education.

The United States, Britain and Canada are seen to provide better education systems and resources. Moreover, it is easier for a permanent resident of these countries to gain entry to their famous universities. What is more, being a permanent resident allows one to spend less on studies than a foreign nation holding a student visa.

A woman in Beijing who said she is applying to emigrate to Canada told the National Business Daily that studying abroad would allow her children to avoid the great pressure and limitations of studying in China while at the same time they would be able to grow up learning both English and French in Quebec.

Another purpose for emigrating is for the security of one's assets. Many emigrants transfer their families abroad first and then their assets, Zheng Zhuo, a successful businessman who moved to Singapore, told the National Business Daily. He said only when people feel secure about their assets will they start to pursue educational and social benefits. Many wealthy Chinese people transfer their assets abroad in order to increase them through more lucrative leveraging opportunities in other countries.

References

Hurun 胡潤

Zheng Zhuo 鄭卓

Source: Want China Times

Surge in Rich Chinese Who ‘Invest’ in U.S. Citizenship

By Robert Frank

Despite all the talk of class warfare and punishing success, the U.S. remains a highly desirable place for the world’s rich. Especially for the rich Chinese.

: Reuters; Newly minted U.S. citizens

According to data from the Immigration Service, thousands of wealthy Chinese have applied for the EB-5 Visa, also known as the “green-card-for-money” program.

Under the program, foreign investors must finance commercial projects in the U.S. by investing either $500,000 or $1 million and create at least 10 full-time jobs. The investors have to undergo a background check, identify the source of their wealth and create and sustain 10 full-time jobs. The investors and their families can get citizenship after five years if they fulfill the requirements.

Lots of rich people around the world apply. But the Chinese have become far and away the biggest users and beneficiaries.

In 2011, 2,969 Chinese citizens applied for the program and 934 were approved, according to the Immigration Service. (Approval doesn’t mean they get citizenship, it just means they can start the program). Their numbers represented more than three quarters of the total number of applicants and approvals.

It’s also a huge increase from previous years. In 2007, only 270 Chinese citizens applied and only 161 were approved, accounting for only about a third of the totals.

Why the huge increase?

The obvious reason is that China has a lot more millionaires and billionaires.

But the other reason is that these newly rich want out – or at least an escape hatch and presence in another country in case they have to flee.

A recent survey from the Bank of China and wealth researcher Hurun Report found that more than half of China’s millionaires are either considering emigrating or have already taken steps to do so.

The survey found that the most common reason cited by respondents for emigrating was their children’s education, followed by a desire for better medical treatment and the fear of pollution in China.

The top destination among those emigrating was the U.S., accounting for 40%, followed by Canada with 37%, Singapore with 14% and Europe with 11%, the survey showed.

The EB-5 program has stirred controversy for years, with some saying it’s brought welcome investment, and others saying it’’s a mercenary citizenship program that does little for actual employment.

Immigration Canada