TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Jan. 28, 2010) - The acceptance rate for Indian students coming to study at a group of Canadian colleges has doubled thanks to a new program between Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC). The announcement was made today by Member of Parliament Tim Uppal, on behalf of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney, and by James Knight, President and CEO of the ACCC.
A joint pilot project called the Student Partners Program was launched in April 2009 between Canada's visa offices in India and twenty member colleges of the ACCC. The goal of the program is to increase the approval rate for study permit applications at participating Canadian colleges.
"The Student Partners Program has resulted in an increase in the number of Indian students on our college campuses," said Minister Kenney. "International students bring with them new ideas and experiences and contribute both financially and culturally to the communities and institutions where they study."
In 2008, India ranked seventh with 3,244 people in terms of source countries for students. The total number of international students in Canada has more than doubled since 1998 to 178,000 and their presence provided employment for over 83,000 Canadians last year. A 2009 study commissioned by Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada found international students contributed more than $6.5 billion to the Canadian economy in 2008.
"International students contribute to the cultural life and economic success of colleges and institutes and of the communities they serve. In partnership with CIC, we have doubled the approval rate of visas for students from India coming to Canadian colleges. We will work with CIC to expand the initiative to other ACCC members," said Mr. Knight.
During the first nine months of the launch of the program, CIC's visa offices in India received over 4,000 applications in the program. The program has successfully met its objective: the approval rate for the first group of students under the program coming to study this past September was more than double the approval rate for the same colleges the preceding year. Furthermore, 95 percent of the students remain in good standing at an ACCC college. Processing times within the program are faster than the global norm, with an average of about two and a half weeks.
The program has several checks and balances, from requiring applicants to provide verifiable documentation, to a feedback mechanism where colleges report back on whether students show up. The safety, security and health of Canadians are of the utmost importance. All students who come to Canada through the Student Partnership Program must adhere to the same screening requirements as any visitor or student.
"This type of program benefits both our country and those who participate in it," said Minister Kenney. "When all is said and done, these graduates may remain in Canada and apply to immigrate under the Canada Experience Class. They would make Canada their home and continue to contribute to our country's social and economic fabric."
Canada's network of community colleges offers many outstanding programs to train young Canadians and their counterparts from around the world for the opportunities of today's economy.
The Government of Canada will continue to look at ways to encourage international students to study in Canada.
Workers look abroad as Dubai slows down
Image via WikipediaDUBAI // Six years of unabated growth at breakneck speed, fuelled by high oil revenues and an unprecedented rise in the property and construction sector made Dubai a destination of choice for ambitious people. Property marketing wizards, geniuses who reinvented the term “fast-track” in the construction sector, bankers, professionals in retail and hospitality, and even researchers and academicians all had one goal: be here and be part of an incredible success story.
But the days of pulling strings to grab a corner office in a Dubai International Financial Centre investment bank, or be the top man of a property firm selling projects worth billions of dirhams without even putting a shovel in the ground, are a distant memory.
Having updated their resume and business card some of the expatriate talent
who had called the UAE home during the boom years were rather unceremoniously made to leave when the contraction hit the economy with real
force in the last quarter of 2008. Some of those who survived the mass redundancies are now looking elsewhere, to Singapore, Hong Kong or even
a return to Europe or the Americas.
who had called the UAE home during the boom years were rather unceremoniously made to leave when the contraction hit the economy with real
force in the last quarter of 2008. Some of those who survived the mass redundancies are now looking elsewhere, to Singapore, Hong Kong or even
a return to Europe or the Americas.
Does that mean the UAE is facing a real threat of brain drain? Immigration consultants and executive placement experts think so.
There has been a “substantial increase” in the number of cases filed by expatriates living in the UAE to migrate to countries such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand since the financial crisis hit the Gulf.
“There has always been a global demand for immigration, but it is more so now in the UAE since the beginning of last year. Expatriates opting to immigrate feel insecure about long-term prospects of their jobs and financial security here,” says Sony Nellissery, the resident director at Aries International, an immigration consultancy firm in Dubai.
Expatriates from all sectors of the economy are interested in migration, but construction professionals are perhaps more enthusiastic than others.
The construction and property sector and record high oil prices were the primary drivers of the UAE’s 7.4 per cent growth in GDP in 2008. However, construction projects, both commercial and residential, estimated to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars have either been suspended, shelved or scaled down since the beginning of last year in response to virtually non-existent project finance.
There is no official data available on how many people have lost jobs since the last quarter of 2008, but economists say tens of thousands of positions disappeared as developers and construction contractors had to adjust to painful market realities. Shuaa Capital, the UAE’s largest investment bank, said in a report last week it expected the population of Dubai to contract by 3.6 per cent this year.
Some countries, such as Canada, have cut the time for processing immigration applications from two to three years to about a year, which, the consultants say, is one of the major reasons why they are receiving applications in bulk.
Construction professionals are joined by financial managers and workers in the health care and hospitality sectors as those most interested in emigrating from the UAE.
These sectors have taken a major beating in the wake of the economic contraction as businesses took drastic measures to cut the cost of operations in order to compensate for declining demand and shrinking business volumes. Redundancies in these sectors were as widespread as in construction and property.
“There are about seven categories in health care and as many in hospitality. Open categories such as financial and construction managers are attracting many applicants from the UAE,” says Anup Suphia, the branch manager for Worldwide Immigration and Consultancy Services Canada that operates from Dubai Airport Free Zone.
He says the shortened period for the application process, social security, unemployment benefits, free health care and education for children are some of the attractions the would-be migrants do not get in the Gulf markets.
“They might be making less than what they make here [in the Gulf ], and end up paying taxes, but they become citizens and enjoy all benefits that comes with it,” he says. “Here they will always remain expatriate.”
There are more than 40 immigration consultants operating in Dubai and they are all are busier than ever, which is a reflection of how much interest there is in immigration, Mr Suphia says.
“It is even more difficult to qualify for immigration under the new skilled professional category system in Canada, but the interest from applicants is huge.” And those who do not qualify in the 38 professional categories to call Canada their new home have an option to apply to live there as investors. People with liquid assets of at least C$500,000 (Dh1.7 million) can be classified as investors. Consultants in Dubai say they are getting more applicants in that category.
The Canadian authorities, undeterred by economic contraction, are planning to accept a little over 250,000 new immigrants this year.
“The focus of the 2010 plan is on economic immigration to support Canada’s economy during and beyond the current economic recovery,” Jason Kenney, the Canadian minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism said last year.
The highest number of migrants the country has received in a single year is 429,649 in 2007.
The UAE expatriate population is dominated by South Asian and Arab expatriates, who in most cases have less than reliable economic buoyancy in their home countries. The security situation in their respective countries is another reason why expatriates are hesitant to move back.
“For example if a Pakistani expatriate is interested in immigrating to Canada, he is more driven by security issues than economic concerns,” says Mr Nellissery.
“But whatever the reasons are, the make-up of the labour market is changing rapidly.”
Jack Montgomery, a senior consultant at Stanton Chase International, one of the largest global executive search firms, agrees.
“The talent pool available is definitely shrinking. It is difficult to get the right people for the job.”
The main reason for that, he says, is the exit of middle and senior management from the job market when companies merged positions to cut costs during crisis days. Also, employees are now more interested in a “safety net”, such as an unemployment allowance in case they lose their jobs, a practice more prevalent in western countries and non-existent in the Gulf market.
“An expatriate from the European Union might be a little less stressed about having a safety net than an expatriate from an Asian country,” Mr Montgomery says. The pressure of losing a settled job and moving on to a new job market is the same for any expatriate, but Asian middle managers would consider it more favourably as they would have better social benefits in countries such as Canada, he says.
“Top managers are not really interested in immigrating to other countries for social benefits. Even if they lose jobs, they have the qualifications and experience to get relatively easily into a new job market with or without a social safety net.”
English classes for immigrants aren't old school
Online program costs less to offer while letting newcomers polish their skills, continue to work.
With the click of a mouse, Lilla Gyotar can simulate buying a TTC ticket and visiting a job centre. If she stumbles on a new English word, an animated parrot will pop up on the computer screen and teach her how to pronounce it.
"The online program is helpful because you can go on it any time. You can see your mistakes and learn from them right away. Sometimes when you talk to people, they don't correct you," said Gyotar, 18, who came here from Hungary in 2008.
The Port Credit Secondary School student has joined a growing number of immigrants turning to cyberspace and home study to learn English while juggling a job, school, family and a new life in Canada.
Over the past five years, the number of immigrants to Ontario taking a government-funded English home-study program has jumped from 440 to 1,100 – including 150 in Toronto, where the program only became available in 2008.
Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) classes are offered to immigrants at no cost, but only 20 per cent of adult newcomers take the program annually – many drop out due to other obligations. The home study version allows students to study on their own time. It also costs much less – $1,972 per student, compared to $4,113 per seat for LINC, according to a government review.
This month, the e-learning program has been expanded, with a pilot project for young newcomers like Gyotar. Another, for immigrant seniors, will follow. Like the $2.5 million home-study program, the $300,000 pilot is administered by Mississauga-based Centre for Education and Training.
Participants in the online LINCing Youth program (www.ylinc.ca) can practise reading, writing, listening to and speaking English through interactive scenarios and tools such as YouTube; their progress is monitored. Information on student loans, college applications and other settlement needs is also available. The 25 students in the pilot must attend a weekly group meeting with instructors.
Opinions vary on which is better: 41 per cent of LINC students surveyed favoured the flexibility of home study, while 28 per cent preferred the conversation opportunities of classroom instruction. The rest had no preference.
An immigration spokesperson said new technology won't replace classroom instruction because the online program is offered only to those who can't attend regular classes due to shift work, lack of transportation or child care, who have a chronic illness, or who live in places where classes are unavailable.
Illya Dudukalov, an engineer from Ukraine, spent two months in an English class in Barrie before his assembly-line job forced him to switch to home study.
"It takes a lot of motivation and determination. I like learning in a class because you can interact with others and get immediate feedback from the teacher," said the Vaughan resident. He advises others to start with a class and, after getting a job, continue through home study.
With the click of a mouse, Lilla Gyotar can simulate buying a TTC ticket and visiting a job centre. If she stumbles on a new English word, an animated parrot will pop up on the computer screen and teach her how to pronounce it.
"The online program is helpful because you can go on it any time. You can see your mistakes and learn from them right away. Sometimes when you talk to people, they don't correct you," said Gyotar, 18, who came here from Hungary in 2008.
The Port Credit Secondary School student has joined a growing number of immigrants turning to cyberspace and home study to learn English while juggling a job, school, family and a new life in Canada.
Over the past five years, the number of immigrants to Ontario taking a government-funded English home-study program has jumped from 440 to 1,100 – including 150 in Toronto, where the program only became available in 2008.
Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) classes are offered to immigrants at no cost, but only 20 per cent of adult newcomers take the program annually – many drop out due to other obligations. The home study version allows students to study on their own time. It also costs much less – $1,972 per student, compared to $4,113 per seat for LINC, according to a government review.
This month, the e-learning program has been expanded, with a pilot project for young newcomers like Gyotar. Another, for immigrant seniors, will follow. Like the $2.5 million home-study program, the $300,000 pilot is administered by Mississauga-based Centre for Education and Training.
Participants in the online LINCing Youth program (www.ylinc.ca) can practise reading, writing, listening to and speaking English through interactive scenarios and tools such as YouTube; their progress is monitored. Information on student loans, college applications and other settlement needs is also available. The 25 students in the pilot must attend a weekly group meeting with instructors.
Opinions vary on which is better: 41 per cent of LINC students surveyed favoured the flexibility of home study, while 28 per cent preferred the conversation opportunities of classroom instruction. The rest had no preference.
An immigration spokesperson said new technology won't replace classroom instruction because the online program is offered only to those who can't attend regular classes due to shift work, lack of transportation or child care, who have a chronic illness, or who live in places where classes are unavailable.
Illya Dudukalov, an engineer from Ukraine, spent two months in an English class in Barrie before his assembly-line job forced him to switch to home study.
"It takes a lot of motivation and determination. I like learning in a class because you can interact with others and get immediate feedback from the teacher," said the Vaughan resident. He advises others to start with a class and, after getting a job, continue through home study.
Canada to speed immigration applications for Haitians
Updated: Sat Jan. 16 2010 18:38:09
Jessica Earle, ctvedmonton.ca
Canada will expedite immigration applications for Haitians with family in this country and Haitians on a temporary visit to Canada will be allowed to extend their stay says Minister Jason Kenney, who looks after the Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism portfolio.
"Canada has welcomed a large community of Haitians to this country and is working to reunite families affected by this disaster as quickly as possible," he said in a news release on Saturday.
"Haitian nationals who are currently in Canada will also benefit from special measures."
According to the statement, priority will be given to new and existing sponsorship applications from Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons who have close family members in Haiti.
The change will take effect immediately, though Kenney cautions applicants must identify themselves as being directly and greatly affected by the tragedy in Haiti and must notify Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
New sponsorship applicants should write "Haiti" in clearly visible letters on the mailing envelope.
Those with applications in process, meanwhile, should notify the CIC Call Centre at 1-888-242-2100 (in Canada only, from 7 am to 7 pm ET Monday through Friday) or by email at question-Haiti@cic.gc.ca if they or the family they have sponsored have been greatly affected by the earthquake.
Kenney says pending adoption cases with the visa office in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, will also be given priority consideration.
The government warns the Canadian Embassy in Haiti is providing very limited services right now because of damage sustained in the natural disaster. Officials say CIC is trying to open another office in the area in order to speed up visa and immigration applications.
Kenney says Haitian nationals who are temporary residents in Canada can extend their stay. Fees typically associated with applications of this nature will be waived and those struggling financially will be allowed to apply for a work permit.
http://www.cbc.ca/video/news/player.html?clipid=1387786922
Jessica Earle, ctvedmonton.ca
Canada will expedite immigration applications for Haitians with family in this country and Haitians on a temporary visit to Canada will be allowed to extend their stay says Minister Jason Kenney, who looks after the Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism portfolio.
"Canada has welcomed a large community of Haitians to this country and is working to reunite families affected by this disaster as quickly as possible," he said in a news release on Saturday.
"Haitian nationals who are currently in Canada will also benefit from special measures."
According to the statement, priority will be given to new and existing sponsorship applications from Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons who have close family members in Haiti.
The change will take effect immediately, though Kenney cautions applicants must identify themselves as being directly and greatly affected by the tragedy in Haiti and must notify Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
New sponsorship applicants should write "Haiti" in clearly visible letters on the mailing envelope.
Those with applications in process, meanwhile, should notify the CIC Call Centre at 1-888-242-2100 (in Canada only, from 7 am to 7 pm ET Monday through Friday) or by email at question-Haiti@cic.gc.ca if they or the family they have sponsored have been greatly affected by the earthquake.
Kenney says pending adoption cases with the visa office in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, will also be given priority consideration.
The government warns the Canadian Embassy in Haiti is providing very limited services right now because of damage sustained in the natural disaster. Officials say CIC is trying to open another office in the area in order to speed up visa and immigration applications.
Kenney says Haitian nationals who are temporary residents in Canada can extend their stay. Fees typically associated with applications of this nature will be waived and those struggling financially will be allowed to apply for a work permit.
http://www.cbc.ca/video/news/player.html?clipid=1387786922
Ottawa to ease immigration rules for Haiti
OTTAWA–Haitians with close family members in Canada will be moved to the front of the immigration line as the federal government steps up its immediate and long-term commitments to help those in the devastated Caribbean nation.
In an update on the crisis, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Saturday that 1,362 Canadians are still missing in Haiti, down from 1,415 the previous day.
In all, 781 Canadians out of an estimated 6,000 in Haiti at the time of Tuesday's quake have been located, Cannon said. The government's emergency operations centre, which tries to track down individuals unaccounted for in Haiti, has received approximately 21,000 calls.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Ottawa will temporarily fast-track applications for Haitians under the family reunification provision of the Immigration Act, which allows Canadian citizens or permanent residents to sponsor close family members in Haiti as immigrants to this country.
Priority will be given to new applications and to the 2,000 applications now pending, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said.
In total, up to 5,000 Haitians could come to Canada under this expedited process, Kenney estimated.
But he said applicants will need to demonstrate that they were "significantly" affected by the earthquake.
New sponsorship applications should be mailed to Citizenship and Immigration Canada with "Haiti" written prominently on the envelope. And sponsors and applicants who have applications in process should notify immigration officials so their cases can be moved to the front of the queue.
Kenney said priority will be given to pending adoption cases with the visa office in Port-au-Prince, and a satellite office to handle applications from Haiti will open soon in Santo Domingo, capital of neighbouring Dominican Republic.
"Canada has welcomed a large community of Haitians to this country and is working to reunite families affected by this disaster as quickly as possible," Kenney told reporters at the news conference.
But his announcement may disappoint some refugee advocates, who had hoped Ottawa would significantly expand the group of people allowed to immigrate under the family reunification process.
The government said Saturday that the speeded-up immigration process applies to spouses, unmarried dependent children, parents or grandparents and an orphaned child under 18 who is a brother, sister, niece, nephew or grandchild of a family member in Canada.
NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow said the move is a step in the right direction, but the family reunification program needs to be widened to include siblings.
"Most Canadians would think a brother is part of the family, but right now it's not included in the strict definition of family class," Chow said.
In an update on the crisis, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Saturday that 1,362 Canadians are still missing in Haiti, down from 1,415 the previous day.
In all, 781 Canadians out of an estimated 6,000 in Haiti at the time of Tuesday's quake have been located, Cannon said. The government's emergency operations centre, which tries to track down individuals unaccounted for in Haiti, has received approximately 21,000 calls.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Ottawa will temporarily fast-track applications for Haitians under the family reunification provision of the Immigration Act, which allows Canadian citizens or permanent residents to sponsor close family members in Haiti as immigrants to this country.
Priority will be given to new applications and to the 2,000 applications now pending, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said.
In total, up to 5,000 Haitians could come to Canada under this expedited process, Kenney estimated.
But he said applicants will need to demonstrate that they were "significantly" affected by the earthquake.
New sponsorship applications should be mailed to Citizenship and Immigration Canada with "Haiti" written prominently on the envelope. And sponsors and applicants who have applications in process should notify immigration officials so their cases can be moved to the front of the queue.
Kenney said priority will be given to pending adoption cases with the visa office in Port-au-Prince, and a satellite office to handle applications from Haiti will open soon in Santo Domingo, capital of neighbouring Dominican Republic.
"Canada has welcomed a large community of Haitians to this country and is working to reunite families affected by this disaster as quickly as possible," Kenney told reporters at the news conference.
But his announcement may disappoint some refugee advocates, who had hoped Ottawa would significantly expand the group of people allowed to immigrate under the family reunification process.
The government said Saturday that the speeded-up immigration process applies to spouses, unmarried dependent children, parents or grandparents and an orphaned child under 18 who is a brother, sister, niece, nephew or grandchild of a family member in Canada.
NDP immigration critic Olivia Chow said the move is a step in the right direction, but the family reunification program needs to be widened to include siblings.
"Most Canadians would think a brother is part of the family, but right now it's not included in the strict definition of family class," Chow said.
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