Skilled Workers Have a Path to Citizenship in Canada

Image via Wikipedia By Katherine at Legal Language
Posted 01/05/2011
Canada needs more skilled workers. To encourage immigration, the Canadian government has established a quick path for qualified workers to obtain permanent residence.
Skilled workers must meet specific criteria before their applications are processed, however — not to mention the specific list of occupations that qualify for this immigration path.

Which Occupations Are Accepted?

If you are interested in coming to Canada as a skilled worker, but you do not yet have an offer of employment, the very first thing you should do is find out whether or not your occupation is acceptable for this particular route to immigration.
Canada allows people of any occupation to immigrate as skilled workers if they have an employment offer from a Canadian business. If you do not have an offer, Canada will accept skilled workers from the following occupations:

• Primary production managers
• Professional occupations in business services to management
• Insurance adjusters and claims examiners
• Biologists and related scientists
• Architects
• Specialist physicians
• General practitioners and family physicians
• Dentists
• Pharmacists
• Physiotherapists
• Registered nurses
• Medical radiation technologists
• Dental hygienists and dental therapists
• Licensed practical nurses
• Psychologists
• Social workers
• Chefs
• Cooks
• Contractors and supervisors in carpentry trades
• Contractors and supervisors in mechanic trades
• Electricians
• Industrial electricians
• Plumbers
• Welders and related machine operators
• Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
• Crane operators
• Drillers and blasters in surface mining, quarrying and construction
• Supervisors in oil, gas drilling and related services

Further Eligibility Requirements

If you have a job offer or if you have worked in one of the above occupations, you must still meet additional eligibility requirements before your application can be processed.
These include:

• Taking a language proficiency exam — you must be fluent in one or both of Canada’s official languages, English and French
• You must have worked for at least one year, either full time or the equivalent in part time, continuously, within the last 10 years
• You must have been compensated for your work
• You must prove that you have enough money to support yourself and any dependents during the move to Canada

If you meet the above minimum requirements, your application will be processed according to the six selection factors in the skilled worker points grid, which are:

• Your education experience
• Your language abilities
• Your work experience
• Your age
• Whether you have arranged employment in Canada
• Your adaptability

How Skilled Workers Can Apply

To apply as a skilled worker, you will need to download and fill out the following forms:

• IMM 0008: Application for Permanent Residence in Canada
• IMM 0008 SCHEDULE 1: Schedule 1 Background/Declaration
• IMM 0008 SCHEDULE 3: Schedule 3 – Economic Classes – Federal Skilled Workers
• IMM 5406: Additional Family Information

Once the forms are filled out truthfully and to the best of your ability, you must mail them, along with fees and proof of language proficiency, to the Centralized Intake Office for Federal Skilled Worker Applications in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Keep in mind that Citizenship and Immigration Canada will contact you about going through medical, criminal and background checks.

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Immigration appeal process urged for rejected visitors

Image by qousqous via Flickr

Nicholas Keung Immigration Reporter

Noel Goonesekera, a longtime Canadian citizen, was upset that immigration officials have rejected applications from his brother and niece to visit him from Sri Lanka for the summer. “They didn’t give any reason for the rejection,” said Goonesekera, 60, a Sinhalese, who immigrated here in 1991 and works in property management. “I just couldn’t see any logical reason why they would turn them down. My brother visited Niagara Falls long time ago. He and his daughter have no plan to stay here.” The Toronto man is not alone, as 20 per cent of the one million visitors’ visa applications received by Canadian visa posts yearly are refused for concerns over alleged fraud and misrepresentation by applicants, whom officials fear would remain in Canada upon arrival. However, legitimate applicants invited for important family functions such as weddings, funerals and baby showers in Canada are often rejected as well — and there is no recourse once an application is rejected. In fact, a negative decision makes the chances of success for future applications next to zero. The application costs $75 per person and is non-refundable. On Monday, New Democrat MP and immigration critic Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina) will table a private-member’s bill in the House of Commons to allow rejected applications to be reviewed and appealed, as is done in the United Kingdom and Australia. Chow said one-third of the immigration cases at her Toronto office involve visitors’ visa applications being rejected, sometimes in what she calls “arbitrary decision-making” by Canadian visa officers. Currently, there is no appeal for failed applicants from abroad. The proposed bill would ask the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to hear the appeals. “We hope to bring fairness and transparency to the system,” said Chow, who launched the group, Calling for Visitor Visa Fairness, on Facebook last year. It has about 450 members. In the U.K., rejected applicants can appeal — for free — first at their local missions before an ultimate review by an independent tribunal. In Australia, failed visitors pay $1,400 to appeal at a tribunal, but the money will be refunded in full if a decision is reversed. Although Chow’s bill still has to pass second reading for further reviews, Goonesekera hopes it will raise public awareness of the plight faced by Canada’s many immigrants, whose loved ones often live overseas. Goonesekera is filled with dread as he prepares for the guest list, including his brother Merrel, for his scheduled wedding next August. “Some of my guests may need a visa to come to Canada for the wedding,” he said. “I am keeping my fingers crossed.”

Related articles

• Immigration appeal process urged for rejected visa applicants (thestar.com)
• Immigration appeal process urged for rejected visitors (thestar.com)
• Immigration in Canada: A smaller welcome mat (economist.com)
• Toronto teen deported to Mexico (thestar.com)