Immigration Canada

Chinese continue to seek residency overseas

English: The Great Wall of China, near Beijing in July 2006. This is a section of Mutianyu. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Cheng Guangjin in Beijing and Li Xiang in Paris (China Daily)

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Despite tightening immigration rules in many destinations popular with Chinese immigrants, the number of applicants — who have growing wealth and a desire to live elsewhere — continues to rise.

This year it has become even more difficult for many Chinese citizens to realize their immigration dreams, as most of their favorite destinations are adjusting immigration rules with higher qualification requirements and fewer openings.

Canada announced in late June that it would temporarily suspend new applications to the Federal Skilled Worker Program and Federal Immigrant Investor Program, effective on July 1. The government is expected to accept applications again in January.

Meanwhile, Quebec, a province of eastern Canada, has limited the maximum number of investor applications between March 21, 2012, and March 31, 2013, to 2,700.

"This has been a heavy blow to new applicants, applicants being processed and the immigration intermediaries in China like ours," said Ding Wei, director of the Canadian immigration department at JJL Overseas Education, a Beijing-based education and immigration intermediary.

According to Ding, many ongoing application cases in his company have stalled.

"Applicants being processed have to wait longer, with a higher chance of being turned down," Ding told China Daily.

Canada is not alone in having new immigration rules.

Australia, for which China is the biggest source of immigrants, on July 1 introduced a new Skilled Migrant Selection Model, one of the biggest changes to the Australian immigration system in years.

The new system will be less convenient for prospective immigrants to Australia. They will have to wait probably about six months to find out if they are allowed to make an application.

According to Ma Jing, who is in charge of the Australian immigration department at JJL, the new model has higher requirements, including education, language ability and business experience.

Because more detailed rules have yet to come out, "now is a transition period with fewer new applicants to Australia", Ma said.

However, Ma is optimistic about a continued increase in the number of new applicants in the future.

"Generally speaking, it has become more and more difficult to move to other countries with higher requirements, including investments, but Chinese people's wealth is also on the rise," Ma said.

Ding said that people may turn to other countries such as the United States and some European countries instead of Canada, since not all news is bad news.

The US on Aug 14 directed young illegal immigrants to fill out new forms and pay $465 if they wanted to apply under a new program that will let them avoid deportation and obtain a US work permit.

Earlier this month, the US Congress agreed in principle to a three-year reauthorization of the EB-5 Regional Center Program, which grants residency permits to foreign investors, a program that is due to expire in September.

Ding is not surprised: "The US knows well the benefits to the development of its regional economy and employment as a result of Chinese investors."

In Europe, at the French Senate's Judicial Committee hearing on July 24, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls signaled that the new Socialist government of President Francois Hollande intended to make changes to French immigration law.

Valls' plans would make it easier for foreign students to work in France after their graduation, said Daniel Kahn, founding partner of French law firm Kahn & Associes in Paris.

Furthermore, if other measures are made regarding the residence and work permit authorization, the lives of foreign employees in France will be more stable, and they will be encouraged to settle in France for good, Kahn said.

Kahn noted that the French government recognizes that non-EU students who have graduated from French universities are an asset to the French economy.

"All companies established in France will benefit from this change in French immigration law," he said.

Many Chinese students are studying in France. Some of them graduated from the most famous French business, commercial and engineering schools and institutes of political science.

"They speak two or three languages and have a Sino-French cultural background," said Kahn.

"The new immigration policy should enable many of them to find suitable and interesting positions in French companies and obtain the appropriate work permit."

No matter how the rules are changed, people's wish to live elsewhere simply won't fade.

Ma said that many of her clients have children who study abroad.

"They feel it's a pity if their children spend years studying in a foreign country without obtaining citizenship there. So they apply for immigration, which can also help their children," Ma said.

"People also want to have a life with less pressure and to enjoy a better pension when they grow old after emigrating to countries like Australia," Ma said.

As for businessmen who travel around the world from time to time, a foreign passport can mean less time waiting for a visa, compared with a Chinese passport, Ma said.

Yao Lei, 29, a senior system administrator on global infrastructure in the IT industry at a US company in Beijing, will soon join the middle-class force with a good salary.

But he has found new momentum for life after making a decision to emigrate to the US.

He plans to acquire permanent residence under the EB-1A category, which is for immigrants who can demonstrate extraordinary ability, with the help of his US-based company. He has found that his specialty is increasingly in demand, even in the US.

"I think I can get a higher salary, a life with less pressure and easier access to educational opportunities for my children in the future," Yao said.

Contact the writers at chengguangjin@chinadaily.com.cn and lixiang@chinadaily.com.cn

New immigration system will award more points for language, fewer for work abroad

Nicholas Keung
Immigration Reporter

Ottawa is revamping the point grid it has used for the past 10 years to judge skilled-immigrant applications. The proposed revisions, to go into effect next January, will put more emphasis on language skills and professional credentials equivalent to Canada’s — while de-emphasizing work experience abroad.

This would be the first major overhaul of the immigration point grid system since 2002, when the Liberal government of the day lowered the passing mark and jiggled minor point allocations.

Under amendments to the federal skilled-worker program published Friday, language proficiency — a strong indicator of how well new immigrants do economically — will become the most important factor in whether applicants are approved, worth a maximum of 28 points, up from 24.

The total “passing” mark will remain at 67, but the revised grid will favour younger immigrants by awarding a maximum of 12 points for applicants in the 18-35 age bracket. Applicants over 46 would get 0 points.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is also proposing to reduce the total number of points given for work experience from 21 to 15, and increase the years of experience required to achieve full points from four years to six.

“These changes will reflect the relative value Canadian employers place on foreign work experience, and redirect points to language and age factors, which are better indicators of success,” said the government statement. .

“Education points would be awarded based on the equivalent Canadian educational credential and points would be redistributed in recognition of the credential’s relevance in the Canadian labour market.”

Applicants with a background in a regulated occupation (medicine or accounting, for example) must also submit to a foreign educational credential assessment by the relevant professional body to establish that a credential earned abroad is equivalent to Canadian requirements.

To address a perpetual labour shortage in the construction industry, Ottawa has also proposed creating a new federal skilled-trades class, which would also be open to people working in natural resources or agriculture production, as well as chefs, cooks, bakers and butchers.

But such applicants need to meet other criteria as well, including having an offer of employment or a provincial certificate of qualification; language proficiency; and 24 months of work experience in the same skilled trade over the past five years.

Changes are also contemplated to the Canadian Experience Class, which allows highly-skilled foreign nationals with Canadian work experience, or graduates from a Canadian university, to apply for permanent residency.

The government is proposing to reduce the work experience required from the current 24 months to 12, over the preceding three years.

Details of Revised Federal Skilled Worker Program Released

osted on August 19, 2012

Skilled tradespersons in eligible vocations like construction work will be able to apply for Canadian permanent residence under the new Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) (Paul Keheler)

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) unveiled information on Friday about the new Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) that will be launched in the new year.

The revised program will have more demanding language requirements, more selective credential assessment, and will give preference to Canadian work experience over foreign work experience, among other changes.

CIC placed a temporary freeze on the acceptance of new applications for the FSWP on July 1st to give the immigration department time to instate change that it said were needed to address shortcomings in the program.

The following are the major changes to the FSWP that were announced in Friday’s release:

Increasing the maximum points awarded for proficiency in an official language, from 16 to 24 points
Awarding a maximum of 12 points to applicants aged 19 to 35, and decreasing the points awarded until age 46
Reducing the maximum number of points awarded for foreign work experience from 21 to 15
Eliminating points awarded for spousal education and awarding points for spousal language proficiency instead
Awarding a maximum of 10 points for Canadian work experience
Awarding points for foreign education credentials based on an assessment of the foreign credential’s equivalent value in Canada as assessed by an organization that is designated to provide credential assessment and authentication
New Federal Skilled Trades Worker Program

In addition to the changes to the FSWP, CIC also announced the details of a new Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) that will be open to tradespersons skilled in eligible trade occupations.

The requirements announced for the FSTP are:

An offer of employment of a duration of least one year from up to two Canadian employers or a Certificate of Qualification from a provincial or territorial Apprenticeship Authority.
Proficiency in an official language
At least two years of work experience in an eligible skilled trade in the last five years
Required qualifications in the skill trade as described by the National Occupational Classification (NOC)
Changes to the Canadian Experience Class

As forecasted by CIC earlier in the year, the Canadian work experience required to qualify for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) program will be reduced from 24 months to 12 months, to allow temporary foreign workers in Canada to more quickly qualify for Canadian permanent residence status.

Source: http://www.cicsnews.com/?cat=331

Is the Canadian economy in trouble?

By Kevin Press, BrighterLife.ca
June 20, 2012 Topics: Today's economy Comments (24)
“Conditions in the international financial system are fragile.” That is how the Bank of Canada chose to begin its latest Financial System Review, released on June 14. The report goes on to note that our domestic financial system “continues to be robust.” But that good news comes despite a host of risks to the system and to the Canadian economy, including the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, a slowdown in other advanced economies and potential trouble in the Canadian residential real estate market. Consistent with December’s report, the Bank says the risks facing the Canadian financial system are “high.”

I was in to see Sadiq Adatia, chief investment officer of Sun Life Global Investments, last week so I asked him what he thinks about the outlook for Canada. He wasn’t optimistic. After talking about his confidence in the U.S. recovery, he told me: “Canada is turning a corner too, but in the opposite direction.” We may not see gross domestic product growth above 2% this year.

Adatia sees five problems:

Household debt. “We’ve had a great run in our markets, fuelled by consumer spending,” Adatia told me. “Consumers have added a ton of debt to their balance sheets.” Indeed, we learned on June 15 that Canada’s household credit market debt (consumer credit, mortgage and loan debt), measured as a percentage of personal disposable income reached 152% in the first quarter of this year. That’s a new record. Actual borrowing has slowed, but income has too. According to the Bank of Montreal (BMO), the percentage of Canadian households with debt-service ratios above 40% of income – a level considered to be vulnerable by lenders – has risen over 6%. That’s “slightly above the past decade norm,” reports BMO.
Housing prices. Adatia thinks a double-digit drop in prices is possible. “We think there’s going to be a pullback across the board,” he said. “Some regions may be hit harder than others, but I think a 5%-to-15% drop is definitely in the cards.” That may be a conservative call. Across Canada, home prices are up 12% relative to where they were before the most recent recession.
Global factors. No surprise here: There’s trouble in Europe, a slowdown in China and the U.S. recovery (while it gives Adatia reason for optimism) remains vulnerable to global economic factors. These are all potential threats to Canada. By the way, Adatia does not believe there will be a hard landing in China.
Rising interest rates (eventually). Adatia doesn’t expect the Bank of Canada to move on rates this year, but they may start to come up in 2013: “Until we see a better resolution in the eurozone and a stronger U.S. economy, the Bank of Canada is not going to jump out too far ahead, particularly given that the U.S. Federal Reserve has already said it’s not going to raise rates until 2014.” When it happens, higher rates will dampen spending by a lot of highly indebted households.
Unemployment. “We’re probably going to see unemployment move up,” said Adatia. “I’m not convinced the employment picture is really as strong as it looks right now.” The four points listed above could each contribute to job losses.
Are we headed down a path similar to the one Americans took toward the end of the last decade? “These are the same things that were going on in the U.S. economy before it faltered,” Adatia told me. “We’re probably where the U.S. was a few years back.” Meanwhile, the U.S. housing market is showing signs of stabilization and according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans have slashed their debt by about $100 billion since the fourth quarter of 2011.

Keep up to date on what’s happening in the capital markets and the real economy. Subscribe to receive Today’s economy blog automatically by RSS or email.

Canadian universities bridge foreign student tuition gap to attract thousands of Brazilian students

English: The National Institute for Nanotechnology on the north campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CAMPBELL CLARK

OTTAWA — The Globe and Mail

Thousands of Brazilian students will fill the halls of Canadian universities over the next four school years as part of the rising South American country’s project to send vast numbers around the world to study science.

For Canadian universities, it’s a chance to add bright recruits from a country with a growing middle class, in the hope that increased research and academic links will continue long past the four years of the scholarship program. But it will also mark a major expansion of ties with an emerging nation that Canada has struggled to bring closer.

Up to 12,000 students will go to Canadian universities and colleges under Brazil’s Science Without Borders scholarship program, that country’s ambitious effort to send 100,000 students to study abroad. In Canada, it is being led not by governments, but by universities, especially a group of graduate research schools that have seized the Brazilian offer.

That means the addition of roughly 3,000 Brazilian students to Canadian schools for a year, in each of the next for years. But the real point is to provide a kick-start that will see more come even when the program ends.

“I think at this point we have less than 500 Brazilian students in Canada,” said Paul Davidson, president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada. “This is an opportunity to build that quickly.”

It is also a chance to build ties to a country whose fast-growing economy is already seventh-largest in the world, and is expected to be in the top five by the end of the decade. Canada’s efforts to increase trade ties have often seemed sluggish.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited Brazil last August, in an effort to foster deeper connections, and underlined foreign-student programs as a means. His government has also placed emphasis on recruiting students from countries like India and China, to spur the economy and deepen ties.

“How do you create alignments and collaboration between countries these days?” said Britta Baron, the vice-provost at the University of Alberta responsible for international programs. “Not through pompous diplomatic agreements but through person-to-person interaction on a high level such as science and knowledge. You’re going to end up here with thousands of young Brazilians. They will, in their later life, buy Canadian, act Canadian, work with Canada.”

Marcelo Salviano, a neuroscience PhD student from the University of Brasilia on a one-year exchange at Dalhousie University in Halifax, where he’s studying the impact of environmental factors on Alzheimer’s disease, said he thinks Brazilian students who want an international education will see Canada as a good place to go.

“It is a great experience. It allows you to know other labs, with resources you don’t have in your home country,” he said. Learning English at the same time helps, too. “In the science world, everybody has to write in English, so that’s a great opportunity.”

Canada, he added, “is known as a sort of international country that accepts the differences in culture very well. I didn’t have any kind of racism,” he said. The weather? “Everybody was saying, watch out in January and February, you will die,” he said, laughing. “I got good [winter]clothes and I survived.”

The 3,000 additional students, out of a Canadian student body of about one million, shouldn’t create a shortage of spots in Canadian universities, Mr. Davidson said, as aging populations are leaving schools in some regions with vacancies.

For a while, it seemed likely that Canada would miss out on the Brazilian program. Brazil’s government has set a condition that the students must pay domestic fees, not the higher ones of international students – leaving the question of who would make up the difference. In Ontario, for example, a university student pays about $5,000 in tuition, while foreign students pay two or three times that sum.

Universities didn’t want to discount the difference, and federal and provincial governments did not appear willing to foot the bill. But in the end, Brazil’s government did agree to pay the difference, although for undergraduate students only. Universities will have to decide whether they’ll pay the difference to attract graduate students, Mr. Davidson said.

That could be a to-be-negotiated hurdle, since Brazil is likely to insist on some proportion of graduate students among the 12,000.

But four Canadian universities already have offered to discount the fees for graduate students – a consortium dubbed CALDO including the University of Alberta, Laval, Dalhousie and the University of Ottawa, which has taken the lead in negotiating links with Brazil. They will take 2,840 students, with doctoral students making up the biggest proportion, said Ms. Baron, who spearheaded the creation of the group.

It will bring talented students here, create research links and open opportunities for Canadian students in Brazil, she said – and Canada can gain by respecting what Brazil wants out of it. “The Brazilian side doesn’t want to just shovel people across borders,” Ms. Baron said. “They want to build a younger generation that is much more world-wise and much more innovation-aware. And they want to build lasting partnerships.”