Immigration Canada

Universities: Immigration law hurts enrolment

English: International Students (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

OTTAWA — Canadian universities say they are being hamstrung by a law that was intended to clamp down on immigration scammers.

Bill C-35 was first titled the Cracking Down on Crooked Consultants Act. It banned unauthorized people from acting as “immigration consultants” to prey on people looking for a way into Canada.

Though the bill was passed two years ago, it was only in May that universities received the final edict that it also applies to them. That means university staff cannot advise international students on matters like applying for a visa, work permit or permanent residence.

“They can’t seek advice from the trusted advisers on campus who are very accustomed to giving them a basic level of ‘Here’s where you go, here’s what you do, here are the requirements and here are the guidelines,’” said Mount Saint Vincent University president Ramona Lumpkin.

As government funding has frozen, universities have been increasingly leaning on foreign students for enrolment and rev-enue. Last year, over 11,000 international students came to Atlantic Canada to study. More than half of those, about 6,200, came to Nova Scotia.

International enrolment in the region has risen by double digits each of the past five years. But universities say Bill C-35 and a strike among Canada’s diplomats could be major hits to next year’s enrolment and the number of students who choose to settle in Atlantic Canada.

Bill C-35 amended Section 91 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. It put in place penalties of up to $100,000 for advising or offering to advise someone on immigration proceedings unless the adviser is certified.

Uncertified student advisers are banned from communicating with the government on behalf of a foreign student, filling out forms for them, representing them at an immigration proceeding or even providing guidance on a student’s options.

According to Lumpkin, no university employee in the region is certified with the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council except for one person at Mount Saint Vincent.

Certification requires 180 hours of course work, a written exam, annual fees of $1,700 plus insurance and 16 course hours per year.

“Most of our universities are smaller liberal arts universities so that’s a pretty significant human resource and financial commitment that our universities would have to make to fulfil the registration requirements,” said Peter Halpin, executive director of the Association of Atlantic Universities.

After Bill C-35 was passed, universities tried to negotiate some leeway. But their proposal for a cheaper, narrower, university-specific certification process was not approved by Ottawa.

A Citizenship and Immigration Canada spokesman defended the new rule as necessary to protect both immigrants and the integrity of the system.

“CIC recognizes that educational institutions and international student advisers have provided advice to international students in good faith,” said Bill Brown.

“That said, these legislative changes apply across the board to all persons subject to Canadian law.”

Halpin said the new law will likely reduce the number of foreign students who choose to stay and live in the region after graduation.

Universities are also watching the standoff between Ottawa and the Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers, which represents Canada’s diplomats working abroad. About 150 visa officers walked off the job across 15 foreign missions Monday.

The growing backlog in visa processing has universities wondering whether international students will be processed in time for the fall semester.

“There’s really grave concerns about the effect this is going to have on enrolments this September,” said Halpin.

“If those students are unable to get their visa application in time to start school in September, they’re lost for good.”

Source: http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1145194-universities-immigration-law-hurts-enrolment#.UfjX4R-e8EQ.twitter

If you are an educational institution in Canada, we can help your international students in immigration matters. Please send us your questions to nexuscanadavisa@gmail.com

How Arranged Employment Can Work for You

English: Employment Exchange. Job centre in Hamilton, Glasgow (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Canada’s largest immigration program, reopened its doors to applications on May 4th 2013. In an effort to manage application intake and prevent backlogs, the government has instituted a cap of 5,000 applications for this year, extending to April 30th 2014. In addition, the government has limited intake only to those with experience in one of 24 eligible occupations.

Skilled workers who wish to bypass the application cap, occupation list, or both have another option for immigration through the FSWP. This option is known as Arranged Employment. Applications submitted with Arranged Employment are not subject to caps, and may have experience in any skilled occupation.

Arranged Employment is one of the six selection factors in the FSWP. When an applicant has Arranged Employment, he or she is awarded 10 points for this Selection Factor, and up to an additional 5 points in the Adaptability selection factor.

When does an applicant have Arranged Employment?

In general, Arranged Employment means that the applicant has a genuine offer of employment from a Canadian employer for a full-time, paid job in a skilled occupation. The job offer must have an indeterminate length of employment and be conditional upon the applicant becoming a permanent resident.

Prior to May 4, 2013, most applicants were required to have the Canadian employer validate the job offer with Service Canada through an “Arranged Employment Opinion”. However, the new regulations for the FSWP now require the Canadian employers to validate the job offer by obtaining a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Service Canada. However, an LMO is not required in certain circumstances.

Who does not require an LMO?

The following two categories of applicants do not require an LMO to benefit from Arranged Employment:

Applicants who are currently working in Canada on a temporary work permit in a skilled occupation, where the work permit was originally issued based on a positive LMO.
Applicants who are currently working in Canada on a temporary work permit in a skilled occupation, where the work permit was originally issued without an LMO under the provisions of an international agreement (e.g. the North America Free Trade Agreement ) or under the provisions of one of the Canada-Provincial/Territorial Immigration agreements (e.g. the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement).

In both these circumstance, the following conditions must be met for the applicant to benefit from Arranged Employment:

The Canadian employer specified on the applicant’s work permit must extend a non-seasonal full-time job offer to the applicant for the same position specified on the work permit, and the job offer must be for an indeterminate length of employment conditional upon the applicant becoming a permanent resident;
The applicant’s work permit must be valid at the time the Federal Skilled Worker application is submitted; and
The applicant must have the valid work permit for the same employer in the same position until the Permanent Resident Visa is issued.

Who does require an LMO?

As a general rule, any applicant who has a suitable job offer from a Canadian employer, but who does not have a valid temporary work permit and is not authorized to work in Canada must have the Canadian employer obtain an LMO prior to submitting their FSWP application in order to benefit from Arranged Employment.

In some cases, foreign workers who are currently working in Canada are still required to have their employers obtain an LMO to benefit from Arranged Employment. This includes the following types of applicants:

Foreign workers who have a job offer from a Canadian employer that is different from the employer indicated on their work permits;
Foreign workers who have work permits that were issued without an LMO due to exemptions other than those noted above, e.g. the Intra-Company Transfer category;
Foreign workers who have open work permits (not linked to any specific employer); and
Individuals who are authorized to work in Canada without a work permit, such as business visitors.

One interesting aspect of the new Arranged Employment regulations is that an LMO obtained from Service Canada entitles the applicant to a temporary work permit immediately. Thus, the applicant may be able to come to Canada as a temporary foreign worker immediately, while their permanent residence FSWP application is still being processed.

“Holding a Canadian job offer opens up opportunities for immigrants before and after they land in Canada,” said Attorney David Cohen. “Not only will it benefit their application for Permanent Residency, it can allow an applicant to come to Canada within a couple of months and begin working right away.”

Source: http://www.cicnews.com/2013/07/arranged-employment-work-072641.html