How Express Entry works

Canadian Provinces and Territories (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Express Entry will manage applications for permanent residence under these federal economic immigration programs:

• the Federal Skilled Worker Program,
• the Federal Skilled Trades Program, and
• the Canadian Experience Class.

Provinces and territories will also be able to recruit candidates from the Express Entry system through their Provincial Nominee Programs to meet local labour market needs.

The Express Entry system has two steps:

Step 1) Potential candidates complete an online Express Entry profile

Potential candidates will complete an online Express Entry profile. This is a secure form that they will use to provide information about their:

• skills,
• work experience,
• language ability,
• education, and
• other details that will help us assess them.

Those who meet the criteria of one of the federal immigration programs listed above will be accepted into a pool of candidates.

Anyone who does not already have a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) (if you need one), or a nomination from a province or territory, must register with Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) Job Bank. Job Bank will help connect Express Entry candidates with eligible employers in Canada.

Candidates are also encouraged to promote themselves to employers in other ways, such as using job boards, recruiters etc.

In most cases when there is a job being offered to a candidate, employers will need an LMIA from ESDC. The LMIA process ensures employers have made an effort to hire Canadians for available jobs. There will be no LMIA fee for permanent resident applications.

Note: Entry into the Express Entry pool does not guarantee a candidate will be issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence. Invited candidates still have to meet eligibility and admissibility requirements under Canada’s immigration law (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act).

Step 2) The highest-ranking candidates in the pool will be invited to apply for permanent residence

Candidates will be ranked against others in the pool using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System. Points are awarded using the information in their profile.

Candidates with the highest scores in the pool will be issued an Invitation to Apply. Candidates will be awarded points for:

• a job offer, and/or
• a nomination from a province or territory, and/or
• skills and experience factors.

A candidate can get additional points for:

• a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment, or
• a nomination by a province or territory

These additional points will make a candidate rank high enough to be invited to apply at the next eligible draw of candidates.

If someone is invited to apply, they will have 60 days to submit an online application for permanent residence.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will process the majority of complete applications (meaning those with all the necessary supporting documents) in six months or less.

Candidates can stay in the pool for up to 12 months. If they do not get an Invitation to Apply for permanent residence within 12 months of submitting an Express Entry profile, they may submit a new profile. If they still meet the criteria, they can re-enter the pool. This will prevent backlogs and ensure quick processing times.

Source: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/express-entry/index.asp

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Getting Ready to Launch Express Entry

In-demand immigrants’ applications will be processed in six months or less

December 1, 2014 — Ottawa — Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander today confirmed it’s one month and counting until Express Entry launches a new phase of active immigration recruitment to meet economic and labour market needs. Potential candidates can create their profile on January 1st, 2015, with the first Invitations to Apply issued within weeks.

Express Entry will help select skilled immigrants based on their skills and experience. Those with valid job offers or provincial/territorial nominations will be picked first. Details published today in the Canada Gazette explain how candidates will be ranked and selected, based on these factors that research shows are linked to success in the Canadian economy. Research shows these criteria will help ensure newcomers participate more fully in the Canada’s economy and integrate more quickly into Canadian society.

Minister Alexander also highlighted that additional information was published on the CIC website to help potential immigrants and employers understand the new system, and to promote Canada as a destination of choice based on a strong economy, low taxes and job opportunities.

Express Entry will result in faster processing and will allow the Government of Canada to be more flexible and respond better to Canada’s changing labour market needs.

Quick facts

• Express Entry will manage applications for three federal economic immigration programs: the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program and the Canadian Experience Class.
• Provinces and Territories will be able to use the Express Entry system to select a portion of candidates for their Provincial Nominee Programs.
• Express Entry will launch at 12 noon EST January 1st, 2015. The first draw for an invitation to apply is scheduled for the last week of January.
• Once candidates have been selected from the pool they will need to complete the immigration process, which includes health and security checks. Applications will be processed in six months or less.
• Canada is one of the most multicultural countries in the world, with clean and friendly cities, world-class universities, and business and job opportunities.Choose Canada.

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Government of Canada Replaces the Live-in Caregiver Program

Janet Morris, Director of Bet Tzedek's Family Caregiver Program, with clients. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On November 28, 2014, the Government of Canada issued Ministerial Instructions completely overhauling Canada's caregiver immigration programs.  

The changes consist of:

• Suspending the in-take of applications under the existing Live-in Caregiver Program;
• Establishing the Caring for Children Class; and
• Establishing the Caring for People with High Medical Needs Class. 

The above changes all take effect on November 30, 2014.

Suspending the in-take of applications under the existing Live-in Caregiver Program
 
No new permanent resident applications under the Live-in Caregiver Class will be accepted for processing unless they are supported by evidence that the underlying work permit associated with the foreign national's initial entry to Canada as a live-in caregiver was based on a Labour Market Impact Assessment application that the employer requested on or before November 30, 2014. 
 
Establishing the Caring for Children Class
 
Individuals will be eligible to apply for permanent residence under the Caring for Children Class if they:

• Have acquired, within the four years of applying for permanent residence, at least two years of full-time work experience in Canada as a Home Child Care Provider, within the meaning of that occupation as set out in National Occupational Classification code 4411, other than experience as a foster parent;
• Meet the employment requirements of being a Home Child Care Provider;
• Have attained (through the completion of a language exam) a level of English or French language proficiency at Canadian Language Benchmark 5,
• Have obtained either a Canadian educational credential of at least one year of post-secondary studies, or a foreign equivalent as demonstrated through an educational credential assessment; and
• They intend to reside in a province other than Quebec. 

The full-time work experience in Canada referred to above must have occurred while a foreign national was authorized to work in Canada under a work permit, and cannot include any period during which the foreign national was engaged in full-time study or was self-employed.  It is imperative that open work permit holders complete medical examinations and ensure that their work permits allow them to work as Home Child Care Providers before they begin working. 

Although the Ministerial Instructions do not mention any application caps for the Caring for Children Class, in a press release on October 31, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced that the program would be capped at 2,750 applications per year. 

Establishing the Caring for People with High Medical Needs Class
 
Individuals will be eligible to apply for permanent residence under the Caring for People with High Medical Needs Class if they:

• Have acquired, within the four years of applying for permanent residence, at least two years of full-time work experience in Canada in one of the following occupations:
  • Registered Nurse or Registered Psychiatric Nurse within the meaning of National Occupational Classification code 3012;
  • Licensed Practical Nurse within the meaning of National Occupational Classification code 3233;
  • Nurse Aide, Orderly, or Patient Service Associate within the meaning of National Occupational Classification code 3413; or
  • Home Support Worker, but not Housekeeper, within the meaning of National Occupational Classification 4412. 
• Meet the employment requirements of their respective occupation;
• Have attained (through the completion of a language exam) a level of English or French language proficiency at Canadian Language Benchmark 7 for Registered Nurses or Psychiatric Nurses, and Canadian Language Benchmark 5 for the remaining professions,
• Have obtained either a Canadian educational credential of at least one year of post-secondary studies, or a foreign equivalent as demonstrated through an educational credential assessment; and
• They intend to reside in a province other than Quebec. 

The full-time work experience in Canada referred to above must have occurred while a foreign national was authorized to work in Canada under a work permit, and cannot include any period during which the foreign national was engaged in full-time study or was self-employed. It is imperative that open work permit holders complete medical examinations and ensure that their work permits allow them to work as Home Child Care Providers before they begin working. 

Although the Ministerial Instructions do not mention any application caps for the Caring for Children Class, in a press release on October 31, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada previously announced that the program would be capped at 2,750 applications per year. 
 
More information about the Ministerial Instructions can be found here. 

Source: Steven Meurrens, Barrister & Solicitor

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Canada Set to Announce New Immigrant Investor Plan

By

BEN DUMMETT and

ALISTAIR MACDONALD

Updated Nov. 27, 2014 3:09 p.m. ET

0 COMMENTS

Canada is set to announce a new program that would enable some prospective immigrants to acquire residency visas by investing at least 1 million Canadian dollars ($890,000) in a venture-capital fund, a scheme some other western countries have used to attract wealthy, mainly Chinese, newcomers.

Ottawa will create an new immigrant class for individuals who could place C$1 million to C$2 million in a VC fund that would in turn invest in startups, according to a person familiar with the matter. The government is targeting investments totaling around C$120 million, that person said.

Ottawa scrapped a previous immigrant-investor scheme in February, and canceled a backlog of tens of thousands of mainly Chinese applicants. That move was seen as another sign that Canada was becoming less welcoming to China and its investment, coming not long after Ottawa shut the door on Chinese state-owned investment in Canada’s oil sands.

Ottawa denied that view, saying the visa program, which granted permanent residency to those who committed C$800,000 to a five-year zero-interest loan to a Canadian province, allowed people to effectively buy their way into the country without making an investment or taking any risk.

In recent years, Canada has let in more immigrants per capita than any other Group of Seven country.

The new venture-capital linked scheme addresses the view that the previous scheme undervalued Canadian permanent residency and enabled some applicants to gain residency without moving to Canada. Canada signaled for the plan in February, but has yet to release any of the program’s details.

A spokesman for Canadian Immigration Minister Chris Alexander said details governing the new venture capital fund are still being finalized and would be unveiled in due course. He declined to elaborate on specific features of the fund.

Under the new program, investors aren’t guaranteed a return from their investment and could face losses depending on the performance of the VC fund’s investments.

The new program comes as VC fundraising declined 29% year-to-date in the third quarter, according to Canadian Venture Capital and Private Equity Association.

Ottawa has encouraged venture-capital investment as way of generating innovation, skilled-job creation and long-term economic growth. The government has earmarked C$400 million for existing and new venture-capital funds as a way to kick-start private money flows into this style of funding, which typically takes bets on early stage or startup companies. Ottawa also wants the private sector to commit two dollars for every dollar it allocates to VC funding.

Other Western governments have offered residency or passports in exchange for immigrant investment. Under one U.K. scheme, anyone with the intention and means to invest GBP2 million in the country can get a visa. In the past, European countries, including Portugal, Spain, Greece and Cyprus, have allowed investors a residency permit for buying as little as EUR250,000 ($340,950) of real estate.

Last month, Australia offered a faster 12-month pathway to permanent residency for people investing A$15 million ($13.2 million) or more into the country. The Premium Investor Visa program targets investment in higher-risk infrastructure priorities rather than lower-risk sovereign bonds and managed funds. The new visas build on an existing plan—Significant Investor Visas—offering residency in four years for people investing at least A$5 million. As on Nov 24, China accounted for 90.8% of applications, and 87.7 % of visas granted.

—Rob Taylor and Paul Vieira contributed

Write to Ben Dummett at ben.dummett@wsj.com and Alistair MacDonald atalistair.macdonald@wsj.com

Source: http://online.wsj.com/articles/canada-set-to-announce-new-immigrant-investor-plan-1417110338?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB11659981523255993497704580302972932810424.html

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Express Entry: What employers need to know

English: Supreme Court of Canada Français : Cour suprême du Canada (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Helping employers connect with skilled immigrants

Canada is changing its economic immigration system to provide more recruitment possibilities for employers and more opportunities for prospective skilled immigrants.

Moving from…

• First applicant in, first to be processed
• Recruitment of global talent at employer time and expense
• Difficult to navigate systems with multiple players
• 12–14 months to process permanent residence applications

Moving toward…

• Canadian employers will have a direct role in recruiting economic immigrants
• Express Entry candidates with a valid job offer or provincial/territorial nomination will quickly receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for permanent residence
• Access to a pool of candidates who fit current labour market needs
• New and improved Job Bank with coordinated Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process
• Job Bank will connect Canadian employers and Express Entry candidates at no cost
• No LMIA fee for permanent residence applications
• Six months or less to process permanent residence applications in 80% of cases from receipt of complete application to final decision

How employers can access Express Entry pool candidates

Employers can hire skilled foreign workers to meet their labour needs when they are unable to find Canadians or permanent residents to fill job vacancies. Employers will have the flexibility and choice to use current recruiting and hiring practices. They will also have access to candidates through: Job Bank, private sector job boards and Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs) where applicable.

Text version: Express Entry factsheet for employers

Invitation to Apply

Candidates will be assessed against others within the pool, and be ranked based on criteria that are known to contribute to a newcomer's economic success once in Canada. Only the highest-ranked candidates, and those with valid job offers or provincial/territorial nominations, will be invited to apply for permanent residence.

Candidates will have 60 days to apply for permanent residence under the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, Canadian Experience Class or a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will process the majority of complete permanent residence applications received (i.e. those including all the necessary supporting documents) in six months or less.

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