News

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will re-open the Parent and Grandparent (PGP) program for new applications on January 2, 2014, by which time the backlog and wait times in the program are expected to have been cut in half. Phase II of the Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification will provide even faster processing times, reduce the backlog further, prevent future backlogs, ensure that families have the financial means to support those they sponsor, and protect the interests of taxpayers. First: Maintain high admissions In 2012 and 2013, Canada will admit 50,000 parents and grandparents. This represents the highest level in 20 years...

Stemming from the ongoing review of the TFWP, and as announced in Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2013, the Government is introducing legislative, regulatory and administrative changes that will: effective immediately, require employers to pay temporary foreign workers at the prevailing wage by removing the existing wage flexibility; effective immediately, temporarily suspend the Accelerated Labour Market Opinion process; increase the Government’s authority to suspend and revoke work permits and Labour Market Opinions (LMOs) if the program is being misused; add questions to employer LMO applications to ensure that the TFWP is ...

Humanitarian and Compassionate Consideration - changes to the program Operational Bulletin 440-B - April 11, 2013 This article provides an overview of the changes to the Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) provisions, as per Section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), as well as guidelines to determine if an applicant qualifies to have an application for permanent residence on H&C grounds assessed. The Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act (PCISA) received Royal Assent on June 28, 2012. It introduced changes to the H&C provisions that came into effect at Royal Assent, including: A bar on acc...

Operational Bulletin 337-A - February 15, 2013 On August 15, 2011, a pilot project was launched under article 7.1 of the TFW annex to the Canada-British Columbia Immigration Agreement that allowed the issuance of open work permits (WPs) to spouses, common-law partners and working-age dependants (18–22) of most TFWs employed in BC. Changes to this pilot project will become effective February 15, 2013, and are outlined below. Changes in the BC pilot project After February 15, 2013, initial WP applications will no longer be accepted for: Spouses, common-law partners and working-age dependent children of TFWs working in occupations re...

Refugee Claims and the New Legislation Operational Bulletin 440-G - February 20, 2013 Summary On December 15, 2012, the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act (PCISA) came into force, ushering in a number of changes to the in-Canada refugee protection system. At the same time, CIC offices started using the Global Case Management System (GCMS) to process refugee claims. This Operational Bulletin (OB) outlines how to process refugee claims under the new system. It also indicates where CIC officers will find information on using GCMS. Background The Balanced Refugee Reform Act (under Bill C-11), which received Royal Assent on ...

Why CIC may refuse Provincial Nominees and the Ability of to Economically Establish in Canada Operational Bulletin 499 - February 1, 2013 Summary This Operational Bulletin provides guidelines to assist officers in assessing the ability of Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) applicants to become economically established in Canada, and clarifies the roles and responsibilities of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) visa officers as well as provinces and territories (PTs). Background The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), subsection 70(1), identifies the Provincial Nominee Class as an economic class and, as su...

The Off-Campus Work Permit Program allows certain foreign students to work off campus while completing their studies. To qualify, you must be a full-time student enrolled at a participating publicly funded post-secondary educational institution or in an approved program at an eligible privately funded institution. Participating publicly funded post-secondary educational institutions: are public post-secondary institutions, such as a college or university or a collège d’enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP) in Quebec or are private post-secondary institutions that operate under the same rules and regulations as public institut...

The new selection system for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) will take effect on May 4, 2013 at which time the program will re-open for applications. The improvements to the FSWP points grid are based on a large body of research which has consistently shown that language proficiency and youth are two of the most important factors in the economic success of immigrants. The final changes to the FSWP selection criteria include: Minimum official language thresholds and increased points for official language proficiency, making language the most important factor in the selection process; Increased emphasis on younger immigran...

Open Work Permits (Bridging Work Permits) for Certain Federal Economic Class Applicants (Operational Bulletin 485 - December 15, 2012) Effective December 15, 2012,qualifying foreign nationals currently in Canada who have submitted an application for permanent residence (PR) under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) or the Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) and who meet program eligibility requirements, may be considered for a bridging open Work Permit (WP) if their current WP will soon expire. Issue Foreign nationals, in Canada, who have been approved...