Archives for 2001

Q. If you pass the minimum number of points to qualify for an interview, does that mean that you’ve got a good shot at getting in? Or, is this only the first hurdle?

Answer: The answer to your question would depend considerably on the circumstances. If your score at paper screening is high, if your language skills are evaluated as per your application, if your documentation clearly supports your eligibility in your stated intended occupation, and if your responses to questions about your qualifications supports the documentation, then you do have a good chance. Circumstances of an interview vary from one individual to another, however, so it is not possible to make a blanket statement that everyone who passes paper screening is in a good position.

Q. I have recently been laid off from my position in the USA and have returned to my home country. My application for Canadian permanent resident status was already pending at Buffalo. Am I still eligible for an interview waiver?

Answer: It is difficult to estimate your likelihood of an interview waiver without all the details of the case available. It is safe to say, however, that you relocation back to India should not have a negative impact on your eligibility for such a waiver.

For the most part, this decision is made on the basis of the information that was present at the time of the submission of the application. Just as new information would not typically improve your eligibility for a waiver, this change should not affect the outcome of that decision.

Additional information on this topic may be found at Campbell, Cohen’s web site at the following URL:

http://canadavisa.com/documents/waiving.html

The following is a summary of issues which have arisen recently which may affect those seeking temporary or permanent relocation to Canada:

Warsaw Relocates:

Following over a year in temporary facilities, the Warsaw visa office has relocated its operation to a permanent establishment. Although the relocation caused some disruption to service, the long term effect is expected to be beneficial.

The address of the new office is:

Canadian Embassy
ui. Piękna 2/8
00-482 Warsaw
Poland

Spousal Pilot Project made Permanent:

Following an evaluation of the program which allowed the spouses of certain foreign workers to be granted employment authorizations if in possession of a job offer, the program has been made permanent. It is believed that this will help attract skilled temporary workers to Canada by allowing their spouses to pursue their own careers.

Spouses and common-law partners of skilled professionals such as management and professional employees as well as those of technical and skilled tradespersons with Canadian employment authorizations are now granted “open” employment authorizations. Of course, the spouse must meet the standard assessments of security, criminality and health.

Visitor Visas Required for Eight New Countries:

Applicants from the following countries are now required to obtain visitor visas in order to be eligible to appear at a Canadian port of entry:

Dominica, Grenada, Hungary, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.

EDMONTON — To solve Alberta’s chronic labour shortage, 10 provincial ministries have come up with some unusual proposals, including enticing skilled workers to come to the province, even temporarily.

Other plans include fast-tracking skilled immigrants to the province and encouraging employers to hire from “non-traditional” sources such as aboriginals, older workers and the handicapped. “We’ve entered a tight labour supply throughout the province,” said Human Resources and Employment Minister Clint Dunford. Despite warnings of an economic slowdown in Canada, Alberta’s economy is expected to continue outstripping the other provinces.

Alberta’s overall unemployment rate is 4.5 per cent, but the rate for some professions, such as mechanics and trades supervisors, are below three per cent.

“We have been hearing from various industries that they are in some cases holding up projects because they can’t find the skilled people they need,” said Dunford.

Sensitive to criticism that Alberta has been “raiding” other provinces for skilled workers, the proposals unveiled Friday include a program to recruit workers to Alberta for a fixed period.

“I would like to be talking to ministers responsible for labour and for skill development in other provinces to see whether or not there would be some type of temporary transfers we could get involved in,” said Dunford. He said after a project was completed and the workers no longer needed, they would head back to their home province or somewhere else.

“It would be beneficial to everybody, including the industry, that we keep people in the industry and not just try to keep them in our province and face the risk of losing them from an industry when cycles do get slower.”

Q. Once landing documents are issued, is it still possible to be refused landing at a Canadian port of entry?

Answer: Yes, an immigration official can refuse landing for numerous reasons. Some common reasons for such refusal include:

– landing in a destination different than stated in your application (generally only where the province of Quebec is involved);
– immigration official is not satisfied that the applicant has a genuine intent to assume permanent resident status in Canada;
– material changes to an application which void landing documents (change in family status without amendment by the visa office may be grounds for such).

Q. Is there any estimate as to when Bill C-11 will be implemented, or as to what score will be necessary to succeed at that time?

Answer: The current estimate for implementation of C11 is June 28th 2002. Canada’s laws presently state that such implementation would not be retroactive, but it is known that the Minister of Immigration is seeking to have such retroactivity available upon implementation.

No pass mark has yet been set for the proposed Regulations, nor have formal Regulations been published. The proposed Regulations are discussed in the November 2000 edition of the Canada Immigration Newsletter. The back issues are available in the archives on this site.

There were several important news releases in the month of October which may affect those seeking temporary or permanent status in Canada. The following is a summary of such:

Physician Pilot Project: In an effort to stem a shortage of qualified physicians in certain communities in Ontario, that provincial government and CIC have implemented a one-year pilot project aimed at selecting foreign doctors who will train in Canada and may then become eligible for Canadian licensing. Of the 1700 doctors notified already, 40 will be selected for assessment. If the project works, the goal may be to fill the positions for 1000 doctors in Ontario.

The assessment project is the culmination of a three-year review by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.

Overseas Centralization Imaging Pilot Project: Similar to the recent Centralized Processing project, this program intends to test the feasibility of administrative processing of applications within Canada, while digital images of documentation are sent to visa offices abroad for assessment. The new pilot project will last from October 1, 2001 to March 31st, 2002 and will be limited to family class applications from India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Reduced Visa Operations in Islamabad: As a result of the military operations in the area, CIC has announced that visa processing in Islamabad has been reduced. A processing hierarchy has been determined on the basis of urgency, while some visas have been suspended.

OTTAWA, October 31, 2001 — Citizenship and Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to immigration today by tabling a plan in the House of Commons on immigration levels for 2002. The planning range, established in consultation with provincial and territorial governments, moves the Government of Canada closer to its long-term goal of annual immigration levels of one percent of the population.

“Behind these numbers are real people who are prepared to come to this country, work hard and contribute to our future,” said the Minister. “Immigration is above all about nation building.” The number of immigrants Canada expects to receive in 2002 ranges from 210,000 to 235,000, up slightly from the range of 200,000 to 225,000 in 2001.

In her comments, the Minister affirmed the growing importance of immigration to the Canadian economy. “Immigrants now account for more than 70 percent of all labour force growth, a proportion that will grow to 100 percent in the coming years. This gradual increase will enable us to sustain our competitiveness and fuel an economy driven by innovation, and expanding commercial and cultural links to the world.”

Minister Caplan underlined that the immigration plan would need to strike the proper balance between the health, safety and security of Canadians, and Canada’s traditional openness to newcomers. “The security of Canadians is our highest priority. We will deny access to people who pose criminal or security threats to Canada. Our proposed legislation, Bill C-11, will provide new tools to help with this. In addition, the strengthened immigration measures to counter terrorism that I announced earlier this month will allow us to move quickly on several important measures. These include front-end security screening of refugee claimants, adding staff to conduct intensified security screening at ports of entry, increasing our detention and deportation capacity, and fast-tracking the permanent resident card for new immigrants.”

Q. Given the current situation in the USA, are there any expected consequences for Canadian immigration?

Answer: Many of our clients and visitors to this website are asking if the tragic events that took place in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001 will have an effect on the Canadian immigration process.

There have been no changes to the existing Canadian Immigration Laws and Regulations since these events. With the exception of Islamabad, all Canadian Visa offices abroad continue to process all visa applications just as they did before.

However, you may be aware that Canada is in the process of overhauling its Immigration Laws and Regulations. The Canadian Parliament has already passed the new Law and it now awaits approval by the Senate. We expect this approval to come very soon especially because the new Law provides for tighter security measures.

If you are thinking about migration to Canada you would be well advised to have a completed application submitted to a Canadian Visa office before the new Regulations take effect. Once an application has been filed, it will not be negatively affected by any subsequent changes to the selection criteria. Moreover, if the new Regulations improve your chances of succeeding, they will be considered by the Visa Officer. So there is no advantage to waiting for the new Law before submitting your file.

We are monitoring the current situation closely as it pertains to the Canadian immigration process. If there are any disruptions in service we will immediately post an advisory on this website. You are welcome to check here for the latest information.