Archives for 2002

Q. I have submitted a Federal application, but I will be studying in Quebec when I expect the case to be concluded. How ill this affect my case?

Answer: As you may be aware, Quebec has its own criteria for selection of immigrants. In a case in which you are studying in Quebec at the time that you are being interviewed in relation to a Federal destination, you will most likely have to be able to demonstrate that you will be terminating your studies prior to the prospective expiration of landing documents.

If the immigration official feels that you intend to be resident in Quebec after the time of your landing, you will likely have to be assessed under Quebec’s criteria.

Q. Could anybody tell me why Police Officers are on the list of eligible occupations when
my husband has been told he will have to re-train from scratch in Canada.
What is the point in meeting all the performed duties on the NOC if they
don’t count when he applies to get in the Canadian Police?

Answer: The premise of the current Regulations is to admit persons who have certain attributes that make them likely to successfully settle in Canada. The application is no longer based on a specified intended occupation, and it is not necessarily expected that all applicants must pursue employment in the field of their prior experience. It is, however, expected that those applicants that are successful will be able to readily find suitable employment in Canada.

The federal and provincial governments should do more to help immigrants integrate into official language minority communities across the country, Official Languages Commissioner Dyane Adam said yesterday.

Speaking to reporters as she tabled a new report by her office, Ms. Adam said it’s not enough to direct immigrants to provinces where they can bolster an official language minority — rather, services have to be provided to help them integrate into minority communities. “Successful immigration in a minority context cannot be left to chance,” Ms. Adam said. She said governments must also do more to recognize immigrants’ professional qualifications.

Federal Government seeks to Expedite Skilled Immigration

The federal government will fast-track the admission of skilled immigrants
and their spouses, and will move to address business complaints about
burdensome regulation, Liberal ministers said yesterday.

Industry Minister Allan Rock and Human Resources Minister Jane Stewart will
convene an innovation summit in Toronto next week that is meant lay down a clear agenda for both government and business.

Canadian Embassy in Manila Closed Temporarily

The Canadian Embassy in Manila is temporarily closed until further notice due to security concerns. People wishing to visit Canada from the Philippines are advised to courier their applications to the Canadian Consulate General in Hong Kong. Applications can also be submitted in person at any other Canadian visa office.

Recognizing the important role played by immigration in Canada’s economy, the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration has made numerous recommendations intended to facilitate the immigration process, and allow Canada to more effectively compete for the skilled professionals that it requires.

In all, 53 recommendations have been made by the committee, addressing most relevant issues but focusing on the evaluation of applications at Canadian visa offices.

Three of the Committee’s key recommendations are reflected in the recent Speech from the Throne. First, the government has committed itself to working with its partners to break down the barriers to the recognition of foreign credentials. Second, the government is determined to fast-track skilled workers entering Canada with jobs already waiting for them. Third, the government will position Canada as a destination of choice for talented foreign students and skilled workers, by more aggressively selecting and recruiting through universities and Canadian embassies abroad.

Q. Can you also elaborate on the following:

1) A student does a 2 year full time MBA program from a University and is awarded a Masters in Management Studies.

2) Another Student does a 2 year Full time MBA program from another Autonomous Institute. This Institute SP Jain Institute of Management Studies, Bombay, India is the only GE Partner Institute( amongst Business schools) in the country. It is ranked amongst the best 10 Business schools in India.

However this institute awards a Post Graduate Diploma in Management to the successful students from the 2 year Full time MBA program.

Would these students be considered on PAR OR will the student with the Masters program be given the FULL MARKS for the Post Graduation program?

25 points are awarded on the education factor only for a Master’s or Doctorate level education. If the diploma in the second example is not specifically that of a Master’s degree, then it may be necessary to obtain an objective evaluation in order to claim the 25 points on the education factor. One example of such an evaluation which is commonly accepted by CIC is the International Credential Assessment Service (www.icascanada.ca).

Q. Visa offices now require that we provide the original passport in order for the necessary visa to be entered. If I do not do this in person, how long will it take to get the passport back?

Answer: The service standards for the return of passports are as follows:

Prepaid Courier: 5 days
Regular Mail: 10 days

You should start by confirming the date on which your passport arrived
at the visa office (I.e., registered mail or courier tracking). Once you
have determined this, it may be necessary to send a written inquiry to
the visa office requesting the status of your visa, quoting the date on
which the document was received at their location.

October saw Canada’s first ever Federal-Provincial conference on immigration. The Immigration Minister met with politicians from the provinces to discuss solutions to labour shortages in Canada, especially in rural regions.

Solutions are being sought to allow skilled workers to enter Canada in order to meet the needs of specific locations. This would appear to be in order to supplement the existing Economic Immigrant programs. No formal plan has yet been announced.

Provinces to Encourage Foreign Doctors

In Ontario, where the government’s own statistics suggest 588 additional
family doctors are needed, Health Minister Tony Clement plans to increase the number of new foreign-trained doctors from the present 90 a year.

The intention is to ease the requirements that foreign physicians must fulfill in order to receive conditional eligibility to practice medicine. Such eligibility will also be conditional on an agreement to work in an under-serviced area.

Shortly after this announcement, the province of Quebec announced similar plans to increase the number of foreign doctors recruited each year.

In 2003, CIC expects to bring to Canada between 220,000 and 245,000 newcomers as permanent residents.

Of these, 60% (132,000-147,000) are expected to be selected in the economic class, 26% (59,000-64,500) in the family class, 13% (28,100-32,500) as protected persons and less than 1% in other categories (see table 6). The plan underlines CIC’s commitment to balancing family reunification, protection and economic components of the program.

As per Quebec’s three-year projection for 2001-2003, it is expected that Quebec will settle between 40,000 and 45,000 new permanent residents in 2003. As part of the plan, Quebec expects between 20,600 and 23,700 of these newcomers to be in the economic class; 3,200 to 5,000 to be in the business class; 8,600 to 8,700 to be in the family class; and 7,600 to be refugees.

Q. If an individual landed in Canada 3 years ago, and was subsequently absent with a valid Returning Resident Permit for 2 years, is he eligible to return to Canada now? Will status be lost since he has been absent for more than 183 days without the RRP?

Answer: The 2/5 year rule applies to all permanent residents, including those who landed prior to its implementation. Time spent absent from Canada with a valid returning resident permit will generally be considered as time spent resident in Canada for the purpose of the evaluation of residency under this rule. The 183 Day Rule is no longer a factor in deciding residency status.