Archives for July 2010

One way to be eligible for a Canada Immigration (Permanent Resident) Visa is to qualify for the Federal Skilled Worker program by having at least one year of paid work experience during the last 10 years in one of the 29 qualifying occupations. Last month, 11 new occupations were added to the list of qualifying occupations for this program. This is great news for dentists, pharmacists, insurance adjusters, biologists and others who were previously ineligible for the Federal Skilled Worker category of Canadian Immigration.

The government of Canada amended the list of qualifying occupations to better respond to the present needs of Canada’s economy. While most regions in Canada are experiencing a shortage of professionals and skilled workers in these occupations, some cities and regions have a particularly high need for workers with this experience. The government feels that a skilled worker or professional in one of the 29 occupations has the best chance for success in finding full-time permanent employment in Canada.

Candavisa.com has recently added an Occupation Profile for each of the 29 qualifying occupations considered most in-demand by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Below you’ll find a list of the 11 new occupations. Click on any one of the occupation titles below see the Occupation Profile.

• Architects: Architects conceptualize, plan and develop designs for the construction and renovation of commercial, institutional and residential buildings.
• Biologists and Related Scientists: These scientists conduct basic and applied research to extend knowledge of living organisms, manage natural resources and develop new practices related to medicine and agriculture, for example.
• Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades: These contractors and supervisors in the heating, refrigeration, air conditioning, millwrighting and elevator installation trades own and operate their own businesses.
• Dentists: Dentists diagnose and treat disorders of the teeth and mouth. They work in private practice or may be employed in hospitals, clinics, public health facilities or universities.
• Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists: Dental hygienists provide dental hygiene treatment and usually work in dentists’ offices, hospitals, clinics, and educational institutions. Dental therapists carry out limited dental services and are employed by the federal government and the provincial governments to provide services in rural and remote communities.
• Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners: Insurance adjusters investigate insurance claims and determine the amount of loss or damages covered by policies. Insurance claims examiners examine claims investigated by insurance adjusters.
• Pharmacists: Pharmacists compound and dispense prescribed pharmaceuticals and provide consultative services to both clients and health care providers.
• Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture): These managers plan, organize, direct, control and evaluate operations in forestry and logging, mining and quarrying, oil and gas drilling, production and servicing operations, or commercial fishing.
• Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management: These professionals provide services to management such as analyzing the operations in order to propose, plan and implement improvements or advertising plans, for example.
• Psychologists: Psychologists assess and diagnose behavioural, emotional and cognitive disorders, counsel clients, and provide therapy relating to behaviour and mental processes.
• Social Workers: Social workers provide counselling and therapy to help individuals, couples, families, groups, and communities develop the skills and resources they need to enhance social functioning.

Click here to visit Occupation Profiles for the other 18 qualifying occupations listed by NOC code.

There is a competition among Canadian provinces to attract immigrants with entrepreneurial and business management skills. To attract these individuals, the provinces have set their own criteria for the entrepreneur categories of their provincial nomination programs.

A nomination certificate from any province leads to a Canadian permanent resident visa, absent health and security issues. Individuals with business management experience are seen as being able to contribute to provincial economic and social goals and stimulate local economies by creating jobs for Canadians.

There are currently 7 provinces and 2 territories willing to nominate qualified managers from around the world for Canadian permanent residence. Applicants are required to have the intent and ability to move to the province and set up a new business or purchase or acquire a share of an existing business.

As compared to the Federal Entrepreneur program, there are two main advantages to applying for business immigration under the provincial nomination programs:

1) the visa processing times are considerably faster, and
2) permanent resident visas issued under the provincial nomination programs are not conditional upon meeting business performance criteria and are issued upon investment.

Click here to find a summary of the requirements for the provincial business nomination programs in a table for easy comparison and contrast. This table will allow you to find the program that best suits your circumstances. 

The following is a summary of developments in Canadian Citizenship and Immigration that took place or were announced over the last few weeks.

Canada’s economy added 93,000 jobs in June:

Statistics Canada reports the Canadian economy added 93,200 jobs in June. Almost all of the jobs added are in Ontario (+60,000) and Quebec (+30,000). Canada’s unemployment rate has now dropped to 7.9% while the current unemployment rate in the US is 9.5%. The economy has added 246,200 jobs in the last four months alone. With this, Canada has almost recovered all the jobs lost during the recession that began towards the end of 2008. These statistics indicates the strength of the domestic economy in Canada.

Immigration policies could prevent labour shortages, negative economic impacts:

A new report from the Conference Board of Canada recommends that Canadian immigration policies should continue to evolve to prevent labour shortages that could stunt future economic growth by placing increasing importance on the skills of prospective immigrants and whether they match Canada’s labour needs.

Foreign investors have strong interest in Canada:

Canada’s superior economic position and strong growth prospects have combined to foster an excellent climate foreign investment. Canada’s pragmatic approach to economic management-strict banking regulations, stable banking system, low debt ratio, and economic immigration-has created a safe place to invest and foreign investors have been have been loading up on record amounts of Canadian bonds for the past 18 months

Canada proves commitment to relief efforts for Haiti:

It has been six months since an earthquake devastated the country of Haiti. Canada has spent $150 million to support humanitarian and recovery efforts by providing shelters, removing rubble, and leading water and sanitation projects and child protection initiatives. The Canadian government is very quickly processing applications by Haitians to be re-united with their families in Canada and has pledged more than $1 billion to long-term re-building efforts.

Les autorités des marchés financiers en France et au Québec ont signé un accord qui vise à faciliter la mobilité des professionnels des services financiers entre la France et le Québec. Cette entente garanti la reconnaissance mutuelle de la qualification professionnelle des personnes exerçant des fonctions réglementées dans le domaine des instruments financiers en France et des valeurs mobilières au Québec.

>>Read the full article on Canadavisa.com…

The Canadian House of Commons was adjourned on June 17th and is not scheduled to meet again until September 20th. Summertime is the dead of night in the parliamentary world. Barely a week after the House emptied, the Minister of Immigration announced that he had new instructions for Canadian Visa Officers. For the next 12 months they are to accept for assessment only 20,000 applications without job offers under the Federal Skilled Worker category of immigration.

>>>Read the full blog post on Canadavisa.com…