An Educational Credential Assessment is a report by a designated company company that evaluates an individual’s foreign education and compares it to a Canadian equivalent. It is necessary to be eligible for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, to get education points in Express Entry and for certain provincial nomination programs. The designated organizations are: Comparative Education Service: University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies; International Credential Assessment Service of Canada; World Education Services; International Qualifications Assessment Service; International Credential Evaluations Service; Medical Council of Canada; and Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada. The Medical Council of Canada has been designated only for those applicants who intend to apply with “specialist physician” or “general practitioner/family physician” as their primary occupation in their application. Jurisprudence Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) will follow what a designated entity states in its Educational Credential Assessment (an “ECA”). In Ijaz v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC 67, the Federal Court of Canada affirmed that that visa officers can simply follow exactly what an ECA, stating that: In my view, based on the foregoing, it was open to the Officer to interpret the WES educational assessment and the IRP Regulations as he did, being that the WES equivalency … Read More
Substituted Evaluations for Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trade Applicants
There is a myth amongst potential Federal Skilled Worker Program applicants that their application is guaranteed if they can get 67 points. This is not true for several reasons, including the possible use of substituted evaluations.
Skilled Worker Non-Processing Letters Going Out
And so it begins. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has begun sending letters to Federal Skilled Worker Applicants who applied prior to February 27, 2008, that their applications will not be processed, and that they will soon be contacted regarding a refund. Regardless of what one thinks of the merits of cancelling the backlog (I am sympathetic to both sides’ arguments), the way in which the Government of Canada is executing its decision to cancel the applications is problematic. Indeed, I believe that the government is acting in a way that will lead to court intervention. In brief, the government is cancelling these applications without having yet passed any legislative changes permitting them to do. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and its Regulations still state that the affected applicants are eligible to immigrate to Canada. From what I can tell, the Minister is currently governing through press release. Ironically, the press release notes that the cancellation and refund of the above applications will occur as a result of “proposed legislation”. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2012/2012-03-30a.asp The proposed legislation has not yet been introduced either in the House of Commons or in the Canada Gazette. Despite that, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is already cancelling applications. … Read More
The Federal Skilled Worker NOC List
As part of its recent changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program (“FSWP“), the government has changed which National Occupational Classification (“NOC“) categories are eligible under the program. In short, the FSWP requires that a prospective immigrant either have a job offer or sufficient experience in a designated NOC occupation. These are typically occupations of which there are a shortage of skilled Canadians. The following table shows the eligible NOC categories before and after the changes. It shows which occupations have been removed, and which have been added. NOC Before Now 0213 Computer and information systems managers 0311 Managers in health care 0631 Restaurant and food service managers Restaurant and food service managers 0632 Accommodation service managers 0711 Construction managers 1111 Financial auditors 2113 Geologists, geochemists, geophysicists 2143 Mining engineers 2144 Geological engineers 2145 Petroleum engineers 3111 Specialists physicians Specialist physicians 3112 General practitioners and family physicians General practitioners and family physicians 3141 Audiologists 3143 Occupational therapists 3142 Physiotherapists Physiotherapists 3151 Head nurses 3152 Registered nurses Registered nurses 3215 Medical radiation technologists Medical radiation technologists 3233 Licensed practical nurses Licensed practical nurses 4121 University professors 4131 College and other vocational instructors 6241 Executive chefs Executive chefs 6242 Cooks Cooks 7213 … Read More