Bridging Open Work Permits

Meurrens LawWork Permits

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (“IRCC”) International Mobility Program has a bridging open work permit program for temporary foreign workers currently working in Canada who have submitted permanent residence applications under the Federal Skilled Worker Program (“FSWP“), the Canadian Experience Class (“CEC“), the Provincial Nominee Program (“PNP“), or the Federal Skilled Trades Program (“FSTP“). Bridging open work permits are a huge and positive development for Canadian employers with employees who have filed permanent residence applications under one of Canada’s economic programs.  CIC’s introduction of bridging work permits removes a significant issue which many temporary foreign workers previously encountered, namely that they were unable to extend their work permits during CIC’s processing of their permanent resident applications without their employers first having to obtain positive Labour Market Impact Assessments, an uncertain process which often takes months. Eligibility Temporary foreign workers currently working in Canada are eligible to apply for a bridging work permit if they: are a foreign national in Canada; have valid status on a work permit that is due to expire within 4 months; be the principal applicant on an appliation for permanent residence under the FSWP, CEC, PNP or FSTC; received a positive eligibility decision on their permanent residence … Read More

Immigration Applications are not Processed in the Order that they are Received

Meurrens LawImmigration Trends

[Editor’s Note: The following appeared in the September 2012 version of The Canadian Immigrant.  In drafting a blog post about a similar topic I realized that I had never posted the article below to my blog. I am therefore posting this today. The title in The Canadian Immigrant article was “What Applicants Should Look for In New Immigration Rules.“] People who follow Canada’s immigration system have undoubtedly had trouble keeping up with the rapid changes that Citizenship and Immigration Canada has introduced in the past several months. From the termination of 300,000 federal skilled worker applications to the proposed “Start-up Visa,” the announcements have been fast and furious, and each one has been debated extensively. In discussing each individual change, however, the public discourse has largely missed the shift in the forest by focusing on each tree. There is a fundamental transformation underway in Canada’s immigration system, and it is important that anyone submitting a visa application understand this before applying. First in, first processed Traditionally, Canada’s immigration system operated on a first-come first-processed basis. Our immigration legislation created programs under which eligible applicants could apply. People submitted applications under various programs with the understanding that while they would have to … Read More

Federal Skilled Trades Class to be Capped at 3,000 Applicants

Meurrens LawSkilled Immigration (Express Entry, CEC, FSWC, Etc.)

As previously discussed here, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) will be introducing a new Federal Skilled Trades Class (“FSTC”), which will facilitate the immigration of certain skilled tradespersons in Canada.  The Government of Canada originally “announced” the creation of the FSTC in August through the publication of regulatory changes, however, CIC today released new information which will be relevant to prospective applicants. The FSTC will be open to individuals with experience in the following National Occupation Classification (“NOC“) B occupational areas: Industrial, Electrical and Construction Trades; Maintenance and Equipment Operation Trades; Supervisors and Technical Occupations in Natural Resources, Agriculture and Related Production; Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities Supervisors and Central Control Operators; Chefs and Cooks; and Bakers and Butchers. Applicants to the FSTC will be required to meet the following four minimum requirements: Be working in Canada, or possess a LMO-supported offer of employment from up to two employers in Canada of at least one year duration, or possess a Certificate of Qualification from a provincial or territorial Apprenticeship Authority; Meet the same minimum language threshold as required by the concurrently to be introduced new Federal Skilled Worker Class, namely a 7.0 on every language ability; Have twenty-four months of work experience … Read More

Changes to Language Requirements

Meurrens LawCitizenship Applications and Revocations

New Language Requirements for Citizenship and PNP Applications Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) has introduced new language requirements for citizenship applications and certain provincial nominee applications.  For citizenship applications, the changes will introduce objective language requirements for most applicantions.  For certain provincial nominee program (“PNP”) applications, the changes will introduce mandatory language testing. The Citizenship Langugage Requirements   Applicants for Canadian citizenship are required to demonstrate that they have an adequate knowledge of either English or French.  Currently, this is done through a multiple choice written test known as the Citizenship Exam, which also tests knowledge of Canada and the responsibilities of citizenship. On April 21, 2012, the Government of Canada introduced regulatory changes that when they take affect will require that citizenship applicants enclose proof that they meet the language requirement with their citizenship application.  Acceptable means of proof will include: A language test result from an authorized testing agency; Evidence of completion of secondary or post-secondary education in English or French; or Evidence of completion and achievement of a certain level in a government-funded language training program. Applicants submitting test results from an authorized testing agency will have to achieve a minimum standard of Canadian Language Benchmark (“CLB”) … Read More

The Federal Skilled Worker NOC List

Meurrens LawImmigration Trends

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