On February 12, 2014, the Government of Canada stated that it had made regulatory amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR”) which will take affect on June 1, 2014. The changes will alter Canada’s international student landscape. The new rules are being introduced because the Government of Canada has been concerned that some educational institutions have been taking advantage of international students. (One of my biggest annoyances is meeting with international students who state that their private post-secondary schools misled them into thinking that they would be eligible for post-graduate work permits.) The government has even suspected some educational institutes are little more than “visa mills” whose primary purpose is to get students work permits. As well, there has been an increasing tendency of internationals students using study permits as a means to enter Canada for purposes other than study, including employment, and, allegedly, criminal purposes. Canada’s reputable post-secondary institutions, which have to compete for the best and brightest international students, have been unamused with how some of the unscrupulous behaviour has impacted their ability to market. The changes are: Current regulations New regulations, as of June 1, 2014 Applicants must show that they intend to pursue studies in Canada when … Read More
Study Permit Restrictions to Take Affect January 1, 2014
The Government of Canada has introduced amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations which will restrict which schools are eligible to have international students study at them. Effective January 1, 2014, the issuance of study permits will be limited to international students attending designated learning institutions. Currently, most provinces and territories have a mix of public educational institutions, private degree-granting institutions, and private non-degree-granting career colleges. The latter are subject to varying degrees of regulations, and private language schools are generally not regulated at all. Previously, any of these institutions could host international students on study permits. Under the new regulations, however, only students attending designated institutions can receive study permits. Designated institutions include: a learning institution that is administered by a federal department or agency; if a province has entered into an agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada in respect of learning institutions that host international students, a learning institution in Canada that is designated by that province under the agreement; and if a province has not entered into an agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada in respect of learning institutions that host international students, then any of the following: a public post-secondary learning institution in Canada that is recognized … Read More
Federal Investor Program Requirements To Double
In a much anticipated change, the Federal Government has announced a series of changes to the Federal Immigrant Investor Program (“FIIP“) in the Gazette. Changes to the Quebec Investor Program are expected shortly. The Doubling The Government of Canada is proposing that amendments be made to the definition of “investor” and “investment” in section 88 of the Regulations that would increase the investment amount from $400,000 to $800,000 and the personal net worth amount from $800,000 to $1.6M for Investor class applicants. Administrative Pause No FIIP applications will be accepted unless they are post-marked or received by the designated Citizenship and Immigration Canada office before June 26, 2010. This pause will extend until the coming into force of proposed regulatory amendments to the definitions of “Investor” and “Investment” applicable to Business Immigrants in Division 2 of Part 6 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. Priority Processing FIIP applications received on or after the coming into force of the proposed regulatory amendments shall be processed concurrently with those federal applications received prior to the administrative pause in a ratio consistent with operational requirements. Why The Doubling? The Government of Canada is first of all confident that this will not reduce … Read More
Federal Skilled Worker Applications Cap
In this first of several changes to Canadian immigration law today, the government has introduced a cap on the number of Federal Skilled Worker applications that will be considered for processing each year. 20,000 applications will be considered each year for people that do not have an offer of employment. Within the 20,000 cap, a maximum of 1,000 Federal Skilled Worker applications per National Occupational Classification Code will be considered each year. The NOC eligibility list is also changing. The number of occupations eligible for the federal skilled worker program has been reduced from 38 to 29. Removed occupations include mangers in finance, health care and construction, computer and information systems, university professors, and vocational instructors. Being added to the list are the following occupations: psychologists, social workers, dental hygienists, pharmacists, dentists, architects, biologists, insurance adjusters, claims examiners, primary industry production managers, and professions in business services and management. In calculating the caps, applications will be considered on the date which they are received. Requests made on the basis of Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds that accompany a Federal Skilled Worker application not identified for processing will not be processed. The first year will begin on June 26, 2010, and end … Read More