Blogs

New Foreign Skilled Worker Program Limited to 5,000 Engineers and Medical Professionals  

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) listed 24 occupations that qualify under the new federal skilled-worker program ("FSWP").  CIC limited the total number of applications to 5,000 — including caps in each of the 24 eligible occupations.  

The 24 eligible occupations (with their corresponding 2011 National Occupation Classification code) are:

0211 — Engineering managers

The following principles are your rights and freedoms under the Canadian Constitution.  Today, April 17th, is the Law Day in Canada.  Why not as a Canadian or a Canadian permanent resident read the following and familiarize yourself with your constitutional rights?

CANADIAN CHARTER OF RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS

Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law:

Guarantee of Rights and Freedoms

Rights and freedoms in Canada

“I am not an accomplished lawyer.  I find quite as much material for a lecture in those points wherein I have failed, as in those wherein I have been moderately successful.  The leading rule for the lawyer, as for the man of every other calling, is diligence.  Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today.  Never let your correspondence fall behind.  Whatever piece of business you have in hand, before stopping, do all the labor pertaining to it which can then be done.

Starting Wednesday, January 2, 2012, Canada accepts 3000 immigration applications for 43 jobs under a brand new Federal Skilled Trades Program.  Applications are expected to be processed within 12 months!  The new Skilled Trades Program aims to address serious labor shortages that some regions of Canada are facing now.  

The new Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) will accept applications starting May 4, 2013.  The Government claims that the new applications under the FSWP will be processed in a few months, rather than a few years.  But, the new FSWP will accept a fixed number of applications each year to ensure fast processing times and to avoid backlogs.  

During a week when an empty Parliament gave way to mirth-making and gift-wrapping, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney took the opportunity to wish Santa Claus all the best in his Christmas Eve duties.  

“We are honoured that Santa begins his annual journey in Canada,” Minister Kenney stated. “And, as a Canadian citizen living in Canada’s North, he may re-enter the country freely at the end of his international trip.  

The horror of the Newtown massacre has rightly gripped the international news.  A presumably-insane 20 year old, armed with an assault rifle and two handguns while wearing armor, murdered 26 people in a Connecticut elementary school, including 20 first grade students.  He did that after murdering his own mother at her home.  

Citizenship applicants will be required to provide objective evidence of their language ability at the time they apply.  The requirement for adult applicants to provide objective evidence of their language ability with their citizenship submission applies to every application received as of November 1, 2012.  Currently, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) assesses the language ability of applicants only through interactions with CIC staff and by using the results of the citizenship knowledge test.  

Canada will start its new Foreign Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) in 2013, and under the new FSWP, language proficiency would become the most important factor for immigration to Canada.  Since the integration of the new immigrants into the multi-cultural Canadian society is very important for the Conservative Government of Canada, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) proposes to require minimum language abilities to qualify for FSWP; and significantly increase the maximum points awarded for fluency in English or French from 16 points to 24 points.

Today, the Government of Canada announced the proposed changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP).  Canada stopped accepting FSWP application in late June to change the law and become far more selective in selection of immigrants.  The Conservative Government of Canada aims to better select foreign skilled workers who can “hit the ground running” as soon as they arrive in Canada.  

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has proposed the following changes to the FSWP: