by Nancy Mendes - Canada

Mar 1: The annual survey, done by a Washington-based think-tank, looked at public perception of a wide variety of immigration issues in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain and it maintains that Canada is the most welcoming nation to the immigrants who want to live and work in Canada.

To meet the growing needs of skilled labour market shortages, the government had introduced Bill C-50.  In June 2010, the second list of Federal Skilled Worker category of 29 occupations was released  Out of the 29 occupations two occupations i.e. Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management & Registered Nurses, have already reached their cap limit.  Applicants have until June 2011 to apply in the remaining 27 occupations.  Canada has also reopened the investor program which was on hold in the latter part of 2010.  The criteria under this program is that the applicant show that they have business experience, have a minimum net worth of C$1,600,000 that was obtained legally and make a C$800,000 investment, refundable in full after 5 years. Financial institutions in Canada offer assistance in financing this investment.

A recent Statistic Canada study, showed that the current selection criteria is faring well but needs improvement and changes to meet the dynamics of the current demographics, labour market demands of Canada and introduce the best practices adopted by other immigrant-receiving countries.  Therefore, Citizenship & Immigration Canada (CIC) is proposing a change in the federal skilled worker selection system which was established in 2002.  This system looks at the Immigrant’s overall capacity to adapt to Canada’s labour market. It measures the applicant’s score on a grid worth up to 100 points, with the qualifying score of minimum 67 points. The grid takes into consideration the six selection criteria of the applicant which is (1) Education (2) Official language ability (3)Work experience (4) Age (5) Arranged employment and (6) Adaptability which is based on previous work or study in Canada, the spouse’s education and relatives in Canada.

Minimum level of language proficiency

The study showed that immigrant’s employability increased and were able to secure a high skilled job with their ability to speak an official language. However, the current selection system only awarded a maximum of 16 points for high proficiency in the first official language and also made it possible for an applicant to be selected with little to no language proficiency if he or she scores well on other criteria.

CIC will consider on increasing the maximum points awarded for proficiency in the first official language from 16 to 20, and on establishing minimum language requirements, depending on the immigrant’s occupational skill level. For example, managers or professionals would have a different requirement from trades people.

Emphasis on younger workers

This study showed that younger immigrants between the ages of 20 – 30 have higher rates of employment and earnings than immigrants aged 45 or older.

The selection system currently awards the maximum of 10 points to applicants up to age 49. CIC will consider on the proposed changes to award a maximum of 12 points until age 35, with diminishing points awarded until age 49 and no points would be awarded after age 50.

Program accessibility to skilled tradespeople

Canada is facing a shortage of workers in certain skilled trades, which can be reduced by bringing in skilled Immigrant to Canada.

Education points are awarded based on the credential and the number of associated years of education. Skilled trades people who have a credential in their trade, but not the required years of education, are therefore disadvantaged and lose points.

CIC is proposing to reduce the number of years of education required to claim points for a trade or other non-university credential. This will help to bring in more skilled trades people, technicians and apprentices who have valid post-secondary qualifications but not the required number of years of study.
Redirecting points from work experience to other factors

The current grid offers 21 points for as little as four years of foreign work experience.

CIC is proposing to reduce the total number of points that could be awarded for work experience from 21 to 15. The proposed change would also increase the years of experience required to achieve full points under this criterion. This change would better reflect the relative value Canadian employers place on foreign work experience, and ensure that applicants have more experience to earn full points. It would also allow points to be redirected to the criteria that better contribute to an immigrant’s successful establishment, such as language proficiency.

Reducing potential fraudulent job offers

The current arranged employment criteria offers applicants an immediate 15 points on the selection grid, and eliminates the requirement of sufficient settlement funds, which would otherwise be required for those not having an arranged employment.   These advantages have made this criterion of the program vulnerable to exploitation with fraudulent job offer.   The program showed that people with a job offer were doing well and had more earning power than their counterparts; therefore it is imperative to continue with this program and should be used to help employers offering legitimate work. However, CIC proposed to use a more stringent assessment of the employer and the job offer to curb the potential for fraud. This could require employers to sign a document attesting to their intention to hire the immigrant. They could also include restrictions for employers who don’t comply with this intention.

Contributed by Nancy Mendes - Certified Canadian Immigration Consultant (CCIC) & Fellow of Canadian
Migration Institute

To find out your eligibility, or for more information you can fill out an online assessment form on www.visatube.com or Email: nancymendescanada@gmail.com