Monthly Archives: December 2012

Canadian Immigration Department Announces January 2 Launch of Canadian Experience Class

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced this month that the Canadian Experience Class (CEC), which is being revised with a shorter Canadian work experience requirement for eligibility, will be re-launched on January 2nd 2013. CIC is planning on admitting up to 10,000 permanent residents through the CEC program, which first began in 2008 as part of the federal government’s efforts […]

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Bridging Visa Introduced For Temporary Residents Applying for Permanent Residence in Canada

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) on Thursday introduced the ‘Bridging Open Work Permit’ for temporary residents who are working in Canada and are awaiting a final decision on their application for permanent residence through an economic class immigration program. The new work permit will save foreign workers from having to discontinue their work in Canada and leave the country while […]

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Canadian Immigration Department Creates New Rules To Fight Refugee Fraud

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) last week released a list of 27 countries whose nationals will have their asylum claims expedited. The new rules were created to fight a growing problem of bogus asylum claims by nationals of European member-state countries, particularly Hungary. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has reported thousands of Hungarian Roma arriving in Canada in recent […]

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New Federal Skilled Worker Program to Launch May 4 2013

Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced today that the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) will re-open on May 4 2013 with the new selection rules. CIC closed the FSWP to new applications in July 2012, saying it needed time to reduce the program back-log and re-design the point system used to select immigrants to better meet Canada’s economic needs. The re-launched […]

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Employment Rate of Canada’s Immigrants, Except Filipinos, Trailing National Average

A Statistics Canada report released last week shows Canadian immigrants continuing to experience lower employment rates than the general population, with the gap growing since the 2008 financial crisis. According to the report, the employment rate of immigrants aged 25 to 54 in 2011 was 75.6 percent, while that of Canadian-born residents was 82.9 percent. Both Canadian born residents and immigrants saw their employment rate fall between 2008 and 2011, […]

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Canadian Unions Seeking Roll Back of Temporary Foreign Worker Program

Two trade unions have filed an application in federal court to force the federal government to reverse its decision to grant some 200 work permits to temporary foreign workers from China that a Canadian company wants to hire to run a new mine in British Columbia. The International Union of Operating Engineers and the Construction and Specialized Workers Union, which together […]

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Canada’s Population Hits 35 Million, Immigration Largest Source of Growth

According to Statistics Canada’s population clock, Canada’s population passed 35 million last week, a notable landmark in the country’s developmental history, from a sparsely populated British colony in the 19th century to an emerging economic force in the world today. The data shows that the annual population growth rate in the country has averaged 1 percent over the last decade, […]

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Canada’s New Federal Skilled Trades Program to Launch January 2nd

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced on Monday that the new Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) will be launched January 2nd, 2013. The new program will admit applicants with qualifications in a skilled trade occupation that is in demand by Canadian employers, including electricians, welders, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, and pipefitters. The final list of eligible occupations is still being compiled […]

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Nationals of 29 Countries to Require Biometrics to Enter Canada

Starting in January 2013, the federal government will require individuals from selected countries wishing to visit or immigrate to Canada to have their biometric information registered and checked before entering the country. The new rules will apply to nationals of 29 countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, […]

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Provincial Government in Canada Criticizes Remarks About Immigrant Investor Program

The provincial government of Manitoba on Tuesday shot back at critics who have said the NDP government’s management of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP) for Business has been a failure. Among the critics are Manitoba Progressive Conservative immigration critic Bonnie Mitchelson and the former program manager for the MPNP for Business, Randy Boldt, who say that a report showing […]

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