In other words, the prospects for those planning to move to Canada for permanent residence seem quite rosy. Nevertheless, things are not so cloudless.
Today's situation with immigration to Canada can be described as very favorable. On the one hand, it is quite stable, especially in Ontario. The economy is on the rise, jobs are constantly being created, and arriving immigrants find it much easier to find work than, say, two or three years ago. On the other hand, after the lowering of the passing score and declarations about the need to reduce application processing times, the process has changed for the better. That is the general picture. Now for the details.
As for how newly arrived immigrants settle in, the situation really looks quite good. Not long ago, CBC News published the results of the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC), which aimed to find out how quickly and how successfully new immigrants settle in. The results showed that half of the respondents found work within the first 26 weeks. It should be noted that the survey was conducted among those who entered Canada between April 2001 and May 2002, that is, in our opinion, at the worst time for employment. Since 2004, the employment situation in Canada (particularly in Ontario) has improved dramatically. It should also be taken into account that the survey was conducted among immigrants from all over the world, while people from the former USSR traditionally find work more easily and quickly. As the Canadian economy is developing quite dynamically, there are no signs of a deterioration in the foreseeable future. This means that newly arrived immigrants will not find it difficult to find a job.
According to the results of the same survey (which fully coincide with our observations), the main obstacles in finding a job are the lack of Canadian work experience (the notorious Canadian experience) and non-recognition of qualifications obtained outside Canada. Judging by the statements of Joe Volpe and government officials, this problem is well understood and work seems to be underway to resolve it. However, we have doubts that it will be resolved quickly, if at all.
The fact is that jobs are provided not by government organizations but by private companies, and they are guided by their own considerations rather than the directives of the immigration ministry. The same applies to the recognition of qualifications obtained outside Canada. Undoubtedly, all these issues are solvable, but serious efforts are required to do so. At least, debates about the problem of lack of Canadian work experience among newly arrived immigrants and ways to solve it have been going on for at least ten years, and things remain the same. However, in our view, there is a simple, effective, and well-proven solution. This is an option where a specialist is given the opportunity to work for a few months at some company on a volunteer basis. Obviously, this system needs to be developed and improved. Let us hope that the current government will still be able to do something real on this issue and at least partially solve it.
As for immigration matters, again there are positive trends. I should note that we are talking about those who are just applying, not about those whose cases are already at the embassy. Due to the changed selection and point system, as well as the need to immediately provide language test results (English or French), processing is currently faster. It is important to note that the role of how well-prepared the documents submitted with the immigration application has increased significantly. The fact is that currently, processing is much more formal, based on the submitted documents, than it was under the old law (i.e., before 2002), when the decision largely depended on the results of an interview. Also, exemption from interviews has become common practice, which again indicates the increased role of such a factor as well-prepared documents.
I would also like to touch upon the IELTS test. Very often I hear the opinion that it is impossible to pass it at a good level. Practice has shown that this is not so. If you devote enough time to studying the language and especially to preparing for the test itself, the result, as a rule, turns out to be quite good. At least, most people pass the test at a level more than sufficient for a successful immigration process. In addition, such preparation also provides much better starting opportunities when finding employment in Canada. Returning to the beginning of the article, which talked about finding a job, I want to emphasize another point that was somehow missed in the survey, namely knowledge of the English language. In our observations, it is often good command of English that is the decisive factor in getting a job. You can be an excellent specialist and even have Canadian work experience, but without good knowledge of English, hardly anyone will want to take you on as an employee.
To sum up, the immigration process has become more formal and predictable, and processing times have significantly decreased. However, there are also negative aspects.
In particular, the verification of submitted documents and the verification of the accuracy of reported data has become much more thorough. This leads, on the one hand, to the need for more scrupulous preparation of documents submitted with the application, and on the other hand, it increases the time for reviewing cases. Also, recently there has been a tendency to delay deadlines even after receiving a positive decision and passing the medical examination. There are frequent cases of re-passing the medical examination and even scheduling a second interview. However, overall this is already an area of officials performing prescribed formal procedures, when the main decision on issuing visas has been made - and that is the main thing.
As already noted, the current situation with immigration to Canada can be considered favorable. How long will it last? We can make forecasts based on our experience and knowledge of the situation in Canada itself. There may be many factors that could affect the immigration situation, including a reaction to serious terrorist attacks, as was the case after September 11, 2001. It is enough for the government's course to change, or even the government itself, and it will be impossible to say in which direction Canada's immigration policy will change. Today the Liberal Party is in power, and everything we currently have in immigration is determined by the policies of the Liberals. However, given the unfolding government crisis caused by the so-called sponsorship scandal, one cannot rule out the possibility of the Liberal government's resignation and the Conservative Party coming to power. Which, as I wrote earlier, is unlikely to follow current trends.
Therefore, I will repeat what I have been saying for the last year and a half to everyone who is thinking about immigrating to Canada: if you plan to obtain permanent residence in Canada, then now is the most convenient moment for this. According to our forecasts, the favorable situation for going through the process will last, possibly, until the end of 2006. What will happen next is unknown.
Elena Ryabinina.
Russian Toronto