In the past year, more attention than usual was paid to verifying the authenticity of submitted documents. In particular, control over the verification of educational diplomas and informal assessment of qualifications' equivalence to Canadian standards became significantly stricter. More attention was given to checking the authenticity of job offers from Canadian companies. The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Canada even posted a warning about this on its official website.
Next year, we should expect an increase in processing times for immigration applications at the Moscow and Kyiv embassies. The reasons include the implementation of the simplified application procedure as of September 1, 2006, a reduction in embassy staff, and the allocation of 'foreign' immigration applications to the Moscow office. However, there is another factor that could significantly affect processing times: the increase in the number of people wishing to immigrate and, consequently, the number of applications submitted. Over the past five years, the flow of immigrants from former Soviet countries has remained stable at an average level, but this year the number of people wishing to move to Canada for permanent residence has noticeably increased. A similar process was observed when, following a surge of applications for immigration to Canada in September-December 1998, processing times increased from 8-10 months to 4-5 years.
Analyzing the fact that provinces have been given authority to select immigrants (taking into account their needs for workers in certain specialties), it can be assumed that the compilation of priority occupation lists is not far off. In particular, when the new immigration law was adopted in 2002, a list of prohibited occupations was provided, which has remained empty to date. However, it is not ruled out that this list may soon be filled. A return to the practice that existed before 2002, when different scores were given for different specialties, is possible.
Another factor that could affect the immigration situation is the possible re-election of the Canadian government, which could happen as early as spring 2007. Experts mostly predict a victory for the Liberal Party, which lost to the Conservatives a year ago after a 12-year period in power. A new government may have a different vision for the country's immigration policy.
However, only time will tell how the situation will actually develop and whether Canada's immigration policy will change.
Elena Ryabinina. 