When going to Canada in search of a better life, one must adequately assess one's own strengths
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, adopted in 2002 (amendments introduced in June 2008), with rare exceptions, individuals moving to Canada for permanent residence must demonstrate knowledge of English or French. In other words, before applying for a second citizenship, one must pass language exams. This requirement does not exist in Quebec.
The only document indicating the passing of the exam recognized by the Department of Immigration is a certificate issued in accordance with the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for English or the Test d'Evaluation de Français (TEF) for French. Such exams are conducted from time to time in almost all countries of the world.
Individuals who do not need employment must have the desire and be able to create their own business that provides them with employment. It is meant that they can contribute to the development of culture, sports, or create and head their own firm. Examples of this category of immigrants include musicians, ballet dancers, actors, athletes, etc., who have sufficient funds to start their own business and work in it within their profession – for example, teaching piano, ballet, martial arts, etc.
However, for a much more numerous category of immigrants, it is necessary to arrange in advance a contract with an employer. The contract must contain detailed information about the job for which the immigrant is hired. It also stipulates working conditions such as the maximum number of working hours per week, the amount of wages, and deductions from them. Among the latter may be: contributions to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Employment Insurance (EI) premiums, income tax.
In addition, the employer under the contract is obliged to:
– pay for part of the round-trip airfare (according to the legislation of British Columbia, the employer pays the full cost of the flight);
– pay for transportation from the airport or other point of arrival in Canada to the place of work;
– provide free housing (except in British Columbia), which must meet municipal building and sanitary standards established in the province where the immigrant will work;
– provide the necessary space for cooking and the necessary kitchen utensils, if the worker prefers to cook on their own; employers providing ready-made meals have the right to deduct up to six and a half dollars per day from the worker's salary;
– register the worker with the provincial health insurance authority.
Part of the expenses related to the move is paid by the worker themselves, which should also be reflected in the contract.
When immigrating to Canada, it is not at all necessary to seek legal assistance from private law firms, as there is a corresponding federal program and government agencies responsible for its implementation. Nevertheless, sometimes (of course, at one’s own risk) it is useful to get advice from one of the Canadian law firms specializing in helping potential immigrants. This way, one can objectively assess one's chances of participating in the federal program or more professionally probe the ground regarding one's initial employment, clarify some legal nuances and specifics characteristic of your particular case.
In the last 70 years, immigration to Canada has steadily increased. However, the composition of immigrants has changed. The number of people from Europe and the USA has decreased, while the share of arrivals from other regions of the world has increased. Moreover, comparing how immigrants who arrived in 1991 and in 2006 fared in employment, it turns out that among the latter wave, a significantly larger number of foreigners with higher education were forced to accept jobs that do not require a university degree. Many of these immigrants became low-level clerks, truck drivers, salespeople, cashiers, taxi drivers.
In this regard, both government and public organizations in Canada working with immigrants see one of their tasks as preventing any discrimination. Of course, this negative trend did not develop without the participation of the immigrants themselves. Therefore, today official specialized websites, publishing useful information for immigrants, remind them that they came to Canada in search of a better life and therefore must adequately assess their professional training and strive for work and social status in accordance with their educational level.
Based on materials from the website «Offshore Express».