Having made the decision to immigrate, do not assume that the current passing requirements that you can meet will last forever
Finally, the advice I always give to everyone planning to immigrate to Canada – learn English (or French if you plan to settle in the province of Quebec) – is one of the most important conditions for successfully immigrating to Canada and settling in. And second: if you have a chance to meet the current passing requirements, do not delay – apply as soon as possible. Due to the fact that the acceptance of new applications has been severely limited, those who meet the current requirements have a chance to go through the process fairly quickly.
Investors Category
Other serious changes affected the investor category. Citizenship and Immigration Canada proposed changing the requirements for the amount of personal funds and the amount to be invested in the Canadian economy.
Under the proposed changes, applicants in this category must demonstrate liquid personal assets of C$1.6 million instead of C$800,000 as was the case before June 26, 2010. Also, the amount the investor must contribute to a government fund for five years is proposed to be raised to C$800,000 from the current C$400,000.
So far, this is only a proposal that will be discussed. However, while discussions and the final decision are pending, the acceptance of applications for the investor category is suspended. The decision and the start of accepting applications in this category (under the new rules) have been postponed until the beginning of autumn.
How unexpected were these changes? In general, there is no surprise; the need to change the requirements has been evident for a long time. As early as January 2009, I wrote about the paradoxical situation with the requirements for business categories and suggested that the amounts should be increased within the next 2-3 years. And that is exactly what has happened. I repeat, this is basically a normal correction, quite understandable from a common-sense perspective.
However, it must be admitted that now many of those who planned to immigrate under the investor category may change their minds, as not everyone can afford to withdraw nearly a million dollars from circulation for five years. Even if the bank pays this amount for you by issuing a loan (provided you pay the bank all interest on such a loan in advance), the interest amount would be not the current 100-120 thousand, but twice as much (i.e., 200-240 thousand). However, there is the possibility of using the invested amount of 800 thousand as collateral for a low-interest loan from a Canadian bank, and using that loan, for example, for investments in real estate or business. So there are certain advantages to the investor program, and it remains attractive.
Entrpreneur Category
This category was not affected by the new changes, which provides a real alternative for those who cannot qualify under the SKilled Worker category but have the necessary liquid assets and business experience. This program is also a good alternative for those who do not have the required funds to qualify as an Investor, or who do not consider it necessary to incur such financial costs, even if they have the required funds.
Recall that to qualify under the Entrepreneur program, you need to demonstrate assets of at least 300 thousand dollars and business experience of at least 2 years.
In my opinion, the Entrepreneur category is currently the most attractive for those who have owned and managed a business. The requirements for this category are quite lenient. In particular, the requirement to have liquid personal assets of at least C$300,000 is quite affordable for many. The downside of this category is the conditions attached to the visa, which involve an obligation to start a new or purchase an existing business in Canada. However, in my opinion, these requirements are quite lenient, and fulfilling them does not cause major difficulties.
I strongly recommend considering this option. Moreover, do not put it off, as given the serious tightening in other categories, it is quite logical to expect complications for the Entrepreneur program as well, which could happen in the very near future.
MANY of those planning immigration to Canada do not take into account the fact that Canada's immigration policy is constantly and quite frequently changing. Having made the decision to immigrate, do not assume that the current passing requirements that you can meet will last forever. Everything can change quite quickly, both for the worse and for the better. In particular, at the moment there has been a fairly strong tightening of rules for the Skilled Worker category. However, there is no doubt that after some time (perhaps a period of 1-1.5 years), the situation may change in the completely opposite direction.
In particular, 1 year and 3 months after the introduction of the IRPA law in June 2002, when immigration under the Skilled Worker category was sharply restricted, the passing score was significantly lowered, and several years of relative prosperity followed, when obtaining an immigration visa was quite accessible for many. I think that as soon as the immigration ministry resolves the backlog of applications waiting to be processed, the situation should change for the better. That is, it is only a matter of time.
Elena Ryabinina.
«Русский Торонто»