Canada changes requirements for Skilled Worker Class and Investors
Skilled Worker Class
As expected, the changes primarily affected the Skilled Worker Class, and these changes are quite significant.
First, the list of priority occupations was revised, changing from List-38 to List-29. In particular, popular specialties such as Computer and Information Systems Managers, Financial Auditors and Accountants, Financial Manager, as well as a range of professions related to geology, oil and mining industries, were removed from it.
True, a number of other professions appeared in return, opening the door for those who previously had no chance of immigrating. In particular, people working in advertising and marketing, mechanics, dentists, biologists and pharmacists, and social workers can now hope for success. That is, an oil worker may not interest Canadian immigration authorities, but if you advertise and sell, for example, tires, you can try to submit documents. The ministry did what it promised from the very beginning, namely, to regularly review the list of priority specialties, aligning them with the needs of the day.
In my opinion, this approach, combined with the fact that the innovations do not apply retroactively to applications already under consideration by immigration authorities, is reasonable and effective. On the one hand, it allows Canada to bring into the economy those specialists for whom there is high demand; on the other hand, it gives new groups of immigrants a chance to enter Canada. The negative aspect is that for most applicants, applying for immigration to Canada in practice becomes largely a lottery, since there is no guarantee that during the preparation of the application their specialty will not be removed from the list.
Another change is that from now on, all applications to Sydney are accepted only with the results of a language test (IELTS for English and TEF for French) attached. This step again seems quite logical. Until now, the entire work at the Sydney application processing center was limited to determining whether one of the specialties in which the applicant had worked over the past ten years fit the selection criteria for the list of priority occupations. Moreover, all this was considered without supporting documents and without language test results, which raised questions about why this center was needed at all. After the introduction of the requirement to provide proof of language proficiency along with the application, the pre-screening scheme becomes much more logical. It appears that over time, more and more functions and powers will be transferred to this center, which in principle makes sense given the increase in the number of provincial immigration programs, the work of which should ideally be unified and coordinated.
These were all expected changes. However, the ministry went further – it limited quotas under the federal Skilled Worker Class program to 20,000 per year, which is a significant reduction. Moreover, it was decided to accept no more than one thousand applicants per year for each specialty on the list of priority occupations. This has never happened before in Canadian immigration practice (at least in my memory). The ministry explains this decision by a desire to give equal opportunities to each specialty on the priority list. The fact is that until now, a situation had developed where some occupations had far more applications than others, resulting in an imbalance. To avoid this, quotas are being introduced for each specialty.
So, what do we have? To call a spade a spade, the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration Canada is closing the door on immigration under the Skilled Worker Class category by reducing overall quotas and introducing quotas for each specialty. In principle, in light of recent statements by ministry representatives, this was to be expected.
Let's start with the fact that the problem of a backlog of applications waiting a long time for processing has not gone away. The list of priority occupations introduced in 2008 reduced the number of such applications from 640,000 to 380,000, but in 2010 the number of applications submitted under List-38 significantly exceeded quotas, and the situation began to deteriorate, threatening to create new backlogs. Given that Canada, among other developed countries, plays the role of almost the only island of economic prosperity and stability, such an influx of applications is quite understandable. Therefore, measures to reduce the acceptance of applications seem expected and, generally speaking, do not cause much surprise.
Another motive for reducing intake under the federal program is shifting the center of gravity toward provincial immigration programs, giving them the ability to select for themselves those who are needed by that province. In my opinion, this is a rather controversial move, as it raises many questions, which, among others, were raised in her report on the work of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration by Canada's Auditor General, Ms. Sheila Fraser.
In particular, there are currently no mechanisms that would force new immigrants to settle in the province under whose program they immigrated. It is also noted that the provinces have much less control over the issuance of job invitations, and the verification of applicants is not carried out at the proper level. Nevertheless, the ministry has long announced its plans to reduce the number of applicants under the federal Skilled Worker Class program in favor of provincial immigration programs, and the current changes clearly show that it firmly adheres to this line. The step, I repeat, in my opinion is very controversial, but apparently the ministry has some strategy that guides its actions.
From the published statement of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada, it follows that the rules come into effect from the moment of their publication (that is, from June 26, 2010), and they do not apply to those applications received by Canadian immigration authorities before that date. That is, such applications will be processed under the old rules.
Those who meet the requirements of the list of priority occupations should hurry before it changes again (there is a feeling that it will be changed regularly). The new list opens the door to a fairly wide range of specialists who previously did not have such an opportunity. Those whose occupations have been removed from the list should be patient, as the list may be changed again within a year or a year and a half.
The most unpleasant aspect of the innovations is the reduction in quotas for the number of immigration visas issued, including quotas for each occupation. One can only hope that this measure is temporary, while the backlog of applications awaiting processing is cleared. Given how resolutely the Conservative government acts on these issues, and that this topic is a priority for them, there is hope that this situation will not last long.
Read the continuation of the article: CANADA CHANGES CONDITIONS
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