As experts note, the next two to three years will be the best time for immigration to Canada
It can be said with reasonable confidence that 2017 will not bring any major surprises in the field of immigration to Canada. Moreover, as the publication "Russian Toronto" notes, the appointment of a new head of the immigration department gives reason to talk about an even greater emphasis on refugees. What chances remain for those who want to immigrate to Canada?
Change of Ministers
It is worth saying that all hopes for changes in Canada's immigration policy for the better, associated with the liberals coming to power, turned out to be in vain. More than a year has passed since the Trudeau government received a mandate to govern, but during this time almost nothing has been done to fix the system that was created through the efforts of Jason Kenney (if anyone still remembers who that is).
At least, the changes to the Express Entry system are disappointing, as they do little to change the selection process, and increasing the quota for the number of accepted sponsorship applications for parents from 5,000 per year to 10,000 also, generally speaking, means nothing.
From the very beginning, the liberal government directed all its care toward refugees from Syria – as if there is no crisis in the country, the government has the luxury of pouring money into charity, and Canada does not need qualified specialists and entrepreneurs who create new jobs. Obviously, such a policy was primarily associated with the activities of Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, John McCallum, although it is clear that he was only carrying out what the party dictated to him.
And so on January 10, 2017, Justin Trudeau reshuffled his cabinet, sending the weakest ministers into retirement. Among these ministers was John McCallum, who was sent as ambassador to China.
The new head of the immigration department is Ahmed Hussen, a community activist and lawyer specializing in human rights. He came to Canada from Somalia as a teenager, and his family was refugees. As a public figure, he represented the Somali community of Toronto, dealt with issues of integrating Somalis into Canadian society, and in the McGuinty government (Ontario province) chaired the committee "Journalists for Human Rights."
Naturally, nothing can be said for certain yet, but so far it looks like Trudeau appointed him to improve work with refugees – their integration into Canadian society, protection of their rights, possibly to organize the reception of new refugees. At least, all the previous work experience and interests of the new minister lie exclusively in the area of working with refugees, and there is no reason to think that he will deal with issues of qualified specialists, let alone businessmen. But working with refugees – that's his thing.
So there is no reason to expect changes in the immigration sphere. But there is a plus side to this.
The Best Time for Immigration
Don't be surprised, but there is good news too. It is that, finally, stability has arrived in the immigration sphere. No more changes are to be expected, the rules of the game are set for two to three years ahead, and you can calmly plan to go through immigration to Canada.
Moreover, unlike previous years, now there are real chances to immigrate to Canada under programs for skilled workers. 2016 was actually the first year after a five-year break when, finally, the acceptance of applications in full was opened for those who qualify under federal economic programs. Let this system be extremely imperfect and cuts off a fairly large number of specialists, but at least it is accepting applications and selecting candidates. In previous years, there wasn't even that.
Another thing is that such a situation is unlikely to last long. The next federal elections must take place before October 2019, and it very much looks like the liberals will lose them. If the conservatives come to power again (and everything is heading that way), they could significantly reduce the number of immigrants accepted.
Currently, there is a campaign to elect the leader of the Conservative Party, during which in May 2017 it will become clear who will replace Stephen Harper, the former Prime Minister of Canada. During the hearings of the candidates' programs for this post, preliminary conclusions can already be drawn.
Almost all candidates harshly criticize the Trudeau government's decision to increase acceptance to 300,000 people per year, promising to return immigration to its previous level, or even significantly reduce it. The only candidate who advocates for increasing the number of accepted immigrants to 400,000 per year, with 70% of the quota allocated to economic class immigrants, is former Minister of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada Chris Alexander. However, it is not certain that he will be chosen as leader. Most importantly, during his tenure as Minister of Citizenship and Immigration in Stephen Harper's government, Chris Alexander showed himself far from his best side to believe his promises.
So the conservatives, for the most part, are inclined to reduce immigration, which matches the sentiments of a large number of Canadian residents. These sentiments have especially intensified after the liberals began importing refugees from Syria to Canada on an industrial scale and began giving clear preferences to residents of China in visa matters.
Given that the economic situation in Canada is far from cloudless, and the problem of unemployment is becoming acute, accepting a large number of new immigrants really does not look like the best idea. Therefore, it is possible that the liberals themselves may reduce quotas ahead of the elections so as not to lose voters' votes.
Therefore, paradoxical as it may sound, now is the best time to immigrate to Canada. It won't get any better, but it could get worse.
Features of Today
How easy is it to go through immigration to Canada under the new rules? Honestly, not very.
The problem remains passing through the sieve of the Express Entry pre-selection system, as the passing score for this system remains quite high. The system is initially designed mainly to select immigrants who qualify under the Canadian Experience Class (mostly graduates of Canadian colleges and universities) and those who immigrate through provincial programs.
In particular, the first draw in the Express Entry system held on January 4, 2017, selected 2,902 applicants with a minimum score of 468. This is a fairly high score, as the average applicant without a job offer in Canada, applying under the FSWP, scores no more than 360-370 points.
Therefore, for those planning to immigrate through the Federal Skilled Worker Program, you need to have a very good education, be young, and demonstrate a high level of English or French proficiency (ideally both languages). To improve your chances, it makes sense to apply through one of the provincial programs, as obtaining a PNP certificate gives an additional 600 points and almost guarantees selection in an Express Entry draw.
Overall, it seems that the federal government is trying to transfer the selection of new immigrants to the provinces. The problem with provincial programs, however, is that almost all of them require a job offer in the province, which is very difficult to obtain. Those provincial programs that do not require a job offer have small quotas that are filled immediately after applications open.
For example, the Saskatchewan International Skilled Worker – Occupations In-Demand program has a quota of 500 applications per year. It does not require a job offer; the applicant only needs to have an occupation on the in-demand list. After this program opened for applications on January 4, 2017, it closed the same day because the quota was filled within the first hours of the program.
Does it make sense to apply for immigration through such programs? Yes, it does – you need to use all available opportunities. However, you must understand that you are participating in a lottery, and it's a matter of luck whether you are among the selected candidates.
A much more reliable path is studying in Canada at a college or university, followed by working in Canada on a postgraduate work permit. Currently, this is the main category of applicants who qualify under the federal economic stream.
Regarding business people, at the federal level, the only program is the Start-Up Visa, with a quota of about 500 applications per year for 2017. Other federal business programs are not worth considering, as they target very specific categories of applicants with extremely small quotas.
Therefore, for business people and investors, it makes sense to consider immigrating to Canada through provincial business programs, as the chances are significantly higher than under the Start-Up Visa program. Just keep in mind that the quotas for these programs are not very large, the requirements are quite strict, and interest from foreign business people is high.
In addition to the above, there is also the Federal Caregivers program, which has a fairly large quota of 18,000 applications. This program is for caring for children, the elderly, and the disabled, and requires specific education and work experience.
That's all there is. As mentioned above, it is unlikely that any improvements will occur in this area. It is also unlikely that new programs will appear, although the lack of accessible federal programs for business people and investors seems more than strange. But, as they say, we make do with what we have.
In any case, if you want to immigrate to Canada, the next two to three years will be the best time to do so. Try not to miss this opportunity.