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ALL HOPE – ON THE ELECTIONS
An expert from Russian Toronto analyzed the current situation in Canada's immigration sphere.
Economic Class
Actually, this is the sector of the immigration sphere that the Conservatives focused on in their reforms. The result was a confusing and illogical Express Entry system, through which, like a sieve, those applying under economic class programs must first pass. It includes federal programs such as the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP), Canadian Experience Class (CEC), and provincial programs such as the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNP) – except for the programs of the province of Quebec.
Currently, 9 rounds of selection of applications submitted through the Express Entry system have been conducted. In total, 9,852 applications have been selected as a result of these rounds. Let me remind you that according to the plans of the Canadian Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration for 2015 for the programs covered by the Express Entry selection system, a quota of 122,000 immigration visas has been allocated. That is, over 5 months of operation, only a very small portion of what was planned has been selected.
What does this mean? If the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration sticks to its plans to issue 122,000 immigration visas under economic class programs, then in the remaining months we should expect a much larger selection of applications from those submitted via the Express Entry system.
Also, despite the fact that so far they have been selecting mainly those applicants who either have sufficient work experience in Canada or have a confirmed job offer, in four of the nine rounds (in April and May), individuals without Canadian work experience and a job offer in Canada received invitations to apply. This is indicated by the passing score during these rounds, which ranged from 450 to 480 points. It seems that there are not many applicants with Canadian work experience or a job offer, and those applying under the federal Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) will have good chances of immigrating in the second half of the year.
Perhaps this is the main positive news. It is only overshadowed by the fact that there is not yet sufficient evidence that this will be the case, despite the obvious logic.
Study then Immigration
Although I have written about this many times, I will repeat it once again: Canada is primarily interested in young immigrants with Canadian education and work experience in Canada. That is, we are actually talking about those who have studied at Canadian educational institutions, worked for at least a year after graduation, and applied for immigration under the Canadian Experience Class program. In 2015, a quota of 23,000 immigration visas was allocated for this category of immigrants.
Judging by the results of the Express Entry rounds, it can be concluded that those applying under the Canadian Experience Class significantly prevail among those who received invitations to apply. Moreover, one of the rounds, held on February 20, 2015, was entirely focused on those applying under the Canadian Experience Class.
According to government plans, Canada should double the number of international students in the country by 2022, bringing it to 450,000. Some of them will obviously stay in Canada, and it is expected that in the near future the quota for the Canadian Experience Class program will be significantly increased. At least, studying in Canada followed by applying under the Canadian Experience Class has been and remains the most reliable path to immigration in Canada.
Unfortunately, as has become customary, the good intentions of the Conservatives have not yet been backed up by action. While declaring an increase in the number of international students, in reality the immigration authorities cannot even handle their current tasks. In particular, over the past year alone, the waiting time for obtaining a study permit has increased by 30%, and the time to obtain an entry visa has doubled. Not to mention that refusals to issue study permits and entry visas are not uncommon, often without any serious grounds.
On the positive side in this area, we can note the trend itself of attracting international students, as well as the desire to keep them in the country. On the other hand, the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration has such a strange attitude toward those coming to study in Canada that it is unclear whether there will be improvements in this area in the foreseeable future. At least, as long as the Conservatives are in power.
Business Programs
Perhaps this is the part of the immigration sphere where the Conservative government showed its complete failure and incompetence in full. By closing the federal Investor and Entrepreneur programs, the Harper government offered virtually nothing that works in return.
The new immigration program, the Immigrant Investor Venture Capital Pilot Program, provides for the issuance of only 60 immigration visas, and their issuance is carried out almost by lottery from 500 applications. Naturally, this quota was filled almost immediately. The other program, Start Up Visa, which came into effect more than 2 years ago, cannot be called successful either. Under this program, a quota of 2,750 immigration visas is allocated per year.
At the same time, in the two years of the program's existence, only 16 people have received immigration visas (12 of them in 2015), and another 60 are being processed. A more than modest result, to be honest.
Furthermore, having personal experience with this program, I can say that the project selection and the application and review process itself raise many questions. At the very least, one cannot speak of any effective system for selecting truly interesting and promising projects.
On the positive side of the Start Up Visa program, the following can be noted. The fact that the program in its current form does not work is so obvious that recently there have been trends toward changing it and easing the selection criteria. Let us hope that this will bear fruit. Overall, I repeat, regarding immigration business programs, the activities of the Conservative government cannot be described as anything other than a complete fiasco.
Whether the Conservatives will manage to fix anything before the elections is a big question. In theory, one might still expect the opening of some new business programs before autumn, but personally I have very little hope for this.