So far, the details of this system are unknown; only general principles are being discussed. In particular, it is unclear whether quotas will remain and what will happen to unclaimed applications. The fate of provincial programs is also not entirely clear. It can be assumed that many of them will be disbanded (since provinces get the opportunity to select immigrants from a common database). At least, judging by media reports, provincial and federal authorities have reached an agreement on a new selection system that allows combining centralized application intake and giving provinces the freedom to select those they urgently need. Therefore, the FSWC program in its current form appears to be a temporary solution, and it is unlikely to last long in its 'new guise'.
Two additional factors must also be considered. The first is that by 2014, processing of the bulk of pending applications should be completed. I think that if the verdict of the Supreme Court of Canada upholding the federal government's decision to return 280,000 applications under the Skilled Worker Class filed before February 2008 had been made 3-4 months earlier, it is quite possible that the quota under the FSWC program could already be significantly higher now.
The second point relates to future federal government elections, which must take place no later than fall 2015. It is possible they will be held earlier, as this is in the interests of the Conservative government, which by election time should have results in the immigration sphere, since this topic is always very important in the Canadian political landscape. This largely explains the fact that Canada's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Mr. Kenny, is a key figure in the Harper government, occupying the top positions in the hierarchy.
But at present, no particular successes in immigration are visible – there are many loud statements, there are drastic changes in approaches, immigration programs are being overhauled, but in practice everything looks as if Canada is carefully isolating itself from the rest of the world. It remains to be hoped that this is just the cost of a transition period, and when the work is finished, the situation will change for the better. And the results of the work should be visible already in 2014, otherwise the Conservative government will face many questions, which representatives of competing parties will not fail to ask.
Requirements for applicants under the FSWC program
The new selection rules have been known in general terms for a long time, as they were announced back in February 2011, and have changed little since then. What was unclear was whether the list of priority occupations introduced in 2009 would remain and whether the cap on the number of applications accepted, introduced in July 2010, would still apply. Now it is clear that both the list and the cap on the number of applications will remain.
You can get acquainted with the point scale at www.russiantoronto.com. We will provide detailed information on the selection rules and the procedure for immigrating to Canada under the FSWC after May 4, 2013, when the official instructions are released. For now, I will only give general information about the requirements for applicants under this program (I am not considering cases where there is a confirmed job offer or participation in the program for PhD holders).
So, applications under the FSWC program can be submitted by individuals who have education and work experience in one of the 24 occupations included in the list, which looks as follows (with NOC numbers):
0211 Engineering managers
1112 Financial and investment analysts
2113 Geoscientists and oceanographers
2131 Civil engineers
2132 Mechanical engineers
2134 Chemical engineers
2143 Mining engineers
2144 Geological engineers
2145 Petroleum engineers
2146 Aerospace engineers
2147 Computer engineers (except software engineers/designers)
2154 Land surveyors
2174 Computer programmers and interactive media developers
2243 Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics
2263 Inspectors in public and environmental health and occupational health and safety
3141 Audiologists and speech-language pathologists
3142 Physiotherapists
3143 Occupational Therapists
3211 Medical laboratory technologists
3212 Medical laboratory technicians and pathologists' assistants
3214 Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
3215 Medical radiation technologists
3216 Medical sonographers
3217 Cardiology technicians and electrophysiological diagnostic technologists, n.e.c. (not elsewhere classified)
To submit an application, you must have at least one year of work experience in that occupation. But often one year is not enough to reach the pass mark. To successfully go through the immigration process, you must score 67 points.
It is mandatory to take an English or French language test and submit the results to immigration authorities. The test results must be at least Level 7 on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) scale. This is a fairly high result, implying good language proficiency.
You also need to provide the results of an assessment of your education level against Canadian standards. This assessment should show what level your education corresponds to on the Canadian scale and whether it is sufficient for work in the specified occupation. The assessment is carried out by authorized Canadian bodies.
As mentioned above, the final version of the point scale will be known after the program opens on May 4, 2013.
Elena RYABININA,
'Russian Toronto'.