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CANADA: 10 Point Summary of Recent Canadian Immigration Changes

11/1/2012

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from ABIL Global Immigration Update

The following is a 10-point summary of recent Canadian immigration changes.

1. The Federal Entrepreneur Program is closed. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is designing a new program with the goal of implementation by the end of 2012.

2. The Investor Program has been suspended and the current program has backlogs with wait times of up to nine years. CIC is considering pilot programs to complement the existing program.

3. Provincial Nominee Programs now require minimum language standards for immigrants.

4. The Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship category was suspended in November 2011 and there is no substantive news on whether the new redesign will be as facilitative as the previous program. Online consultations for Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship concluded on May 25, 2012, and policy options are being considered. Details will likely remain unknown until CIC pre-publishes the regulations in 2013. The redesign is to be implemented in November 2013.

5. The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program is under official review and CIC is working with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to examine the feasibility of a low-skilled pathway to permanent residence.

6. The Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSW) has been suspended. CIC is redesigning the program for the third time in the same number of years and is pre-publishing new regulations within the next few months.

Changes will likely include:
  • minimum language standards for all applicants;
  • education credential assessments by third parties;
  • changes to the points grid to emphasize language ability, employment in Canada, and age; and
  • inclusion of skill trades.

7. The Canada Experience Class categories (Student and Worker) will also be amended and regulations will be pre-published within the next few months. The federal goal is to have the new design in place by the end of 2012.

8. The Canadian consulate in Buffalo, New York, is closed. Canadian consulates in the United States that issue visas to Canada include:
a) United States of America - East of the Mississippi
- New York
- for visitor visas only: Detroit and Seattle
- for Temporary Resident Permits (TRPs), Rehabilitation and Authority to Return to Canada (ARC) only: Washington, DC

b) United States of America - West of the Mississippi
- Los Angeles
- for visitor visas only: Detroit and Seattle

9. CIC has opened a new processing center for temporary residents currently in Canada with valid student or temporary foreign worker status. All such in-Canada students or workers must submit their application for a new temporary resident visa to the Case Processing Pilot Office in Ottawa, or at the visa office that serves their country of nationality.

10. The government intends to close the Arranged Employment Skilled Worker Category, which is conditional on obtaining an Arranged Employment Opinion from Service Canada. This anticipated change will prevent access to Canada by many potential immigrants.

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CANADA: IT Workers and Work Permits

11/1/2012

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from ABIL Immigration Insider

Although Canada does not have an equivalent work visa to that of the U.S. H-1B temporary work visa, for years information technology workers could rather easily secure a Canadian Work Permit on obtaining a Canadian job offer under what was known as the Information Technology Worker Program. The IT Worker Program existed from 1997 until recently when it was shut down in all provinces.

Canadian work permits for IT workers are still possible if a Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) Service Canada Labour Market Opinion is obtained:

  1. if the employment is in the province of Québec under a February 2012 Memorandum of Understanding between Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the provincial Québec government if the worker will be employed in one of 44 occupations (which include, among others, IT Consultants, Software Engineers and Designers, Computer Programmers, and Interactive Media Developers);
  2. if the employment is in the provinces of Ontario or British Columbia and in the video gaming and digital animation/visual effects industries and requires a Software Engineer and Designer or a Graphic Designer and Illustrator; or
  3. if the first two possibilities do not apply, then if the Minimum Advertising Requirements of HRSDC have been met and a determination made by HRSDC that the employment of the foreign national is likely to have a neutral or positive effect on the labor market in Canada.
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CANADA: Service Canada has implemented a new Accelerated Labour Market Opinion Program

9/1/2012

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from ABIL Immigration Insider

Service Canada has implemented a new Accelerated Labour Market Opinion (A-LMO) program, which is intended to respond to the needs of eligible employers for timely Labour Market Opinion (LMO) processing. However, this initiative places substantial responsibility on the employer for program compliance, which translates into maintaining records and undergoing compliance reviews similar in nature to a tax audit.

The A-LMO program simplifies the application process for employers but also places a substantial burden on employers by requiring attestations on the application form. An A-LMO application does not exempt employers from criteria assessed in the regular LMO process, including:
  • the genuineness of the job offer;
  • the wage offered; and
  • whether the job offer is likely to fill a labor shortage.
If the employer meets all the eligibility criteria to participate in the A-LMO initiative, Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC)/Service Canada will then verify if the employer has agreed to all of the attestations and will issue a positive A-LMO within 10 business days.

Employer A-LMO Eligibility

The A-LMO initiative applies only to higher-skilled positions, such as management, professional, and technical occupations (classified under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill type 0, and skill levels A and B), although there are some exemptions to this general rule. To be eligible for this initiative:
  • The employer must have been issued at least one positive Labour Market Opinion in the previous two years;
  • The employer must have a clean record of compliance with the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program within the last two years;
  • The employer must have agreed to all of the attestations included in the application and consented to participate in a compliance review to ensure that the employer is meeting the terms and conditions set out in the Labour Market Opinion letter;
  • The employer must not have been the subject of an investigation, infraction, or serious complaint; and
  • The employer must not have any unresolved violations or contraventions under provincial laws governing employment and recruitment.
By consenting, employers agree to allow HRSDC/Service Canada to perform a compliance review of the positive A-LMO or any other positive LMO issued to the employer in the previous two years.

During the review, employers must submit documentation to demonstrate compliance with the terms and conditions of the positive LMO or A-LMO letters and their annexes. Up to 20 percent of positive A-LMOs will be selected for a compliance review. These reviews may be based on random selection, or in response to information received subsequent to the issuance of an A-LMO.

Employer Compliance Review


To be compliant, employers must meet all the terms and conditions set out in the positive A-LMO or LMO letters and their annexes. Compliance includes, but is not limited to, the fact that the:
  • employer provided wages, working conditions, and an occupation to the TFW that are substantially the same as those offered in the LMO or A-LMO application;
  • employer provided wages and working conditions that are the same as those offered to Canadian citizens and permanent residents in the same occupation and work location;
  • employer performed the minimum recruitment efforts required by the program;
  • employment of a TFW filled a labor shortage;
  • employment of a TFW did not adversely affect the settlement of a labor dispute; and
  • employer agrees to abide by the relevant federal/provincial/territorial laws that regulate employment and recruitment.
To demonstrate compliance through a review, employers may be required to submit the following documents indicating that they have abided by the terms of the A-LMO application. As noted above, the compliance process is similar to a tax audit. For example, employers may be asked to furnish some or all of the following information to ensure compliance with Service Canada requirements:
  • payroll information for the TFW and potentially for Canadian citizens and permanent residents;
  • collective bargaining agreements;
  • time sheets;
  • job descriptions;
  • copies of recruitment advertising;
  • proof of no labor dispute;
  • copies of the TFW's work permit; and
  • proof of registration with provincial/territorial workplace safety, where applicable.
Employers should maintain all of the above information and employment records for at least six years.

Non-compliance and/or failure to provide the requested documentation will result in various Service Canada penalties in addition to possible investigations for misrepresentation and non-compliance under Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

By consenting to the terms and conditions set out in the A-LMO application, employers agree to allow HRSDC/Service Canada to perform a compliance review of the positive A-LMO or any other positive LMO issued.
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CANADA: New Criteria for Québec Permanent Residence Applications

4/1/2012

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from ABIL Global Immigration Update

Over the last three years, the number of applications for economic permanent immigration to the Canadian province of Québec has more than doubled, rising from approximately 30,000 in 2008 to approximately 65,000 in 2011. In response to this growing volume, the Québec government's Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities (MICC) proposed on March 21, 2012, an omnibus bill encompassing several major changes to Québec's immigration law, the Loi sur l’immigration au Québec. If passed in the Québec National Assembly, the bill will represent significant changes to eligibility for obtaining a Québec Selection Certificate to immigrate permanently to Québec.

The proposed changes will govern applications accepted by Québec for the period April 1, 2012, through March 31, 2013. These changes are aimed at expediting processing times and according priority treatment to candidates for Québec permanent residence with professional profiles currently highly sought after in the Québec labor market, and at restricting the eligibility of other candidates. A new Demand Management System will dictate the numbers of applications for Québec permanent residence accepted.

Applications for Québec permanent residence by foreign workers and students will be divided into two main groups. Group 1 will not have any restrictions on the number of applications accepted and will include candidates who obtain at least 12 out of 16 points for their Field of Training based on the MICC's list of Fields of Training. Other candidates who may form part of Group 1 are foreign nationals working in Québec with valid work permits, foreign nationals participating in recognized youth exchange programs, foreign nationals holding valid study permits who obtained their diplomas from recognized post-secondary educational institutions in Québec, and foreign nationals with an employment offer validated by the MICC. Foreign workers who can be attributed points for their Field of Training but obtain less than 12 points will form part of Group 2, with a limit of 14,300 applications.

Under the new Demand Management System, applications for business immigrants will be restricted to pre-set quotas. For investors, the maximum number of applications accepted for the period April 1, 2012, through March 31, 2013, is 2,700. That quota was reached on April 12, 2012. A maximum of 215 entrepreneur applications will be accepted for the April 1, 2012-March 31, 2013, period. The Demand Management System is not intended to have an impact on the Québec government's commitment to accept approximately 50,000 immigrants annually from 2012 to 2015. The proposed changes will make it more difficult, however, for many candidates who would have qualified before March 21, 2012, for permanent immigration to Québec.

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CANADA: Service Canada Announces Changes to its LMO Program

4/1/2012

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by Julie Pearl, ABIL Lawyer
Pearl Law Group Global Immigration NewsFlash

Service Canada announces changes to its LMO Program.

Effective April 1, 2012, Service Canada will allow LMO applications to be submitted online and most excitingly, offer an Accelerated LMO Process (ALMO). The online service will significantly cut down on paperwork and the ALMO will dramatically decrease the processing times for LMO applications. LMO applications have been taking up to 12 weeks recently, which has been a tremendous burden on companies hoping to bring foreign workers to Canada under the program or extending expiring work permits. Service Canada has promised a 10 day processing time for those companies who meet the following criteria:
  • previously had at least one LMO approved within the last two years;
  • a clean compliance history with the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) Program, and are not currently under audit; and
  • not been the subject of an investigation, an infraction, or a serious complaint, and do not have any unresolved violations under provincial laws. Finally, the employer must consent to participate in a subsequent audit process. (Until now, there has been a voluntary compliance program when submitting an LMO).
Companies should take advantage of these changes and check with their immigration provider on how to start submitting applications online and enjoying the accelerated service.
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CANADA: Expedited processing for IT workers ends.

4/1/2012

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from ABIL Global Immigration Update

Following the termination of the facilitated process for information technology (IT) workers (labor market exemption) in British Columbia in December 2011 and in all other provinces in September 2010, Québec has also announced the end of the program for the seven different types of IT occupations. The program expedited the admission of foreign workers in certain IT occupations, mainly those in software development.

As a result, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will require Labor Market Opinions (LMOs) for those temporary foreign IT workers who previously qualified for the exemption. The process will be much lengthier and will require a job posting of at least 14 days, followed by an application for the LMO work permit.
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CANADA: Labor Market Opinions Update

2/27/2012

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by Julie Pearl, ABIL Lawyer
Pearl Law Group Global Immigration NewsFlash

Following the termination of the Facilitated Process of Information Technology Workers Program (Labor Market Exemption) in British Columbia in December of 2011 and in all other provinces in September of 2010, Quebec authorities have also announced the end of the program for the seven different types of IT occupations. The Program expedited the admission of foreign workers in certain IT occupations, mainly those in software development.

As a result, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will require Labor Market Opinions (LMO) for those temporary foreign IT workers who previously qualified for the exemption. The process will be much lengthier and will require a job posting of at least fourteen days, followed by an application for the LMO work permit.
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CANADA: The Shifting Global Economic Order and its Impact on Corporate Immigration - A Canadian Perspective

11/4/2011

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by Kenneth Ing, ABIL Lawyer
Porta Immigration

INTRODUCTION

The past decade has seen significant changes to the global economy, including the continued rise of emerging economic powers--Brazil, India, China, and Russia. This paper will examine how economic changes in these “BRIC countries” have affected their corporate immigration policies from the government perspective. Furthermore, it will examine the laws and regulations of Canada: a stable, industrialized nation that has seen its own challenges and opportunities over the years with respect to corporate immigration policies.

BRIC COUNTRIES

The following are some observations of the BRIC countries, from a Canadian perspective, so far as changes in immigration policies against the background changes in the global economy.

China
China is divided into 23 provinces, five autonomous regions and four municipalities. Its immigration laws are largely carried out by provincial, regional, and municipal agencies, with oversight by several state ministries. There are significant variations in each locality’s immigration structure, so a foreign national’s destination in China will determine the relevant regional and local authorities involved and the immigration requirements and process. While the nature of the Chinese government system makes it difficult to anticipate changes in policy, a 2010 report by the Xinhua news agency suggests that China is currently looking to radically overhaul its immigration policy, and one of the main purposes of this is to attract foreign skilled workers, professionals, and investors. If these changes come to fruition, this would signal a willingness to adapt to changing global economic conditions similar to India and Russia.

India
The Indian government has made changes to its immigration policies to take into account changing global economic conditions. The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs uses a system where workers can apply for a Business Visa (“B” visa) or Employment Visa (“E” visa), and recently eliminated the old “1% quota rule” for all employment visa applications to a maximum of 20 foreign nationals per company. Changes to the visa rules, specifically with the “E” visa, have directly targeted highly skilled or professional workers, who must demonstrate that they will be paid a salary to at least $25,000 per year, in addition to meeting the other immigration rules.

Russia
Similar to China and India, Russia has made substantial changes to its immigration policies in order to reflect global economic shifts. The introduction of a Highly Skilled Worker category allows for “a significantly faster and simpler immigration process for foreign nationals who are paid at least US$65,000 a year in Russia” employed by Russian commercial companies, scientific, educational and medical institutions that have state accreditation, and branches of foreign legal entities. This requirement was lowered to roughly US$32,500 a year for scientists and teachers who meet certain criteria, including having been invited by the Russian government to work in that country and participate in research and/or teaching in state higher education institutions, academies. Moreover, these new rules have reduced or in some cases eliminated migration registration requirements for short stays.

Brazil
After examining the other BRIC countries, it would appear that Brazil has done the least, on a comparative basis, to implement more efficient corporate immigration policies for the purpose of facilitating foreign highly skilled workers. Attaining a work visa in Brazil is a three-step process that can take up to a year to complete, and goes through both national and local bureaucratic structures. This is especially problematic, considering that the lack of skilled workers could prove to be a key obstacle to achieving long-term growth in Brazil. The Economist recently noted that there is a specific shortage of PhD-level workers there. While it is true that external factors, such as a stagnant economy in the latter half of the 20th Century and critically important language skills in Portuguese, have contributed to Brazil’s isolation with respect to foreign workers, the seemingly archaic, confusing, and heavily bureaucratic immigration policies for skilled workers have not helped to alleviate these issues.

CANADA

In recent years, over 150,000 foreign workers each year enter Canada to work temporarily in jobs that help Canadian employers address skill shortages.

In general, Canada has developed its laws, regulations and rules in order to facilitate the temporary entry into Canada for foreign nationals who are business persons and from selected categories of workers.

Canada has entered into treaties with a number of countries, in order to expand trade, and provide individuals with access to each other’s country to sell, provide goods or services or trade and invest.

Working Temporarily Without A Work Permit

A foreign national may not need a work permit he or she falls into one of the following categories:
  • Athletes and coaches
  • Aviation accident or incident investigators
  • Business visitors
  • Civil aviation inspectors
  • Clergy
  • Convention organizers
  • Crew members
  • Emergency service providers
  • Examiners and evaluators
  • Expert witnesses or investigators
  • Family members of foreign representatives
  • Foreign government officers
  • Foreign representatives
  • Health-care students
  • Judges, referees and similar officials
  • Military personnel
  • News reporters, film and media crews
  • Performing artists
  • Public speakers
  • Students working on campus
Business Visitors

Business visitors do not need a work permit. A business visitor is someone who comes to Canada to engage in international business activities without directly entering the Canadian labour market.

A foreign national may qualify as a business visitor if he or she plans to visit Canada temporarily to look for new business opportunities, to invest or to advance existing business relationships.

Business visitors usually stay in Canada for a few days or a few weeks. To be considered a business visitor, a foreign national must establish that:
  • he or she intends to stay for less than six months and does not plan to enter the Canadian labour market
  • his or her main place of business and source of income is located outside Canada
  • profits from his or her business will accrue outside Canada
  • he or she meets the basic entry requirements.  These include:
    • having a valid travel document, such as a passport
    • having sufficient funds for his or her stay
    • plan to leave Canada at the end of the authorized stay
    • do not pose criminal, security or health risks to Canadians.
Cross-border business includes the following activities:
  • buying Canadian goods or services for a foreign business or government
  • taking orders for goods or services
  • attending meetings, conferences, conventions or trade fairs
  • providing after-sales service (mainly supervision, not hands-on labour)
  • being trained by a Canadian parent company for which the foreign national  works outside Canada
  • training employees of a Canadian subsidiary of a foreign company
  • being trained by a Canadian company that has sold to the foreign national equipment or services.
Free Trade Agreements

Business people include certain people entering Canada under the following free trade agreements:
  • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
  • Other Free Trade Agreements
  • General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
NAFTA

Under Chapter 16 of NAFTA, citizens of Canada, the United States and Mexico can gain quicker, easier temporary entry into the three countries to conduct business or investment activities.

Business people covered by NAFTA do not need a labour market opinion from the labour department, Human Resources and Social Development Canada (“HRSDC”). This means that Canadian employers do not need to have a job offer approved by HRSDC to employ a United States or a Mexican business person, as set out in NAFTA.

Business people covered by NAFTA must, however, comply with the general provisions on temporary entry to Canada.

NAFTA applies to four specific categories of business people: business visitors, professionals, intra-company transferees, and traders and investors.

Business visitor is a separate category with separate requirements. Business visitors do not require a work permit.

A professional must:
  • be qualified to work in one of the more than 60 professions listed in Appendix 1603.D.1 of Chapter 16 of NAFTA (e.g. accountants, computer systems analysts, engineers, management consultants and technical publications writers) and
  • have pre-arranged employment with a Canadian enterprise in an occupation that matches the qualification.
An intra-company transferee must:
  • have worked continuously for at least one year in the preceding three years for the same or affiliated employer in the United States or Mexico
  • be transferred to Canada to work temporarily for the same or an affiliated employer and
  • work in a capacity that is managerial, executive or that involves specialized knowledge.
A trader or an investor must:
  • be seeking to carry out substantial trade in goods or services, mainly between Canada and her or his country of citizenship, or conduct substantial investment activities in Canada, in a supervisory or an executive capacity, or in a capacity that involves essential skills
Other Free Trade Agreements

Additional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), such as the Canada-Chile FTA and the Canada-Peru FTA were modelled after the NAFTA, thereby making it easier for business persons from one country to temporarily enter the other country. The rules and requirements are similar to those under NAFTA and cover categories of business people such as: business visitors, professionals, intra-company transferees, and traders and investors.

General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)

Under GATS, Canada has committed to making it easier for certain business people who are foreign service providers in certain sectors to access the Canadian market. The commitments apply to service providers from more than 140 World Trade Organization member countries.

Three categories of business people are covered: business visitors, professionals and intra-company transferees. Qualified business people can enter Canada more easily because they do not need a labour market opinion from HRSDC or, in the case of business visitors, a work permit.

However, the provisions under GATS are generally more restrictive than those under NAFTA or the other FTAs.

Information Technology Workers

An example of the influence of changes in the global economy on corporate immigration policies in the Canadian context may be found in the evolution of the information technology workers program (“IT Workers Program”).

The IT Workers Program had its beginnings in May of 1997, in order to address a shortage of skilled workers in the rapidly growing IT sector.  At that time, Canada agreed to a facilitated process for selected IT occupations on a pilot basis.

Particularly during the high tech boom, in order to fill critical shortages in Canada’s software industry, Canada implemented a simplified entry process for workers whose skills are in high demand in that industry.

Under the National Labour Market Opinion (“LMO”) pilot, an employer was not required to obtain an LMO in order to hire foreign workers and no confirmation letter from HRSDC was issued.  Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC “) and Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) would determine whether the job offered falls under one of the selected occupations.  Hence, the work permit process was expedited. The rationale was that entry of this selected group of IT workers would not have a negative impact on Canadian or permanent-resident job seekers and workers.

The pilot program then became a permanent program.  However, with changes in the global high tech industry and its impact on the Canadian IT sector, on May 20, 2010, HRSDC issued a notice for employers that the facilitated process would end on September 30, 2010.

The rationale provided by the Canadian Government was as follows:

“Ending the facilitated process will contribute to the integrity of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), a Government of Canada priority, by ensuring that the hiring of foreign workers does not result in an adverse impact on the Canadian labour market. It also ensures that the TFWP is more responsive to the current and future labour market conditions in the information and communications technology industry, and ensure greater access to available jobs by Canadians and permanent residents.”

Therefore, effective October 1, 2010, Canadian employers wishing to hire temporary foreign workers previously eligible for IT facilitated processing were required to apply for an LMO.

Also, effective October 1, 2010, work permit applications received by CIC or CBSA at a port of entry would require a copy of the LMO for the seven specific IT occupations that were previously under the facilitated process.

However, as at the date of this paper, the IT Workers Program remained in place in two provinces—British Columbia and Quebec.
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CANADA: Government Seeks to Reduce Wait Times for Sponsored Parents and Grandparents

11/1/2011

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__from ABIL Global Immigration Update

The government of Canada seeks to reduce wait times for sponsored parents and grandparents, and has introduced a related Super Visa.

In November, the government of Canada announced a new plan to reduce the backlog and wait times for sponsored parents and grandparents. Current processing times for parent and grandparent sponsorship applications exceed seven years. This plan involves a temporary pause of up to 24 months on the acceptance of new parent and grandparent sponsorship applications effective immediately. This new government plan means that any new applications received at the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, will be returned in their entirety. Applications already submitted to the Case Processing Centre will continue to be processed using current procedures and will not be affected by this temporary pause.

In related news, to enable the interim visitor entry of parents and grandparents, the government of Canada is introducing the new Super Visa, which will be valid for up to 10 years. This multiple-entry visa will allow an applicant to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time without the need for renewal of his or her status. The processing time for a Super Visa is expected to be approximately eight weeks.

Over the next two years, the government of Canada will consult Canadians on how to redesign the parents and grandparents program. This program redesign may result in either a complete elimination of this category or reduced eligibility.

The government of Canada indicated that it is doubling the number of sponsored parents and grandparents it will admit to Canada in 2012. Citizenship and Immigration Canada will admit 25,000 applicants under this category, but applications filed in 2011 are still expected to take approximately seven years to process.
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CANADA: Changes to Temporary Foreign Worker Regulations

4/1/2011

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from ABIL Global Immigration Update

As noted in the February issue of ABIL's Global Immigration Update, on April 1, 2011, the Canadian government introduced into law a number of important legislative amendments on employer immigration compliance concerning foreign worker work permits and Labour Market Opinions from Service Canada. In summary, the immigration law changes, which took effect April 1, 2011, are as follows:

A.  The government has introduced a new test to evaluate the genuineness of an offer of employment to a foreign worker, based on:
  • Whether the offer is made by an employer that is actively engaged in the business in respect to which the offer is made;
  • Whether the offer is consistent with the reasonable employment needs of the employer;
  • Whether the terms of the offer are terms that the employer is reasonably able to fulfill; and
  • The past compliance of the employer, or any person who recruited the foreign national for the employer, with the federal or provincial laws that regulate employment, or the recruiting of employees, in the province in which it is intended that the foreign national work.
B.  The regulations limit to four the number of years in which certain foreign workers can remain in Canada on work permit status. Once they have completed the four-year work permit period, they are not authorized to work in Canada for another four years.

Fortunately for employers, some foreign workers are exempt from this four-year work permit limitation. Exemptions to the four-year limitation include foreign workers who have been on the following types of work permits or are in the circumstances listed below:

Temporary foreign workers in certain managerial or professional occupations.

Temporary foreign workers who have applied for permanent residence and received:
  • A Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) if applying as a Quebec Skilled Worker;
  • A Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) certificate if applying as a provincial nominee;
  • An approval in principle letter if applying under the Live-in Caregiver Class;
  • A positive selection decision if applying under the Federal Skilled Worker Class; or
  • A positive selection decision if applying under the Canadian Experience Class.
Temporary foreign workers who are employed in Canada under an international agreement, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, or another agreement.

Temporary foreign workers who are exempt from the Labour Market Opinion (LMO) process, including:
  • Spouses and common-law partners of international graduates participating in the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program and highly skilled temporary foreign workers;
  • Charitable or religious workers;
  • Entrepreneurs, intracompany transferees, researchers, and academics; and
  • Others for purposes of self-support (refugee claimants) or for humanitarian reasons (destitute students, holders of temporary resident permits valid for at least six months).
C.  The government has imposed sanctions on employers who do not comply with the new regulations by providing non-genuine job offers in the previous two-year period. The regulations require Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to post the name of the non-compliant employer on the CIC website.

D.  Recent announcements by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) and CIC:

Effective April 1, 2011, the government has created a new Application for a Labour Market Opinion for high-skilled occupations. On the new application form, employers will be required to attest to the following, if appropriate (please consult your Alliance of Business Immigration Lawyers (ABIL) Global attorney before attesting to a matter that may not be correct, and please review carefully for accuracy before attesting):

"I will provide any temporary foreign worker employed by me with wages, working conditions and employment in an occupation that are the same as those described in the Labour Market Opinion confirmation letter and annex."

"I will immediately inform Service Canada/Temporary Foreign Worker Program officers of any subsequent changes related to the temporary foreign workers' terms and conditions of employment, as described in the Labour Market Opinion confirmation letter and annex."

"I am compliant with, and agree to continue to abide by the relevant federal/provincial/territorial laws that regulate employment in the occupation specified and, if applicable, the terms and conditions of any collective agreement in place. I recognize that any terms and conditions of the attached offer of employment are considered null and void if they are less favourable to the temporary foreign worker than the standards stipulated in the relevant Labour Standards Act."

"I am compliant with, and agree to continue to abide by federal/provincial/territorial legislation related to the temporary foreign worker's recruitment applicable in the jurisdiction where the job is located. I declare that all recruitment done or that will be done on my behalf by a third party, was or will be done in compliance with federal/provincial/territorial laws governing recruitment. I am aware that I will be held responsible for the actions of any person recruiting temporary foreign workers on my behalf."

In addition, when renewing a foreign worker application, employers must demonstrate that they have been in compliance with previous LMO applications. To demonstrate compliance, employers may be asked to provide any or all of the following:
  • Payroll records (to demonstrate the appropriate prevailing wage and overtime paid, source deductions, and explanations of any non-standard deductions);
  • Time sheets (to demonstrate that the workers are working the number of hours set out in the LMO confirmation);
  • Job description (to demonstrate that the job description accurately reflects the information contained in the initial application and LMO);
  • Work permit (to demonstrate that CIC has issued a work permit in compliance with the LMO confirmation information); and
  • Various other documents depending on the circumstances, such as registration with provincial and territorial workplace safety, transportation costs, accommodation information and private health insurance, if applicable.
Service Canada and CIC have become much more enforcement-oriented concerning employer immigration compliance under the foreign worker programs.
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