Major Changes to The Federal Skilled Worker Program

Last month I wrote about how the Federal Skilled Worker program lacks efficiency and how processing applications under that category just isn’t a priority for Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) anymore. This month, they’ve proved it. Effective September 1, 2006 the Federal Skilled Worker program will change in such a way that reflects the lack of interest CIC has in the program.

Under what I will call the “old system”, applicants would file a series of forms and countless pages of supporting documentation – everything from college diplomas to reference letters, police certificates and language test results. Not anymore, not under the new system.

Under the new system, called the “Simplified Application Process” applicants are asked to file a three page application form and pay the application fee. That’s it. No supporting documentation, no degree, police clearance or references. Just the three page form and the processing fee.

By filing a Simplified Application, you are buying a spot in line. When your number is finally called, whether it is 24, 48, 60 or more months later, you will be given a number of days or months to submit all of the documentation that you would have otherwise submitted under the old system. If you try to submit all of the documentation that you would have under the old system when you file a simplified application, your supporting documentation will be returned to you.

CIC says that they are changing the process to increase efficiency and to save storage space in the visa offices. In many cases because files sit around so long before being processed, applicants have to update the forms and supporting documents anyways before a visa officer will make a decision on the file.

According to a CIC memorandum, there are over 500,000 economic class applicants waiting overseas for processing. That includes all skilled workers and business applicants. When you consider that our country typically admits somewhere in the neighbourhood of the mid 200,000’s for permanent residence in all classes, you are looking at quite the wait time for a skilled work application to be approved.

Skilled workers are prioritized behind spouses, children, PNP’s and persons with arranged employment. Factor in refugees and humanitarian and compassionate ground cases and it will be years before CIC works through the 500,000 economic class applicants in the backlog.

The new process applies to skilled workers, business applicants, entrepreneurs and self employed applicants. It does not apply to provincial nominees, immigrants destined for Quebec, applicants with points for arranged employment or applications filed in Buffalo, New York.

By changing the process, CIC is sending a very clear message – skilled workers just aren’t a priority anymore. By the time CIC process most of these files the applicants may not be interested in Canada anymore and their personal situations will have certainly changed. If you are serious about Canada, get a confirmed job offer and vet it to Service Canada or a Provincial Nominee Program and CIC will keep you out of this process and land you as an immigrant in a reasonable amount of time, otherwise, pay the fee, but don’t hold your breath.