The new Conservative government’s budget made quite the splash in May – the GST was cut and a series of tax credits were introduced. Barely competing for headlines with the glamour of the tax breaks was a small gift to new Canadians – a reduction in the Right of Permanent Residence Fee from $975 to $490.
This fee is payable by principal applicants (with some exceptions) and accompanying spouses and common-law partners. It must be paid before the immigrant visa is issued overseas or before the applicant becomes a permanent resident in Canada.The following applicants are not required to pay this fee:
dependent children of a principal applicant or sponsor, a child to be adopted, or an orphaned brother, sister, niece, nephew or grandchild; and
protected persons, including Convention refugees.
And for those who have already paid the fee up front, but haven’t been landed yet? You get a refund of the difference - $485!
Everyone who paid the $975 Right of Permanent Residence Fee is eligible for a refund if they have not become a permanent resident of Canada as of 12:00 a.m. EDT on May 3, 2006. Immigrants in all social, humanitarian and economic classes are entitled to a refund.
How do you claim the refund? Simple. According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s website, If you (or your sponsor) paid the fee in Canada, you do not have to request the refund; you will receive it by mail. CIC expects to begin issuing refunds within a few weeks and to have issued the majority of them within one year. Be sure to update your address with CIC if you have moved, so they know where to send the cheque.
If you paid the fee outside of Canada before 12:00 a.m. EDT on May 3, 2006, and you have not yet received a visa, you can request a refund from the CIC mission where you paid the fee. If you do not request a refund, you will receive one when your visa is issued.
If you paid the Right of Permanent Residence Fee outside of Canada, and you have received your visa but you have not yet become a permanent resident of Canada as of 12:00 a.m. EDT on May 3, 2006, you can request a refund by completing forms easily found of CIC’s website.
If you have not received a refund before you become a permanent resident, you will be given information on how to request one when you arrive in Canada.
The financial burden of applying and moving one’s family is difficult enough as it is. With a few extra dollars in hand, moving to Canada becomes that much easier. Many observers agree that it is about time that the fee often thought of as a cash grab by the government be returned to those who need it most.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Thinking Skilled Worker Immigration? Think Again.
The point system – a foundation of the Canadian immigration system is slowly crumbling into ruin.
Most of us are familiar with this process, and many have successfully immigrated to Canada by these means. For those unfamiliar, I am talking about the “Federal Skilled Worker” immigration category. The process facilitates the grant permanent resident visas based on assessment units or “points” awarded on an applicant’s education, work experience, age, proficiency in English and French languages, and ties to Canada. The pass-mark was 75 and then lowered to 67 points a few years back.
Now however, it doesn’t seem to matter what the pass-mark is, as the category is all but dead. For those of you waiting in the queue for visas, you are in good company – approximately 800,000 applications are pending worldwide in all application categories.
So, what does this mean? Let’s do the math.
Canada used to target to accept 1% of its current population for immigration each year. With a population of approximately 30 million, that meant a target of approximately 300,000 immigrants per year, from all categories (not just skilled workers). Canada never met this target under the Liberal government, rather would fall short in the 230,000 range and the Conservative government has scraped the 1% target altogether – who knows what that means (most critics predict a lower target).
Now, let’s factor in priorities. Citizenship and Immigration Canada prioritizes family reunification cases (children and spouses only, not parents or grandparents), refugees, humanitarian and compassionate cases, and now, provincial nominees. With high demand in all of those areas, the 200,000+ spots open each year sell out faster than a Britney Spears concert. And who is left behind? Skilled workers. Even if half of the spots were reserved for skilled workers (which they aren’t) a new applicant would have to wait more than 4 years for a visa!
Skilled workers just aren’t a priority anymore. Critics routinely say that the category fails to address Canada’s current labour market needs. With an emphasis on education and high level work experience, the system fails to attract persons wanting to work in labour-starved sectors including manufacturing, tourism, construction and agriculture (to name a few).
For those of you in the skilled worker queue, you have two options if you intend to pursue your visa. First option – wait (not very appealing, is it?). Second option – find a job offer in Canada. Skilled workers with arranged employment opinions from Service Canada and with PNP nominations are shuffled to the front of the queue. Instead of waiting years, an applicant could wait as little as 6 months for landing.
The bottom line is that Canada has shifted its priorities. Canada’s immigration policy for the 21st century is clearly focused employment based immigration system, and as such, the value of a job offers has never been this high for a prospective immigrant. A good education and work experience doesn’t cut it anymore, unless you have a job offer to back it up.
Most of us are familiar with this process, and many have successfully immigrated to Canada by these means. For those unfamiliar, I am talking about the “Federal Skilled Worker” immigration category. The process facilitates the grant permanent resident visas based on assessment units or “points” awarded on an applicant’s education, work experience, age, proficiency in English and French languages, and ties to Canada. The pass-mark was 75 and then lowered to 67 points a few years back.
Now however, it doesn’t seem to matter what the pass-mark is, as the category is all but dead. For those of you waiting in the queue for visas, you are in good company – approximately 800,000 applications are pending worldwide in all application categories.
So, what does this mean? Let’s do the math.
Canada used to target to accept 1% of its current population for immigration each year. With a population of approximately 30 million, that meant a target of approximately 300,000 immigrants per year, from all categories (not just skilled workers). Canada never met this target under the Liberal government, rather would fall short in the 230,000 range and the Conservative government has scraped the 1% target altogether – who knows what that means (most critics predict a lower target).
Now, let’s factor in priorities. Citizenship and Immigration Canada prioritizes family reunification cases (children and spouses only, not parents or grandparents), refugees, humanitarian and compassionate cases, and now, provincial nominees. With high demand in all of those areas, the 200,000+ spots open each year sell out faster than a Britney Spears concert. And who is left behind? Skilled workers. Even if half of the spots were reserved for skilled workers (which they aren’t) a new applicant would have to wait more than 4 years for a visa!
Skilled workers just aren’t a priority anymore. Critics routinely say that the category fails to address Canada’s current labour market needs. With an emphasis on education and high level work experience, the system fails to attract persons wanting to work in labour-starved sectors including manufacturing, tourism, construction and agriculture (to name a few).
For those of you in the skilled worker queue, you have two options if you intend to pursue your visa. First option – wait (not very appealing, is it?). Second option – find a job offer in Canada. Skilled workers with arranged employment opinions from Service Canada and with PNP nominations are shuffled to the front of the queue. Instead of waiting years, an applicant could wait as little as 6 months for landing.
The bottom line is that Canada has shifted its priorities. Canada’s immigration policy for the 21st century is clearly focused employment based immigration system, and as such, the value of a job offers has never been this high for a prospective immigrant. A good education and work experience doesn’t cut it anymore, unless you have a job offer to back it up.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
