· Entrepreneur Class applications will no longer be accepted from July 1st until further notice
Further detail and analysis of what this means is below by type of application. If you are wondering what action you need to take please read “Help – What should I do?” towards the end of this email.
Federal Skilled Worker Applications
Prior to 2009 Skilled Worker applications were accepted from applicants from ANY skilled occupation who also met the point score. In 2009 a list of 38 eligible occupations was introduced and applications without an application on that list or without arranged employment were not eligible to apply. The occupation list was changed and reduced to 29 in 2010. Also during 2010 a quota was introduced placing a limit of 1000 applications considered (not approved, considered) per occupation.
The good news is that this occupation list has not been further reduced and anyone who currently has an eligible occupation today will still be eligible to apply after July 1st. The full list can be viewed here: http://www.wildyimmigration.com/VISA_TYPES/Skilled_Worker. The bad news is that the quota of 1000 applications considered has been reduced to 500. This means that many occupations will now fill long before the end of the quota period (June 30th 2012).
During the current quota period this is the list of occupations that reached more than 500 and therefore would have filled under the new quota (listed in order of popularity, i.e. quickest to fill first):
1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
3152 Registered Nurses
3131 Pharmacists
3113 Dentists
0631 Restaurant & Food Service Managers
2121 Biologists and related Scientists
2151 Architects
3111 Specialist Physicians
3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians
4152 Social Workers
3233 Licensed Practical Nurses
The following occupations came quite close to reaching the 500 mark and therefore could also reasonably be expect to fill early under the new quota:
1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
7216 Contractors and Supervisors Mechanic Trades
3142 Physiotherapists
6242 Cooks
We expect all of the quotas for the occupations listed above to fill quickly. Once it becomes known that these occupations are likely to fill prematurely people will rush to get their applications in earlier. Also the 1,500+ immigration consulting firms around the world will encourage early submission of their clients’ applications in these occupations. The reality is that competition for these reduced number of places will be increased significantly and the “first come, first served” principal will apply. Don’t forget that Canada typically approves 40-50,000 Skilled Worker applications per year (and probably received 50-75,000) so quotas of 500 are really very low.
Some occupations will fill VERY quickly. For example NOC code 1122 reached 500 applications within a couple of months during the previous period and then reached the 1000 quota before 5 months. It is likely that there is now a large pool of would-be 1122 applicants waiting to submit their applications after July 1st.
In our opinion the overall quota of 10,000 applications is less of a concern – it is the individual quotas per occupation that will be significant.
Although not included with this announcement, there are also changes to the Point Score system on their way. It is fairly certain this will happen although at the moment the date they will take effect is not certain. The changes to the point score system are likely to be as follows:
· The maximum points awarded for applicants’ first language would increase to 20 (from 16) with a further 8 potential points awarded for second language as before, making the maximum points available for language ability 28 instead of 24. Obviously this will be an advantage to applicants who speak English or French fluently.
· In addition a skill-level based minimum language requirement is proposed depending on the applicant’s occupation. Applicants whose occupation skill levels don’t require high proficiency in English or French might be okay but applicants who work in highly skilled occupations (such as doctors and physiotherapists) will be expected to have near fluent ability in English or French.
· There will be a greater emphasis on young workers with 12 points being awarded for age (or rather the lack of it) instead of the previous 10. But applicants beyond the age of 35 will no longer score the maximum points whereas previously anyone 49 or under scored the maximum. Under the proposed system an applicant will start to lose points once they turn 36 and will score no points at all once they are 50 or over. Previously an applicant did not start to lose points for age until they turned 50.
· To improve the chances of success for trades people, the number of year of education required to claim a significant number of points for a trade or non-university credential will be reduced under the proposed new rules. This will be good news for anyone who left school at 16 and then completed an apprenticeship for example.
· The last proposed change to the point score calculations is that the maximum points awarded for work experience will be reduced from 21 points to 15, again supporting younger workers with fewer years of work experience.
· In addition the regulations will likely be “strengthened” to allow visa officers more discretion when assessing applicants with job offers who are claiming points for Arranged Employment. Job offers will be scrutinized more closely to ensure the offer is genuine.
The proposed Point Score changes are likely to be good news for applicants for whom English or French is their native language, who are 35 or under, who have trade qualifications such as apprenticeships, or applicants who have genuine job offers. The changes could be bad news for applicants who don’t speak fluent English or French, who are over 35 and especially those who are in their mid 40’s or older, who work in a professional occupation but don’t speak fluent English or French or who have job offers that are not totally genuine or where the employer has a history of making job offers but then not subsequently hiring those workers once they arrive in Canada.
Investor Class Applications
Not long ago the Canadian government announced that the criteria for applying under this program were to be adjusted. The previous minimum net worth requirement of $800,000 was upgraded to $1.6 million. The “investment” requirement was also upgraded from $400,000 to $800,000.
Fridays announcement sees an introduction of a quota of 700 applications under the Investor Class between July 1st this year and June 30th 2012. The significant thing here is that this is likely to fill before the end of the period. In 2010 Canada approved approximately 3,000 Investor applications (and probably received around 4,500) so 700 is not very many.
Entrepreneur Class Applications
This type of application is used by people with previous business experience who plan to start a business in Canada and undertake to employ at least 1 Canadian. Current processing times for applications under this program are typically over 4 years and, depending on the visa office they are submitted to, sometimes up to 8 years. Consequently it isn’t a popular program and receives only a few hundred applications per year.
Friday’s announcement was that processing of these applications will be suspended as of July 1st pending a further announcement. The likelihood is that further announcement will mean that the program is either terminated permanently or redesigned to be more appealing. Obviously CIC doesn’t want to face a rush of applications submitted prior to changes being announced so for now that program is on hold. My expectation is that the program will probably be terminated and would-be entrepreneurs might be encouraged to apply under Provincial programs instead. Many Canadian Provinces already have an entrepreneur-style program (sometimes also called Business Plan programs) and generally these off MUCH faster application processing than the Federal Entrepreneur program.
HELP – WHAT SHOULD I DO?
My application has already been submitted:
Regardless of the type of application that you have made if your application has already been submitted you won’t be affected by the changes to the rules. You don’t need to do anything.
You should be aware that in recent months processing times have been slowing down; especially for the Skilled Worker program. In 2009 processing times started off under 6 months in some cases but have been slowly stretching and our current expectation is that Skilled Worker applications submitted in late 2010 or early 2011 could take well over a year to process. We hope that the changes now being introduced will start to have a positive effect on newer applications. The smaller quotas should mean CIC begin to work through backlogs more quickly and processing times will improve.
I am an existing Client of Wildy Immigration but my application is still being prepared:
We will contact you to discuss your case individually if there is any action that we or you need to take. Generally we will be working to get Skilled Worker and Investor applications submitted as quickly as possible within the new quota period (i.e. after July 1st). We will treat applications within occupations that are likely to fill quickly as top priority, especially anyone in NOC code 1122.
For intending Entrepreneur applicants we will be exploring alternative options such as Provincial business class programs.
I am still thinking about applying:
If you are still thinking about applying for immigration to Canada now is the time to start making some decisions. Canada’s immigration programs tighten a little each year and each time that happens the doors are closed to many people who had dreamt of starting a new life in Canada.
If you qualify under the Federal Skilled Worker program or the Investor program right now then to put it simply we recommend you contact us as soon as possible. We would be happy to discuss how we can assist you and provide a quotation for representing you. If you have already received a quotation recently and wish to discuss that please feel free to contact us. The reality is that with the quotas now halved many will fill within the next couple of months. Because of the requirement to pass an IELTS language test before submitting an application and the delay in getting a test date, anyone in a popular occupation category should begin the process immediately or resign to waiting until the summer of 2012 before applying. There is no guarantee however that your occupation will still be on the 2012 list.
Submitting an application does not compel you to move to Canada anytime soon – it simply secures you the right to do so within approximately the next 5 years. Once an application is submitted it could take 1 year to process. Once your Permanent Resident visas are issued you will have close to 1 year to travel to Canada and activate them (this is called the “landing” process). However you can “land” on a holiday to Canada and go back to your home country and continue to live outside Canada for up to 3 years without losing your Permanent Resident status. People applying today therefore have the option to move within approximately 1 to 5 years. Our fees for preparing and submitting your applications and for ongoing advice/representation can be paid by monthly installments if necessary.
If you believe you qualify for other Canadian immigration programs such as provincial or business programs there is less urgency but we would still be happy to discuss your options with you and answer your questions about immigrating to Canada.