Canada - Action plan for faster Immigration!!!

As per an official News Release – Government of Canada is taking drastic steps to create a fast and flexible immigration system that creates jobs and promotes Canada’s long term prosperity, the Government of Canada will eliminate the backlog in the main federal economic immigration program.

“The Federal Skilled Worker Program backlog is a major roadblock to Canada’s ability to respond to rapidly changing labour market needs,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. “Having to process applications that are as many as eight years out of date reduces our ability to focus on new applicants with skills and talents that our economy needs today.”

As announced in Economic Action Plan 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada is planning to refund fees and return stale applications from nearly all those applicants who applied under the dated criteria in existence before February 27, 2008.

CIC is transforming its suite of economic immigration programs to create a system that fast tracks immigration, and gets immigrants working in a period of months, not years. Eliminating the longstanding backlog of FSW applications will allow the Department to focus resources on facilitating the arrival of skilled immigrants who apply under the current eligibility criteria.

Over the last decade, the number of FSW applications received has greatly exceeded the space available within the Immigration Levels Plan each year, resulting in long processing times and an increasing inventory. Under the 2008 Action Plan for Faster Immigration, CIC began to limit intake to priority occupations. The Department added caps to the number of new applications in 2010. As a result of these efforts, CIC has reduced the pre-2008 backlog by more than 50 percent, and the overall FSW inventory by over 25 percent. However, without further action, some FSW applicants might have to wait until 2017 for a decision.

“It’s unreasonable to keep applicants waiting for another five years,” said Minister Kenney. “It’s also a far cry from the nimble and responsive immigration system Canada needs to remain a destination of choice.”

The above stated action plan though is a bad news for applicants who had applied for Canadian Skilled Worker Immigration before 28^th February 2008; but it is very good news for the new potential applicants. By doing away with the big backlog, CIC will be able to process current new applications in matter of months. So the potential new applicants will be in Canada in matter of a year or so rather than waiting for number of years and that in uncertainty of processing time and decision on applications as was the case with previous applicants.

The Minister of Canadian Immigration has already announced that the Language Standard for professionals is to be elevated, hence, the potential applicants are advised not to wait till the revised required scores levels are published on CIC website, they should practice and try to get all high band scores (at least 7 band on each of the module of IELTS.) This would help them to be ready with all the documents and English Language evidence (IELTS), before 1^st July 2012; the time new Occupations List will be introduced and the authorities will start accepting new applications under new List of Occupations. The Minister has also announced that the new applicants must get their educational credentials assessed and submit assessment reports with their applications. Currently one of the main assessment body recognized for such assessments is WES http://www.wes.org/. The potential applicants are advised to check out the requirements of assessment and keep all possible documents etc..ready, so that they could immediately apply for credential assessments when official instructions, requirements, format etc.. are announced. One may be proactive and get the credential assessed now, but the minor risk is that the Minister may announce some changes to the assessment process and requirements as well at the later stage. The potential applicants must know that for past two years CIC had introduced cap to limit the number of applications which were to be accepted for processing. In all probability, cap with limited quota of new applications will be set this year as well. The potential applicants, ready with all the documents and language results (IELTS or TEF) as per requirement, will have good chance of submitting their case at the earliest and get them accepted for processing. Delay would cause missing opportunity this year and wait for next time and who knows as per next year’s immigration  policy amendments one would qualify for the immigration or not! All is not lost for the pre-C50 bill applicants whose applications may be returned!!! They must submit new applications under new rules (if they qualified), as they can be sure of fast track process of their new cases!