Canada Closing in - Immigration Waiting time for Reduced

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced that it is changing the rules for the intake of applications for immigrants under various categories. This is being done with the aim of quickly meeting the country’s labor demands. For prospective immigrants, it translates as reduction in waiting time as this step will reduce the backlog of applications waiting to be processed.

Categories for Immigration: Every year the CIC receives thousands of immigration applications for processing. There are various categories of the immigration applications. Federal skilled worker, Federal investor, entrepreneur and Canadian Experience Class are some of the categories amongst others. You need to identify the category that suits you best and apply through the proper channels in that category. Selecting and applying in the right immigration category naturally enhances the chances of your application being processed faster.

Changes in the Immigration Rules for Federal Skilled Workers: Till last year, the number of applications that would be considered for processing annually in the federal skilled worker category was 20,000. As of 1st July, 2011, this number has been reduced to 10,000. And within the 10,000 limit, a maximum of 500 new applications in each of the 29 priority occupations will be considered. The 29 in-demand occupations include restaurant and food sector, management, insurance, architects, medical and paramedical professionals, psychologists, scientists, social workers, trade persons like carpenters, plumbers and electricians. Because of the reduced limit on number of applications, people who have already applied stand a greater chance of their application being processed quickly. For new immigrants timely filing of the cases is necessary to ensure that the application is received by the CIC, before the maximum limit is reached.

Changes in the Immigration Rules for Federal Investors: People wishing to migrate to Canada as federal investors are required to follow certain guidelines specific to that category. They must have adequate business experience and meet certain criteria of net worth. The CIC requires immigrants in this category to invest a certain amount of money into Canada’s economy and become permanent residents. The CIC will return this investment (without interest) after 5 years and 2 months. A cap of 700 has been put in place for new federal investor applications. This has been done with a view to cutting down the processing time.

Changes in the Immigration Rules for Entrepreneurs: The Entrepreneur Immigration Program of the CIC aims to attract people who will own businesses in Canada, boosting the economy and creating job opportunities for citizens. Currently the waiting period for this category is 8 years. CIC has decided to put this program on hold for the moment. This program is slated to undergo review soon to make it more immigrant friendly.