On Monday, June 16, 2008, the proposed immigration changes received the third and final reading in the House of Commons. Despite objections to the contents of the proposed legislation, the opposition did not vote against the Conservative government’s bill in order to avoid triggering an unwanted election. Consequently, the proposed changes appear destined to become law in the foreseeable future. The Minister will then be able to dictate which professions in the skilled worker category in the Canadian Immigration process can receive faster processing regardless of when the applications were received. Once the Minister has announced which professions will be processed faster, we will have a clearer picture of the impact the new legislation will have on processing applications for Canadian Immigration as a whole.

Immigrating to Canada? Visit www.akcanada.com for more information or a free assessment.

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, marked the first anniversary of the launch of the Foreign Credentials Referral Office (FCRO) by announcing new funding as well as plans to expand its overseas services.

To date, more than 2,000 people have participated in the overseas orientation sessions and more than 3,000 are registered in these countries. These sessions help individuals selected under the federal skilled worker category to understand the requirements of the labour market in Canada, including the foreign credential recognition processes, while they are still overseas. The sessions are currently delivered by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges’ Canadian Immigration Integration Project.

The expansion of FCRO services is part of a broader effort to assist newcomers as early as practical in the immigration process. Plans are under way to offer in-person services overseas to more prospective immigrants, including skilled workers, and to provide them earlier in the process so that people can settle more quickly once they arrive in Canada.

Immigrating to Canada? Visit www.akcanada.com for more information or a free assessment.

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration for Canada and the Honourable Patrick Rouble, Minister of Education for Yukon, announced in May the new Agreement for Canada Yukon Cooperation on Immigration and launched a new immigration Web portal for the territory.

The new agreement helps strengthen the partnership between the two governments to encourage immigration to Yukon. The immigration agreement enhances cooperation between Canada and Yukon in overseas promotion and recruitment activities to help attract skilled immigrants, temporary workers and students; allows Yukon to nominate more immigrants, like with many provinces, with specific skills to respond to the territory’s labour market needs, for quicker processing by the federal government; commits the two governments to working together to secure better recognition of foreign qualifications and faster integration of immigrants into the labour market.

The new territorial Web portal complements the agreement by enhancing online content, tools and services for newcomers. The portal will serve to promote the territory as a destination of choice, and help immigrants settle and prosper in the region.

Immigrating to Canada? Visit www.akcanada.com for more information or a free assessment.

Many people that I have spoken with over the years are under the misapprehension that as soon as someone marries a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, that confers special status on the foreign spouse. Marriage to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada confers no immediate status on anyone. Once married, it is necessary for the Canadian to apply to sponsor his/her spouse to become a Canadian citizen in order to obtain permanent resident status for the spouse. A permanent resident of Canada must be residing inside in Canada in order to commence the spousal application for Canadian immigration. The Canadian citizen may be residing abroad when the application to sponsor is filed as long as evidence of his/her intention to return to Canada is included with the application once the spouse’s visa has been issued.

Immigrating to Canada? Visit www.akcanada.com for more information or a free assessment.