On Tuesday, February 11, 2014, the Government of Canada delivered its Budget, wherein it announced its intent to eliminate both the Federal Immigrant Investor Program and Federal Entrepreneur Program. By doing so, the Government of Canada’s goal is to eradicate a large and longstanding backlog of applications, and pave the way for new pilot programs that it claims will actually meet Canada’s labour market and economic needs.

According to the Government of Canada, the current Immigrant Investor Program provides limited economic benefit to Canada. The Government states that research has shown that immigrant investors pay less in taxes than other economic immigrants, are less likely to stay in Canada over the medium- to long-term and often lack the skills, including official language proficiency, to integrate as well as other immigrants from the same countries.

By eliminating both the Federal Immigrant Investor Program and Federal Entrepreneur Program – and the associated backlog of applications – the Government states that it will be able to focus on attracting experienced business people and raising investment capital that is of maximum benefit to Canada’s economy.

The Government of Canada states that it will replace these programs with more focused and effective pilot programs that will ensure that immigrants who come to Canada deliver meaningful benefits to our economy. Details of the new pilots will be announced in the coming months.

If you are an existing client of Abrams & Krochak and have applied for Permanent Residence in Canada as either an Investor or Entrepreneur and your case is still in process, please monitor this blog as Abrams & Krochak will post further information about the elimination of the Investor and Entrepreneur categories (and how it will affect your Application in process) once further information becomes available from Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

On February 3, 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced that the 2014 quota of 5,000 new Parent/Grandparent Sponsorship Applications had been met. No new Applications will be accepted for processing until January 2015, at which time it is anticipated that the quota will be raised from 5,000 new Applications to 20,000 new Applications. Further details will be released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada closer to that date.

In the interim, and as an alternative to being sponsored, parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens/permanent residents still have the option of applying for a “Parent and Grandparent Super Visa,” which will be valid for up to ten (10) years. The multiple-entry visa allows an applicant to remain in Canada for up to twenty-four (24) months at a time without the need for renewal of their status. The Parent and Grandparent Super Visa came into effect on December 1, 2011, and Citizenship and Immigration Canada will be able to issue the visas, on average, within eight (8) weeks of the application.

After a more than two (2) year moratorium on new Applications, which took effect on November 5, 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will resume accepting applications of Canadian citizens/permanent residents, wishing to sponsor their parents and grandparents to immigrate to Canada, on January 2, 2014.

Application forms, guides and information on how to apply to the new Parent Grandparent Sponsorship Program became available, today, Tuesday, December 31, 2013.

The relaunched Parent Grandparent Sponsorship Program differs from the old in several respects:

1. The sponsorship undertaking period has been lengthened from ten (10) years to twenty (20) years.

2. The minimum necessary income to sponsor has been increased from “low income cutoff” to “low income cutoff + 30%”.

3. The period for demonstrating the minimum necessary income has been increased from one (1) year to three (3) years.

4. Income evidence has been limited to official documentation from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

5. Immigration officials have the authority to request updated evidence of income.

6. A maximum of 5,000 new complete Applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents will be accepted, beginning January 2, 2014.

Because of the quota and the high demand for this category, individuals who are interested in sponsoring their parents and grandparents to immigrate to Canada with Abrams & Krochak’s assistance are encouraged to contact the law firm at http://www.akcanada.com/contact.cfm with a request for assistance as soon as they can or to complete Abrams & Krochak’s Parent Grandparent Sponsorship Program Online Eligibility Assessment Questionnaire at http://www.akcanada.com/assessment4.cfm.

May we take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very Happy New Year!

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has announced that new Kits and Application forms for the Federal Skilled Worker Program, which reopens on May 4, 2013, will be released and available to the public later today, May 3, 2013.

Once these new Kits and forms become available, they will be sent to all of Abrams & Krochak’s Federal Skilled Worker clients who meet the new eligibility requirements to take effect on May 4, 2013.

If you have not received an e-mail from Abrams & Krochak by 12:00 noon, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT-4) on Saturday, May 4, 2013, with the new Kit and forms, please send an e-mail to info@akcanada.com with a request for same.