EXPRESS ENTRY

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has implemented a new method of processing candidates for Immigration to Canada in the Federal Skilled Worker Class, the Federal Skilled Trades Class, the Canadian Experience Class and a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program called “Express Entry”, which will take effect on January 1, 2015. The Express Entry system involves two (2) steps:

Step 1 – Completion of Online Express Entry Profile

Candidates will complete an Online Express Entry profile. This is a secure form that gathers information about their:

• skills,
• work experience,
• language ability,
• education, and
• other details that will help Citizenship and Immigration Canada assess their eligibility.

Those who meet Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s criteria will be accepted into a pool of candidates.

Anyone who does not already have a job offer supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) (if needed) or a nomination from a province or territory, must register with Employment and Social Development Canada’s (ESDC) Job Bank. Job Bank will eventually help connect Express Entry candidates with eligible employers in Canada.

Candidates are also encouraged to promote themselves to employers in other ways, such as using job boards, recruiters etc.

In most cases when there is a job being offered to a candidate, employers will need an LMIA from ESDC. The LMIA process ensures employers have made an effort to hire Canadians for available jobs. There will be no LMIA government fee for Permanent Resident Applications.

Step 2 – Highest Ranking Candidates in the Pool Will Be Invited to Apply for Permanent Residence

Candidates will be ranked against others in the pool using a point-based system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS will assess the profile information candidates submit, including:

• skills,
• work experience,
• language ability,
• education and other factors.

A candidate can get additional points for:

• a job offer supported by an LMIA, or
• a nomination by a province or territory

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will choose candidates from the pool through regular “draws”, choosing a pre-determined number of candidates with the highest scores from the pool and inviting them to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada.

Draws will be made from the Express Entry pool on a regular basis. Every draw will have a set of instructions the electronic system will use to draw candidates from the pool. These instructions will be posted on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website before each draw.

These instructions will include:

• the date of the next draw,
• the number of candidates that will get an Invitation To Apply, and
• if it applies, which specific Immigration program(s) will be included in the draw.

If the instructions do not specify which Immigration program the candidates must be eligible for, the draw will be based on the CRS score.

If someone is invited to apply, they will have sixty (60) days to submit an online Application for Permanent Residence.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada will process the majority of complete Applications (meaning those with all the necessary supporting documents) in six (6) months or less.

Candidates can stay in the pool for up to twelve (12) months. If they do not get an Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence within twelve (12) months of submitting an Express Entry profile, they may submit a new profile. If they still meet the criteria, they can re-enter the pool. This will prevent backlogs and ensure quick processing times.

HOW ABRAMS & KROCHAK CAN HELP YOU – OUR SERVICES

To have your eligibility to immigrate to Canada under the Express Entry system assessed by Abrams & Krochak, please visit http://www.akcanada.com/assessment1.cfm.  You will receive your assessment within one (1) business day.

If you become a client of Abrams & Krochak, the law firm can help you at both Step 1 and Step 2 of the Application process.

Step 1 – Requirements to Complete Online Express Entry Profile and Abrams & Krochak’s Assistance

(i) You must undergo formal language testing by a language testing agency designated by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and achieve minimum scores mandated by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Abrams & Krochak will provide you with detailed information regarding which agencies are authorized to test your language abilities; where their offices are located; what fees are involved; which test dates are available; what scores are required; and where to send the test results.

(ii) You must have your educational credentials assessed against Canadian standards by an agency designated by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Abrams & Krochak will provide you with detailed information regarding which agencies are authorized to assess your educational credentials; where their offices are located; what supporting documentation is required; what fees are involved; and where to send the assessment results.

(iii) You must ensure that your work experience is in accordance with Canada’s National Occupational Classification system, Skill Types 0, A or B.

Abrams & Krochak will review your employment history and work with you to ensure that your stated work experience is in accordance with Canada’s National Occupational Classification system, Skill Types 0, A or B. Abrams & Krochak will do so by providing you with Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s job definition for your stated occupation(s) and reviewing the associated job duties and responsibilities with you to ensure that they apply to you.

(iv) You must ensure that the information you provide in your Online Express Entry Profile is accurate.

Abrams & Krochak will review your supporting documentation, pertaining to such things as your education and work experience, and cross-reference the information in your documents to the information that you provide in your Online Express Entry Profile to ensure that the information provided to Citizenship and Immigration Canada in the Online Express Entry Profile is accurate.

THIS SERVICE IS EXTEREMELY IMPORTANT! IF CANDIDATES MISREPRESENT THEIR QUALIFICATIONS TO CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA (WHETHER DELIBERATELY OR INADVERTENTLY), THEY RUN THE RISK OF BEING FOUND INADMISSIBLE FOR MISREPRESENTATION AND BARRED FOR FIVE (5) YEARS FROM APPLYING FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE.

Step 2 – Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence and Abrams & Krochak’s Assistance

If you receive an Invitation to Apply for Permanent Residence, Abrams & Krochak will assist you, further, by providing you with the following additional services:

• Preparation and computer generation of any Application forms required for electronic transmission to you for your review and approval prior to our submission of them to Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials;
• Organization, review and analysis of your documentation to be filed with Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials in support of your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada;
• Drafting of detailed written, legal arguments for electronic transmission to you for your review and approval prior to our submission of them to Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials in support of your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada (where necessary);
• Provision of Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s definition(s) of your stated occupation(s) to assist you with the procurement of letters of reference in support of your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada as required by Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials;
• Review and critique of your draft letters of reference;
• Regular monitoring of the status of your file and follow up, when necessary, with Citizenship and Immigration Canada officials regarding the status of your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada;
• Regular monitoring of the status of your file and follow up, when necessary, with other concerned departments of the Government of Canada (i.e. Immigration Health Services/Case Management Branch-Immigration Headquarters) regarding the status of your Application for Permanent Residence in Canada;
• Assistance and advice in preparation for your interview with visa officials (should an interview be necessary) by providing you with sample interview questions for your responses and Abrams & Krochak’s subsequent review and analysis;
• Assistance to procure employment in Canada;
• Assistance to find accommodation and schooling for your children (if applicable) upon your arrival in Canada; and
• Assistance with applying for health care and social insurance upon your arrival in Canada.

We invite all clients to meet with us, personally, at our offices in Toronto after their arrival in Canada so as to enable us to help ensure that their move to this country is problem-free.

If you are not nominated to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada under the Express Entry system OR if your educational/professional credentials are not favourably assessed by the Canadian foreign credentials assessment agency, Abrams & Krochak will work with you to explore other options to make your proposed Canadian Immigration plans a success (i.e. Arranged Employment/Provincial Nominee Programs/Temporary Visas (i.e. Work Permits/Study Permits), etc.).

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, 2015.

Application forms, guides and information on how to apply to the Parent/Grandparent Sponsorship Program became available this week.

Highlights of the Parent/Grandparent Sponsorship Program include:

1. The sponsorship undertaking period is twenty (20) years.

2. Sponsors must meet or exceed a minimum necessary income threshold for three (3) consecutive years prior to the date of Sponsorship.

3. Income evidence is limited to official documentation from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

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

5. A maximum of 5,000 new complete Applications for the sponsorship of parents and grandparents will be accepted, beginning January 2, 2015.

Because of the quota and the high demand for this category (it was filled, last year, in just THREE (3) WEEKS), 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.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has just amended its website and has confirmed that, in order for a Federal Skilled Worker Application to be assessed under CURRENT eligibility and selection criteria (i.e. May 1, 2014 General Occupations (Demand) List and 67 point pass mark), the Application MUST be received by Citizenship and Immigration Canada BEFORE January 1, 2015.

July 1 is Canada Day, the national day of Canada. It is a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867 enactment of the British North America Act, 1867 (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united three colonies into a single country called Canada within the British Empire. Originally called Dominion Day, the holiday was renamed in 1982, the year the Canada Act was passed. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as among Canadians internationally.

Because Canada Day is a federal statutory holiday, our offices will be closed on Tuesday, July 1, 2014 but will reopen on Wednesday, July 2, 2014 at 9:00 a.m., Eastern Daylight Time.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our clients a Happy Canada Day and to wish all of our Muslim clients Ramadan Mubarak!