On Monday, December 10, 2012, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced the January 2, 2013 launch of a new Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP).

In order to qualify under the FSTP, applicants will need to:

1. have an offer of employment in Canada or a certificate of qualification from a province or territory to ensure that applicants are “job ready” upon arrival;

2. meet a basic language requirement;

3. have a minimum of two years of work experience as a skilled tradesperson, to ensure that the applicant has recent and relevant practice as a qualified journeyman; and

4. have the skills and experience that match those set out in the National Occupational Classification (NOC B) system, showing that they have performed the essential duties of the occupation.

In order to manage intake, avoid backlogs and ensure fast processing times, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will accept up to a maximum of 3,000 applications in the first year of the FSTP.

Eligible occupations will include electricians, welders, heavy-duty equipment mechanics, and pipefitters, among others. CIC is currently working with the provinces, territories and federal government partners on the list of skilled trades’ occupations that are experiencing acute labour shortages and which will qualify under the program. This list will be announced prior to the program opening on January 2, 2013.

More details, regarding the FSTP, will be published on Abrams & Krochak’s website, once the information becomes available from CIC.

On Friday, August 17, 2012, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced proposed regulatory changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Class and Canadian Experience Class as well as the creation of the Federal Skilled Trades Class. All of these changes will take effect on January 1, 2013.

FEDERAL SKILLED WORKER CLASS

Among the changes announced by the Minister are:

• Increasing the importance of language by establishing new minimum official language thresholds and increasing the points awarded for “Language” from 24 to 28 points;

• Increasing the emphasis on younger immigrants by increasing the points awarded for “Age” from 10-12 points and awarding maximum points to applicants between the ages of 18-35;

• Increasing the points awarded for Canadian work experience and reducing the points awarded for foreign work experience from 21 to 15 points;

• Simplifying the arranged employment process; and

• Awarding points for spousal language ability and Canadian experience.

Another change announced by the Minister is the creation of the “Educational Credential Assessment”. As of January 2013, all Federal Skilled Worker Class applicants will have to have their education abroad assessed against Canadian education standards by designated organizations chosen by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). CIC will then award points according to how an applicant’s foreign educational credential compares to a completed educational credential in Canada.

FEDERAL SKILLED TRADES CLASS

Also announced by the Minister was the creation of the Federal Skilled Trades Class to facilitate the immigration of certain skilled tradespersons in Canada, in response to labour market needs. The Class would be open to skilled tradespersons with experience in the following occupational areas: Industrial, Electrical and Construction Trades; Maintenance and Equipment Operation Trades; Supervisors and Technical Occupations in Natural Resources, Agriculture and Related Production; Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities Supervisors and Central Control Operators; as well as Chefs and Cooks, and Bakers and Butchers.

Applicants to the proposed program would be required to meet four (4) minimum requirements:

1. A qualifying offer of employment from up to two (2) employers in Canada of at least one (1) year duration or a Certificate of Qualification from a provincial or territorial Apprenticeship Authority;

2. Language proficiency, as evidenced by a test from a designated language testing organization that demonstrates the applicant’s abilities in the requisite skill areas meet the threshold set by the Minister in all four (4) language abilities (speaking, reading, writing, oral comprehension);

3. Twenty-four (24) months of work experience (after qualification/certification in the country where the work was performed, where applicable) in the same skilled trade in the last five (5) years; and

4. Qualifications that satisfy employment requirements as described by the National Occupational Classification, except for certification and licensing requirements, which are difficult to obtain outside Canada.

CANADIAN EXPERIENCE CLASS

The Minister announced that the Canadian work experience requirement will be reduced from twenty-four (24) months to twelve (12) in the preceding thirty-six (36) months. Only applicants with managerial/professional/technical/skilled trade work experience would continue to qualify for the Canadian Experience Class (CEC).

Furthermore, just as will be the case with the Federal Skilled Worker Class, a minimum language threshold will be required in each of the four (4) abilities for applicants to the CEC. Initially, it is anticipated that the threshold would be set at “moderate intermediate proficiency” in speaking, oral comprehension, reading and writing for applicants with managerial/professional/technical work experience and “low intermediate” proficiency in each ability for applicants with skilled trade work experience.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

If you are an existing Federal Skilled Worker Class client of Abrams & Krochak who has not yet applied for Permanent Residence, your qualifications will be subject to the revised points grid/selection criteria and you will have to have your foreign educational credentials assessed. Likewise, if you are a skilled tradesperson, you might qualify in the new Federal Skilled Trades Class. If you have questions regarding the status of your Application, please send us an e-mail to info@akcanada.com.

If you are not yet a client of Abrams & Krochak but wish to become one and have not yet had your eligibility to apply for Permanent Residence in Canada in the Federal Skilled Worker Class assessed by the firm, please visit http://www.abramsandkrochak.com/skilled-worker for your free eligibility assessment. If you have already received a favourable Federal Skilled Worker Class eligibility assessment from the firm, please send an e-mail to askus@akcanada.com and Abrams & Krochak will be more than happy to reassess your eligibility and, if favourable, represent you on the understanding that your Application for Permanent Residence cannot be filed until January 2013 at the earliest, and on the assumption that your eligibility to immigrate is not adversely affected by the possible publication of an Occupational Demand List and your occupation(s) do(es) not appear on the List. In the event that your eligibility to immigrate IS adversely affected, 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.).

With all of the changes taking place with respect to Canada’s Immigration system and all of the uncertainty that these changes have caused, one thing is certain: Now more than ever it is wise to have legal representation to help you understand and navigate the complex Canadian Immigration Application process.

Today, Thursday, June 28, 2012, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney made a major announcement in a speech he gave to the C.D. Howe Institute in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Prior to today’s announcement, Citizenship and Immigration Canada had indicated that if a new General Occupations (Demand) List for the Federal Skilled Worker Class was not released on July 1, 2012 (as had been promised), the quotas for jobs on the existing General Occupations (Demand) List would reset to zero. Instead of releasing a new List and/or resetting the quotas, Minister Kenney today announced that Citizenship and Immigration Canada will place a temporary pause on new Federal Skilled Worker Applications as well as new Investor Applications and would continue the moratorium on new Entrepreneur Applications.

According to the Minister, the pause will allow Citizenship and Immigration Canada to make what it considers to be important changes to its economic immigration programs before accepting more Applications.

Application intake for the Federal Skilled Worker Class is expected to resume in January 2013, when proposed Federal Skilled Worker Class regulatory changes are expected to come into force. Those changes will be announced in the coming months. The pause does NOT apply to individuals with Arranged Employment or those wishing to apply under the PhD stream of the Federal Skilled Worker Class. Those Applications will continue to be accepted.

As for new Investor and Entrepreneur Applications, a moratorium will remain in place until further notice.

What does this mean?

If you are an existing client of Abrams & Krochak who has not yet applied for Permanent Residence and were expecting to have your Federal Skilled Worker, Investor or Entrepreneur Application filed on or after July 1, 2012, your Application will likely not be filed until January 2013, assuming you meet the new selection criteria that will be set out in regulatory changes. If you have questions regarding the status of your Application, please send us an e-mail to info@akcanada.com.

If you are not yet a client of Abrams & Krochak but wish to become one and you have received a favourable eligibility assessment from the firm, please send an e-mail to askus@akcanada.com and Abrams & Krochak will be more than happy to represent you on the understanding that your Application for Permanent Residence cannot be filed until January 2013 at the earliest, and on the assumption that your eligibility to immigrate is not adversely affected by regulatory changes. In the event that your eligibility to immigrate IS adversely affected, 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.).

With all of the changes taking place with respect to Canada’s Immigration system and all of the uncertainty that these changes have caused, one thing is certain: Now more than ever it is wise to have legal representation to help you understand and navigate the complex Canadian Immigration Application process.

On March 29, 2012, the Government of Canada announced that it will reduce the backlog of Federal Skilled Worker Applications. To achieve this goal, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will return all Federal Skilled Worker Applications for Permanent Residence filed prior to February 27, 2008, unprocessed, together with applicants’ government fees.

By adopting this strategy, the Government of Canada will reduce the Federal Skilled Worker Class backlog by nearly 300,000 Applications, leaving approximately 160,000 Federal Skilled Worker Applications, filed after February 27, 2008, in the processing queue. According to the Government of Canada, the plan will ultimately allow the government to ensure skilled newcomers actually meet current labour market needs and processing times for the Federal Skilled Worker Class will be reduced dramatically to a maximum of six (6) to twelve (12) months, regardless of the applicant’s country of origin.

While the news is good for those whose Federal Skilled Worker Applications were filed after February 27, 2008, the news is obviously not good for those who filed prior to February 27, 2008 and who have been patiently waiting for years. Notwithstanding this fact, once these applicants are returned their Applications and their government fees, nothing precludes them from reapplying for Permanent Residence in Canada either as Federal Skilled Workers (assuming they meet current eligibility requirements and selection criteria) or in any other Canadian Immigration program (i.e. Provincial Nominee Programs, the Business Class, etc.).

Within the coming weeks, Abrams & Krochak will be contacting all of its clients who filed Federal Skilled Worker Applications for Permanent Residence in Canada prior to February 27, 2008 with further details/instructions as more information becomes available from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. In the interim, those individuals are encouraged to regularly visit our website for any announcements from Citizenship and Immigration Canada that may be of benefit to them should they wish to reapply. Similarly, if they wish to have their eligibility to reapply for Permanent Residence in Canada assessed by Abrams & Krochak, they are encouraged to visit http://www.abramsandkrochak.com.