Immigration News


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CITIZENSHIP WEEK: CELEBRATING FREEDOM, RESPECT AND BELONGING

The Honourable Judy Sgro, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, today announced the launch of Canada’s Citizenship Week from October 18–24, 2004. “Citizenship Week is a time to reflect on the values that speak to the heart of being a Canadian,” said Minister Sgro. “Citizenship Week is intended to help remind all Canadians — young and […]

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Temporary Work Permits – Mexico, France and the Philippines Send More Foreign Workers to Canada

In the first quarter, the flow of foreign workers changed little compared to the same period of 2003, dropping 1% to 18,034 people. While some changes in rank occurred, the top ten source countries for foreign workers were the same as in the first quarter of 2003. The United States continued to rank as the […]

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Criminal Record: Check criminal record before checking out Canada

A traveler was surprised recently when he was denied entry from the United States into Canada. The reason: Four years ago, he was convicted in the United States of driving under the influence of alcohol. “I was put on the next plane back home. Sad, humiliating, and I think ridiculous,” says the man, who asked […]

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David Cohen’s Blog: Canada Immigration Attorney David Cohen

I remember, as a child, the sadness in my grandfather as he recounted his sister’s plight. From the safety of Canada, in the late 1930s, he did everything in his power to get his sister out of Poland ahead of the Nazis. He managed to get her to England on a temporary visa while he […]

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Residing in Quebec

Q. My husband and I applied for permanent residency under the federal skilled worker’s program and recently received our passports stamped with the immigrant visas. At the time we applied we were both in US. Since then I have found a job in Quebec and have been working and living in Quebec since July 2003. […]

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News Briefs – Shortage of skilled labour amid housing boom draws international workers

The CREWS program helps employers find skilled workers and bring them to Canada legally. But the program is up for renewal next month and is currently under discussion. ‘We’re back at the table discussing this because we all thought there was merit to the memorandum of understanding,’ says John McVean, a program director with Human […]

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Ottawa eyes amnesty plan for 10,000 illegal workers

An internal government document, obtained under the Access to Information Act, shows that Ottawa has contemplated an amnesty program to grant legal status to at least 10,000 undocumented immigrants living and working in Canada’s vast underground economy. The program, known as ‘special measures,’ was proposed in 2001 but not included in the new Immigration and […]

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Minister’s Permit

Q. I am a British citizen living in the UK and have a PR application in process. However my company have now offered me a position in Canada through the intra-company transferee scheme enabling me to get a work visa. What I’m unsure about though is, will this create any problems for my PR application […]

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News Briefs – Most Immigrants Settled in Cities in Past Decade

Nearly all the immigrants who came to Canada in the 1990s settled in the country’s largest cities, a report says – a large jump over the number who settled in urban centres in the previous decade. About 1.8 million people settled in Canada’s 27 metropolitan areas in the 1990s, Statistics Canada said Wednesday. Toronto, Vancouver […]

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Struggling pupils to get boost from reading and math funds

Karen Grose knows exactly what her downtown Toronto school will do with its share of the $65-million in additional funds announced by the provincial government yesterday to help improve reading and math skills for students from low-income and single-parent families. The former principal of Parkdale Public School said the elementary school will use the money […]

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Minister’s Permit

Q. I wish to have my spouse come to Canada to visit me. I would like to apply for a Minister’s permit for her. How do I go about that? Answer: The Minister’s Permit does not exist since the implementation of the new laws and regulations in June of 2003. These provisions have been replaced […]

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News Briefs – Foreign-born influx affects election

Going into election day, many people anticipated a fierce two-way fight with the Conservative Party in this newly created riding, Mississauga-Brampton South. But as in other ridings across the 905 region, that did not happen. Once again, this vote-rich suburban area that sweeps around Toronto proved almost impenetrable to the Conservative Party, despite it being […]

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Immigrants important to economy, survey finds

While skilled immigrants face great difficulties finding jobs in the Greater Toronto Area, they play an important role in keeping the economy growing, according to a survey of attitudes toward immigration. The Environics survey, commissioned by the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council and to be released today, sought to discover what people living in the […]

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Effect of unemployment

Q. I became unemployed soon after submitting my skilled worker application. How is this going to effect my PR application. Anybody with same situation? Answer: Your application is based on the qualifications that you possessed at the time of the submission of your application. Although unemployment would not necessarily have a negative impact on an […]

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News Briefs – Decrease in refugee applications

The number of foreigners seeking refugee status in Canada dropped so sharply in early 2004 that the year-end total could prove to be the lowest in two decades, internal statistics show. During the first five months of the year, 9,956 people sought asylum inside Canada — a 35% drop from the 15,379 newcomers who filed […]

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Program helps skilled workers gain valuable experience

Don Drummond, chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank, thought “it was the right thing to do” but he was unsure about the advantages when he agreed to give a four-month internship to a recent immigrant to Toronto who had a degree from a Chinese university. But he had no idea how impressed he would be by […]

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Applying for permanent resident status while residing in Canada

Q. My wife and I would like to emigrate to Canada as skilled workers. Can we live in Canada while the paperwork for residency is being processed? Answer: It is possible to reside in Canada while you are in the process of applying for permanent resident status. However, you would be required to obtain the […]

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News Briefs – Hiring of foreign doctors recommended

Hiring international medical graduates is a key to solving a doctor shortage in Ontario that has reached “unprecedented proportions,” a report by the College of Physicians and Surgeons says. Over the past five years, the college representing Ontario doctors has registered 800 international medical graduates, but there needs to be more, says the 19-page discussion […]

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Quebec to increase immigration

Quebec Immigration Minister Michelle Courchesne announced Thursday an ambitious, three-year plan to slowly increase the number of immigrants to the province by 2007, to better prepare them for the job market and to encourage employers – especially in the regions, outside Montreal – to hire them. The $35-million strategy follows weeks of National Assembly hearings […]

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Adding a new family member

Q. I applied under the skilled worker group in 2000 when I had only one son. I have just been written to go for medicals but my family has increased by one. Do I include him for the medical or have to apply for him separately? Answer: In the case that an change to your […]

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News Briefs – Ontario Seeks More Cash to Help Newcomers

The Ontario government has launched a new bid to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government to upgrade language and other services for immigrants in the province. It would take an additional $1.5-billion to bring federal payments to Ontario for immigrants’ services up to the level of funding that Ottawa provides to […]

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Ottawa Improves Efforts to Recognize Foreign Credentials

Immigrants represent an untapped “pot of gold,” the executive director of the Catholic Immigration Centre says. Carl Nicholson said yesterday “there’s a pot of gold waiting for us if we reorganize ourselves to take advantage of this.” And that gold will last well into the future, he added. “What we’re trying to do is to […]

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Delays After Interview

Q. What is the typical duration between a selection interview and the issuance of visas? Answer: after an interview is completed (or an interview waiver has been granted), the process usually enters another phase in which the Canadian Government engages in security background verifications and checks. (Note: sometimes the security background verification phase begins even […]

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