Devido ao feriado prolongado (Victoria Day), informamos que o CAIS estará fechado na sexta-feira, dia 18 de Maio.

Retomaremos nossas atividades normalmente na próxima sexta-feira, dia 25 de maio.

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Na próxima sexta-feira (santa) dia 06 de Abril, NÃO HAVERÁ a Roda de Convívio do CAIS. Estaremos fechados devido ao feriado.
Retomaremos nossas atividades normalmente dia 13 de Abril.
Lembrando também que a próxima consultoria de imigração acontecerá no dia 20 de Abril.

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Ottawa, March 2, 2012 — Canada  continued to welcome a high number of immigrants in 2011, according to  preliminary data released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) today.

Canada welcomed  248,660 permanent residents in 2011, well within the Government’s planning  range of 240,000 to 265,000 new permanent residents for the year and consistent  with the average of about a quarter of a million immigrants admitted to Canada  annually since 2006 – the highest sustained level of immigration in Canadian  history.

“Canada’s  per-capita immigration rate remains one of the highest in the world,” said  Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.  “Immigration has always been a sustaining feature of Canada’s history and  continues to play an important role in building our country.”

In 2011, Canada welcomed  156,077 economic immigrants and 56,419 family class immigrants.

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Toronto, March 2, 2012 — The Government of Canada has put in place a bar on sponsorship in an  ongoing effort to deter people from using a marriage of convenience to come to  Canada, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney  announced today.

Regulatory changes now in force mean sponsored  spouses or partners will have to wait five years from the day they are granted  permanent residence status in Canada to sponsor a new spouse or partner. Until  now, a sponsored spouse or partner arriving in Canada as a permanent resident  could leave their sponsor and sponsor another spouse or partner themselves,  while their original sponsor was still financially responsible for them for up  to three years.

“I held town hall meetings across the country to  hear from victims of marriage fraud,” said Minister Kenney. “In addition to the  heartbreak and pain that came from being lied to and deceived, these people  were angry. They felt they had been used as a way to get to Canada. We’re  taking action because immigration to Canada should not be built upon deceit.”

Minister Kenney was joined by representatives of  Canadians Against Immigration Fraud (CAIF) at today’s announcement.

“We welcome  the steps taken by the Honourable Jason Kenney to stop marriage fraud,” said  Sam S. Benet, President of CAIF. “These measures  will definitely protect the integrity of our immigration system.”

Spousal sponsorship is open to  abuse when a person enters into a relationship – such as a marriage or a common  law partnership – in order to circumvent Canada’s immigration law. Concerned  with the problem, the  Minister held online consultations in the fall of 2010 to gather public opinion  and ideas on how to best address marriage fraud.

“Many of  the people who took part in the consultations made it abundantly clear that  marriage fraud poses a significant threat to our immigration system,” added  Minister Kenney. “Our government  has listened to the victims of marriage fraud and all Canadians, and acted to  crack down on those who engage in fraud and abuse Canadians’ generosity and our  immigration system.”

Barring such sponsorships is consistent with  similar restrictions imposed by Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

The proposal for a five-year  sponsorship bar was prepublished in the Canada  Gazette on April 2, 2011, and was open for a 30-day public comment period. The changes coming into force today, March 2, are posted on  Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s website and will be published in Part II of the Canada Gazette on March  14, 2012.

To  show it is serious about cracking down on marriage fraud, CIC is taking a  number of steps to deter it. For example, in addition to the sponsorship bar, further  public consultations are also expected to begin in  the coming weeks on a  proposed conditional permanent residence measure. A Notice  of Intent proposing the development of this  conditional measure was published in the Canada  Gazette on March 26, 2011. The measure aims to deter people in newer relationships  from using their relationship to gain quick entry to Canada as permanent  residents when they have no intention of staying with their sponsor.

In  addition, legislation to crack down on crooked consultants came into force in  June 2011 and last spring, CIC launched an anti-fraud campaign, which will be  relaunched this month. This includes a short video warning people not to be  duped into committing marriage fraud. The video directs people to a special  link on the CIC website (www.cic.gc.ca/antifraud)  to find out how to immigrate to Canada the right way.

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Toronto, March 1, 2012 - In a  keynote address to the National Metropolis Conference today, Citizenship,  Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney outlined his vision for  a faster, more responsive immigration system that better meets Canada’s  economic needs.

“Immigration is playing an increasingly important  role in our economy and we need a system that does a better job of attracting  the people who have the skills that are in demand and getting them here  quickly,” said Minister Kenney. “We have made some great strides towards an  immigration system that is fast and flexible, but know that there is more work  to do.”

In his speech, the Minister highlighted recent  changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program, where current applicants must  have experience in one of 29 occupations in demand, or have a job offer in  Canada.

He also noted the growing success of the Canadian  Experience Class, which allows certain foreign students and temporary foreign  workers to translate their Canadian work and education experience into  permanent residence. And he lauded the growth of provincial and territorial  nominee programs, noting the role they have played in spreading the benefits of  immigration across the country and addressing long-term regional labour needs.

While recognizing these improvements, the Minister  indicated that more challenges lie ahead in seeing his vision realized. He  noted, for instance, that the current points system used to assess federal  skilled worker applicants needs to be more flexible and intelligent. It should  place greater emphasis on the importance of language, he said, while  recognizing that the language ability needed to successfully integrate in  Canada is different for a doctor as opposed to a welder. It should also place  greater emphasis on younger workers with high quality credentials that can be  recognized quickly.

The Minister pledged to do a better job of  attracting entrepreneurs and investors to Canada, noting that we lag behind the  U.S., where half of the top 50 venture-capital backed companies are founded by  immigrants.

While noting progress to date, he also promised to  do more to reduce the legacy of backlogs, where there are wait times of seven  years or longer in some categories.

“It makes no sense to tell people ‘apply now, but  put your life on hold for a few years before we’ll even let you know if you  qualify,’” said the Minister. “I will continue to make changes to create a  faster, more flexible immigration system. Canadians need and deserve a system  that boldly puts Canada’s best interests first.”

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Ottawa, February 16, 2012 — Legislation to protect the  integrity of Canada’s immigration system was introduced today by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason  Kenney.

The proposed measures include  further reforms to the asylum system to make it faster and fairer, measures to  address human smuggling, and the authority to make it mandatory to provide  biometric data with a temporary resident visa application.

Canadians take  great pride in the generosity and compassion of our immigration and refugee  programs. But they have no tolerance for those who abuse our generosity and  seek to take unfair advantage of our country, said Minister Kenney.

The new bill, Protecting  Canada’s Immigration System Act, proposes changes that build on reforms to  the asylum system passed in June 2010 as part of the Balanced Refugee Reform Act.

The proposed measures would  provide faster protection to those who genuinely need refuge, and faster  removal for those who don’t.

In particular, refugee claimants  from generally non-refugee-producing countries such as most of those in the  European Union (EU) would be processed, on average, in 45 days compared to more  than 1,000 days under the current system, or 171 days under the Balanced  Refugee Reform Act.

“It has become clear that there are gaps in  the Balanced Refugee Reform Act and we  need stronger measures that are closer to the original refugee bill we tabled  back in March 2010,” said Minister Kenney. “Canada receives more refugee claims from Europe than from  Africa or Asia. Last year alone, 23% of all refugee claims made in Canada were  made by nationals from the EU. That’s up from 14% the previous year. This  growing trend threatens the integrity of our immigration system.”

In recent years over 95% of EU claims were withdrawn, abandoned or  rejected. If that trend continues, that means that the unfounded claims from  the 5,800 EU nationals who sought asylum last year will cost Canadian taxpayers  nearly $170 million.

“Too many tax dollars are spent on bogus refugees. We need to send a  message to those who would abuse Canada’s generous asylum system that if you  are not in need of protection, you will be sent home quickly,” added Minister  Kenney.

With the Balanced Refugee Reform Act and today’s legislation, the provinces  and territories are expected to save in the range of $1.65 billion over five  years in social assistance and education costs.

Most of the provisions in the former Preventing Human Smugglers from Abusing  Canada’s Immigration System Act (Bill C-4) have also been included in this  new bill, with one modification. Minors  under the age of 16 would be exempt from the detention proposals designed to  deal with all mass arrivals from human smuggling operations.

Our Government is sending  a clear message that our doors are open to those who play by the rules, including  legitimate refugees. However, we will crack down on those who endanger human  lives and threaten the integrity of our borders, said Minister Kenney. Human  smuggling is a despicable crime and Canadians think it’s unacceptable for  criminals to abuse Canada’s  immigration system for financial gain.

Mandatory  detention remains for people who enter Canada as part of a designated smuggling  event. But once the identity of a claimant has been established and a refugee  claim is approved, individuals would be released from detention.

The final component of the new legislation would give  the Minister the authority to make it mandatory for visa applicants to provide  biometric data (i.e., fingerprints, photograph) to visit Canada. Documents can  be forged or stolen, whereas biometric data provide greater certainty, confirming  the identity of applicants when they apply.

Biometrics will be an important new tool to help  protect the safety and security of Canadians by reducing identity fraud and  identity theft, said Minister Kenney. As fraudsters become more  sophisticated, biometrics will improve our ability to keep violent criminals and  those who pose a threat to Canada  out. In short, biometrics will strengthen the integrity of Canada’s  immigration system while helping facilitate legitimate travel.

These measures would put us in line with international  partners such as the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, and the  United States. This would help prevent known criminals, failed refugee  claimants and deportees from using a fake identity to obtain a visa. The use of  biometrics would also bolster Canada’s  existing measures to facilitate legitimate travel by providing a fast and  reliable tool for confirming identity.

All these reforms are aimed at deterring abuse of Canada’s generous  immigration and refugee system. With these proposed measures, the integrity of Canada’s immigration  programs and the safety and security of Canadians will be protected.

To maintain the support of Canadians for our generous  immigration and refugee systems, we must demonstrate that Canada has a fair,  well-managed system that does not tolerate queue jumping, concluded Minister  Kenney.”

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Calgary, January 26, 2012 —  The majority of immigrants selected by provinces and territories under the  Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) are succeeding in Canada, according to a newly  released study by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

The PNP is the second largest economic  immigration program after the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP). The  program allows participating provinces and territories to nominate potential  immigrants who they believe will meet their particular economic and labour  market needs. The PNP has grown almost sixfold since 2004 and currently  accounts for over 36,000 new permanent residents per year.

CIC’s evaluation of the PNP focused on the economic  outcomes and mobility of provincial nominees (PNs) admitted between 2005 and  2009. Overall, the report has found that the program is working well, although  there are differences in economic outcomes by province or territory and by PNP stream.  The scope of the study was limited to assessing the PNP from a national  perspective. Provinces and territories are expected to conduct regular  evaluations of their own PNPs.

“Clearly, provincial nominees have strong economic  outcomes and are making a positive contribution to Canada,” said Citizenship,  Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. According to the  report, more than 90 percent of PNs declared employment earnings after one year  in Canada. After three years, their average income ranged between $35,200 and  $45,100. Although results varied by stream and location, about 70 percent of  the PNs surveyed held a job in line with their skills.

CIC’s study confirmed that  the PNP is effective in helping to spread the benefits of immigration across  the country. Today, 26 percent of all economic immigrants are destined for  provinces other than Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, compared to 11 percent  in 1997. However, retention rates of PNs in their province or territory of  nomination vary widely, from 23 percent to 95 percent.

The evaluation also pointed to certain areas of the  PNP in need of improvement, such as some aspects of program design, delivery  and accountability. Currently, each province and territory with a PNP is  responsible for the design and program requirements for their nominee  categories, which must always respect federal immigration regulations. To  ensure better economic outcomes, the report recommends that there be minimum  language standards for all PNs and stronger links between PN occupations and  specific local labour market needs. It also calls for greater clarity in the  roles and responsibilities of the provinces and territories and CIC visa  offices abroad in areas such as fraud detection.

In addition, the report recommends that CIC work  with the provinces and territories to strengthen the focus on the PNP objective  of encouraging the development of official language minority communities. Finally,  the evaluation proposes that a common PNP monitoring and reporting framework be  established to strengthen overall accountability.

“As I’ve said in the past, we are excited about  this program but realize that it needs improvement in key areas,” said Minister  Kenney.

In 2012, CIC plans to admit between 42,000 and 45,000  immigrants under the PNP category, including spouses and dependants. This year,  the provinces and territories will retain the same overall and individual PNP  nomination allotments as in 2011.

CIC completed a similar evaluation  of the FSWP in 2010, which found the program to be highly effective. After  three years in Canada, the average income of FSWs was slightly below that of  their PN counterparts, whereas FSWs with arranged employment offers earned  significantly more. As a result of consultations held  in the spring of 2011, CIC is making further  adjustments to improve the FSWP.

For more information on the PNP evaluation,  please see the attached backgrounder.

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Ottawa, December 15, 2011 —  Live-in caregivers will be able to get open work permits about 18 months  sooner, thanks to a processing change announced today by Citizenship,  Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

“Too many live-in caregivers have completed their  work obligations but must continue living in the home of their employer,  waiting for their application for permanent residence to be reviewed,” said the  Minister. “This is understandably frustrating. That’s why we have started  issuing open work permits to live-in caregivers as soon as they have completed  their obligations and submitted an application for permanent residence.”

The Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) allows Canadian  families to hire workers from abroad to provide care to a child, an elderly  person or an adult with disabilities when there is a demonstrated shortage of  Canadians and permanent residents to fill available positions. Caregivers are  obliged to work for two years, or 3,900 hours, and then become eligible to  apply for permanent residence in Canada.

Until  now, live-in caregivers waited for an initial approval on their application for  permanent residence before being eligible for an open work permit. An open work  permit allows the caregiver to move out of their employer’s home and seek jobs  in other fields, if that is their wish. As of December 11, 2011, all live-in  caregivers who had met their obligations and submitted an application for  permanent residence have had their files reviewed. Those who submitted an open  work permit application with no missing information are being issued open work  permits.

“I’d also like to thank the Toronto Caregiver  Resource Centre for advocating on behalf of caregivers and bringing this  situation to my attention,” the Minister added.

The LCP is a demand-based program and the number of  caregivers accepted as permanent residents generally corresponds with the  number who came to Canada  as temporary foreign workers (TFWs) a few years earlier. For instance, about  4,700 live-in caregivers entered the program as TFWs in 2002, and about 4,500  permanent residents were accepted through the Live-in Caregiver Class in 2005.  More than 7,200 caregivers entered the program in 2005 and about 10,400  individuals, including spouses and dependants of those caregivers, became  permanent residents through the Live-in Caregiver Class three years later.

In 2010, CIC admitted a record number of permanent  residents through the Live-in Caregiver Class—nearly 14,000 in  all—corresponding with the record number of live-in caregivers who entered the  country as TFWs in 2007.

In both 2009 and 2010, about five percent of all  permanent residents to Canada were admitted through the Live-in Caregiver  Class, a huge percentage for any single occupation.

However, the number of caregivers entering the  program has declined every year since 2007.

“The change I have announced today will  help caregivers settle into their new life in Canada while they wait for their  permanent resident applications to be processed,”the Minister added.  “And with the significant improvements being made to our global case  processing system, my department’s officers will be better able to manage the  file load between Canada and missions abroad and improve the efficiency of that  processing.”

The Government of  Canada has taken action to protect live-in caregivers from abuse and  exploitation with regulatory improvements implemented in the Live-in Caregiver  Program in 2010 and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program in 2011. Changes include:

• allowing live-in caregivers to apply for  permanent residence after 3,900 work hours, rather than two years of work, to  ensure overtime is appropriately recognized;
• the elimination of the need for a second  medical examination when the caregiver applies for permanent residence;
• increasing the amount of time a  caregiver has to complete their work obligations, from three years to four;
• the adoption of a standardized  employment contract that ensures both parties agree to the salary, hours of  work, vacation time, overtime, holidays, sick leave, and the terms of  termination and resignation;
• defining the costs the employer is  obliged to pay, including the caregiver’s travel expenses in coming to Canada,  medical insurance, workplace safety insurance and third-party representative  fees;
• emergency processing of work permits and  employer authorizations to hire live-in caregivers who have been abused and  need to leave their employment immediately;
• a dedicated phone service for live-in  caregivers through the department’s Call Centre;
• an assessment of the genuineness of the  job offer, including confirmation that the caregiver would be residing in a  private residence and providing child care, senior home support care or care of  a disabled person in that household without supervision, as well as whether the  employer has sufficient financial resources to pay the wages of the caregiver  and whether the accommodations being provided are adequate; and
• a two-year period of ineligibility from hiring foreign workers,  including live-in caregivers, for employers who have failed to live up to the  terms of past job contracts.

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Montreal, December 9, 2011 — The Government of Canada is now investigating 6,500 people from more than  100 countries for fraudulently attempting to gain citizenship or maintain  permanent resident status, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism  Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

“Canadian citizenship is not for sale,” said  Minister Kenney. “Canadians are generous people, but have no tolerance or  patience for people who don’t play by the rules and who lie or cheat to become  a Canadian citizen.  The Government will  apply the full strength of Canadian law to those who have obtained citizenship  fraudulently.”

In July, Minister Kenney announced that  Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) was beginning the process to revoke  the citizenship of up to 1,800 citizens who obtained it fraudulently; that  number has now risen to more than 2,100.

The Department has also been working on cases of those who  are not yet citizens. Nearly 4,400 people with permanent resident status who  are known to be implicated in residence fraud have been flagged for additional  scrutiny should they attempt to enter Canada or obtain citizenship.   The majority of these individuals are outside the country.

In typical cases, permanent residents will use  the services of an unscrupulous immigration consultant to establish evidence of  residence in Canada  while living abroad most, if not all, of the time.  This fraud is perpetrated so that individuals  can maintain their permanent residence status and later apply for  citizenship.  A family of five may pay upwards of $25,000 over four or more years to  create the illusion of residence in Canada.

“My  department is working closely with the Canada Border Services Agency, the Royal  Canadian Mounted Police, and Canadian offices abroad to prevent people who are suspected of non-compliance with the permanent residence  requirement from being admitted to Canada without proving they meet the requirements  and take enforcement action when necessary,” added Minister Kenney.

To date, of the 4,400 permanent residents who have  been flagged, nearly 1,400 people have withdrawn or abandoned their citizenship  application because of new scrutiny.

Permanent residents must acquire three years of  residence out of four years to apply for Canadian citizenship.  To retain their status as permanent  residents, they must be physically present in Canada for two years out of  five.

“I encourage anyone who has information  regarding citizenship fraud to call our tip line to report it,” urged Minister  Kenney.

Cases involving false  representation, fraud or knowingly concealing material circumstances in the  citizenship process – for example, pretending to be present in Canada to meet  the residence requirements for obtaining citizenship – should be referred to  the citizenship fraud tip line at CIC’s Call Centre at 1-888-242-2100 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1-888-242-2100     end_of_the_skype_highlighting (in  Canada only, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday).  Tips may also be reported by e-mail at Citizenship-fraud-tips@cic.gc.ca.  Those overseas can contact the nearest  Canadian visa office.

All other fraud types related to  immigration should be reported to the CBSA’s Border Watch Tip Line at 1 888-502-9060 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              1 888-502-9060     end_of_the_skype_highlighting.   Tips  accepted by the Border Watch Tip Line include, but are not limited to,  suspicious cross-border activity, marriages of convenience, misrepresentation  in any temporary or permanent immigration application, or the whereabouts of  any person wanted on an immigration warrant.

The Government of Canada is taking action to crack  down on the actions of crooked consultants during the immigration process. Bill  C-35, originally introduced as the Cracking  Down on Crooked Consultants Act, came into  force on June 30, 2011.  The Act imposes  penalties on unauthorized representatives who provide, or offer to provide,  advice or representation for a fee at any stage of an  immigration application or proceeding.

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