Esta palestra será realizada na sexta-feira, 20 de janeiro, das 18:00 às 20:00hs. A participação é gratuíta. Este evento é focado principalmente em imigrantes com estatuto de residente permanente que estão interessados ​​em se tornar cidadãos canadenses. No entanto, ele também está aberto aos prestadores de serviços em caso de interesse.

Em caso de dúvidas ou questões pertinentes à palestra, entrem em contato com Hewton Tavares em:

Phone: 416-532-4828 ext. 124
Fax: 416-532-8739
E-mail: hewtontv@stchrishouse.org

St Christopher House is hosting the “Canadian Citizenship: What You Need to Know to Apply” workshop at 248 Ossington Avenue this month.

This workshop will be held on Friday, January 20 from 6 pm to 8 pm. For this workshop, registration is not required. Tokens are not provided but refreshments will be available. This workshop is primarily focused on immigrants with permanent resident status who are interested in becoming Canadian citizens. However, it is also open to service providers in case of interest.

In case of questions or concerns in regard to this workshop, please don’t hesitate to contact Hewton Tavares at:

Phone: 416-532-4828 ext. 124
Fax: 416-532-8739
E-mail: hewtontv@stchrishouse.org

The Parent and Grandparent Super Visa is one  element of Phase  I of the Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification, announced in  November. The Super Visa will allow applicants to  remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time without having to renew their  status.

To be eligible, the  applicant must:

• Be a parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
• Provide a written commitment of financial support from their child or  grandchild in Canada, including proof that the child or grandchild meets the minimum  necessary income (Low Income Cut-Off);
• Undergo the Immigration  Medical Examination;
• Submit proof that they have purchased comprehensive Canadian medical  insurance, valid for at least one year; and
• Satisfy the visa officer that they meet all other standard admissibility  criteria.

Current processing times through the Family  Class indicate that many parents and grandparents could wait for eight years or  more to be accepted to Canada. With the Super Visa, they could be enjoying the  company of their family in about eight weeks

Portanto, excepcionalmente, nesta sexta-feira não haverá a Roda de Convívio do CAIS.

Todos os atendimentos agendados para o dia 02/12/2011 serão transferidos para o dia 09/12/2011.

Desculpem-nos o transtorno e obrigado pela sua compreensão.

A Coordenação

Unlike what we do for permanent immigration, Canada does not set targets for the number of TFWs to be admitted each year. An increase in TFWs simply means that more employers need more employees.

If we look more closely at that overall figure of 182,000, we find:

• Nearly 50,000 work permits, or more than a quarter of the total, were issued to young people coming to Canada on working holidays or professional exchanges through International Experience Canada (IEC). They require work permits, but their purpose in coming to Canada is quite different from other types of TFWs, and these programs address social and cultural goals rather than labour market objectives.
• More than a tenth (more than 21,000) of the overall number of TFWs entering Canada last year were issued to particular kinds of workers under international trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and the General Agreement on Trade in Services. It is important to note, however, that as part of these international agreements, Canadians also receive reciprocal treatment that allows them to more easily work in other countries.
• For 40 percent of foreign workers, more than 73,000 of the total, the employers had authorization from Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to hire foreign nationals. This authorization is only granted after an assessment of the labour market has been conducted and it has been determined that no Canadians or permanent residents were available to do the job. This figure includes nearly 24,000 seasonal agricultural workers, who play a critical role in ensuring a successful harvest for Canadian producers, and about 8,400 live-in caregivers, who help support Canadian families by providing care to children, the elderly and the disabled.

The Temporary Foreign Worker Program is operating successfully as a tool for employers to use when they cannot find suitable Canadian or permanent resident employees for the jobs they have available. It also is designed to facilitate other objectives, such as encouraging international exchange, supporting international trade agreements, and keeping families together.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) plans to welcome 42,000 to 45,000 people under the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) in 2012, including the nominees themselves, their spouses and dependents. This represents an almost seven-fold increase since 2004.

In 2010, over 36,000 people entered Canada under the PNP. CIC is on track to welcome more provincial nominees this year, and 2012 has the potential to set another record high if the provinces submit enough nominations early on to fill their allotted space in the program.

“The Government of Canada recognizes the crucial role the Provincial Nominee Program plays in meeting local labour market needs,”said Minister Kenney. “The PNP has made great strides in sharing the benefits of economic immigration across the country.” Today, 26 percent of all economic immigrants are now destined for provinces other than Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, compared to 11 percent in 1997. The PNP has also become the second largest source of economic immigration to Canada.

All provinces and territories, with the exception of Quebec and Nunavut, have Provincial Nominee agreements. The PNP gives provinces and territories an active role in immigrant selection as they may nominate for permanent residence individuals who meet specific local labour market needs. Under the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec has the sole authority for selecting immigrants to its province. However, these candidates must still meetCIC’s admissibility requirements.

CIC consults regularly with provincial and territorial governments to develop a balanced immigration plan, including the number of anticipated nominations per province. It is important to note that in order for CIC to reach annual admissions targets, provinces and territories must submit sufficient and timely nominations. The Provincial Nominee allotments for 2012 are still being finalized and will be released later on.

“CIC is working closely with provinces and territories to improve the program design, integrity and management of the Provincial Nominee Program,” said Minister Kenney.CIC launched a national evaluation of the Provincial Nominee Program last year and expects to release the results in 2012. The federal, provincial and territorial governments are also moving towards a multi-year levels planning approach for 2013 and beyond.

Text version: Overall PNP Admissions (2004-2010)

*Note that admission numbers include nominees, spouses and dependents. Final numbers for 2011 are not available yet.

Currently, more than 165,000 parents and grandparents who have applied to become permanent residents of Canada are still waiting for a final decision. Each year, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) receives applications for sponsorship of nearly 38,000 parents and grandparents, a number that will only continue to expand if no action is taken.

“Wait times for Family Class sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents now exceed seven years, and without taking action, those times will continue to grow, and that is unacceptable,” said Minister Kenney. “Action must be taken to cut the backlog, reduce the wait times, and ensure that the parents and grandparents program is sustainable over the long run.”

To deal with the large backlog and lengthy wait times, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is announcing Phase I of the Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification.

First – The Government of Canada will increase by over 60 percent the number of sponsored parents and grandparents Canada will admit next year, from nearly 15,500 in 2010 to 25,000 in 2012 – the highest level in nearly two decades.

Second – The government is introducing the new “Parent and Grandparent Super Visa,” which will be valid for up to 10 years. The multiple-entry visa will allow an applicant to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time without the need for renewal of their status. The Parent and Grandparent Super Visa will come into effect on December 1, 2011, and CIC will be able to issue the visas, on average, within eight weeks of the application. This means that instead of waiting for eight years, a parent or a grandparent can come to Canada within eight weeks. Parent and Grandparent Super Visa applicants will be required to obtain private Canadian health-care insurance for their stay in Canada.

Third –The government will consult Canadians on how to redesign the parents and grandparents program to ensure that it is sustainable in the future. The redesigned program must avoid future large backlogs and be sensitive to fiscal constraints.

Fourth – To prevent the build-up of an unmanageable number of new applications during these consultations and to further reduce the 165,000-strong backlog of parent and grandparent applicants, CIC is putting in place a temporary pause of up to 24 months on the acceptance of new sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents. The pause comes into effect on November 5, 2011.

“The Government of Canada is fully committed to helping families reunite,” said Minister Kenney. “We recognize that what parents and grandparents want most is to be able to spend time with their families.”

“If we do not take real action now, the large and growing backlog in the parents and grandparents program will lead to completely unmanageable wait times. Through this balanced series of measures, we will be able to dramatically reduce the backlog and wait times, while the new Parent and Grandparent Super Visa will allow more family members to pay extended visits to their loved ones,” added the Minister. “We anticipate that in about two years, following our consultations, Phase II of our Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification will come into effect, ensuring that future applicants are processed quickly and that the program can operate on an efficient and sustainable basis.”

Leiam a matéria abaixo que foi publicada no site da CBC News:

Canada will start accepting some PhD students to boost the country’s science, technology and math sectors, the government said Wednesday.

Gary Goodyear, minister of state for science and technology, announced the government is expanding the federal skilled worker category to include PhD students in certain streams, noting the country lacks people with expertise in science, technology, engineering and math.

Goodyear made the announcement at the same press conference where the government was focusing on the success of the Canadian experience class, which is aimed at skilled temporary foreign workers and international students who want to stay in Canada.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, who Wednesday welcomed the 10,000th permanent resident to enter Canada through the program, said Canada used to send people who wanted to become citizens back to their country of origin to have them start on the seven-year waitlist.

Before the program, “we would say excellent. You now have a degree or a diploma that will be recognized by a Canadian employer, you have some work experience in Canada, you have perfected your English or French language skills … now please leave the country and if you want to immigrate, get in the back of a seven-year-long queue,” Kenney said.

“That didn’t make any sense at all. Because these are folks who are pre-integrated, they are set for success.”

To be eligible for the skilled worker program, PhD students need to have done at least two years of study toward the degree and be in good standing at a recognized post-secondary institution in Canada. They can start applying Nov. 5.

Graduates who are less than a year out of the program are also eligible to apply.

Goodyear said expanding the program tells innovators around the world that Canada is ready to welcome their ideas.

“Research in these fields contributes greatly to our overall national competitiveness in the global market,” he said.

New targets

The news conference comes the day after Kenney tabled in the House of Commons the government’s immigration targets for the next year.

Last year, Canada admitted 280,681 permanent residents, an 11.3 percent increase from 2009 and the highest level in 50 years, the report says. Nearly 67 per cent of total admissions came as economic immigrants.

Kenney is holding the 2012 targets at the same level as the previous five years.

“The admission range of 240,000 to 265,000 is maintained for the sixth consecutive year, reaffirming the commitment to sustained immigration levels to continue to fulfil the department’s objectives,” the report says.

Kenney told MPs last month that Canada needs to accept fewer applications in the family class of immigrants, which has a large backlog. He said speeding up processing alone won’t take care of the backlog of parents and grandparents trying to join family members in Canada.

NDP Immigration critic Don Davies says he applauds the move.

“It’s a good system. I like what I’m hearing about getting more PhDs integrated into our system…but it shouldn’t come at the expense of other classes of immigrants,” Davies said.

He says Kenney’s own department has reported it’s possible to increase immigration targets, which have been stable for the past few years, and says Canada could see a labour shortage as soon as five years from now.

“How do we meet that labour challenge if we are using numbers that were the same as the last five years?

Fonte: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/11/02/pol-jason-kenney-immigration-targets.html

Under the proposal, published today in the Canada Gazette for public input, adult citizenship applicants would be required to provide objective evidence of language ability with their citizenship applications.

“The ability to communicate effectively in either French or English is key to the success of new citizens in Canada,” said Minister Kenney. “This change will encourage applicants to ensure that they can speak English or French when they apply for citizenship, thereby improving the integrity and effectiveness of the citizenship program for Canada and for new Canadians alike.”

The Citizenship Act already requires that applicants be able to communicate in one of Canada’s official languages. This proposed change would not increase the language level required, but would change the way that citizenship applicants aged 18-54 prove their language ability.

Under the new system, applicants would have to provide objective evidence that they meet the language requirement when they file their application. Applicants would be able to demonstrate language ability by submitting a variety of evidence, including:

• the results of a third party test;
• evidence of completion of secondary or post-secondary education in English or French; or
• evidence of achievingCLB/NCLC4 in certain government funded language training programs.

CICcurrently uses the citizenship knowledge test as well as the applicant’s interaction withCICstaff to assess language ability. If it appears an applicant does not meet language requirements, they are invited for an interview with a citizenship judge. There can be a significant time delay between the submission of the application and the subsequent hearing for language.

The proposed new rule that applicants must provide objective evidence that they meet the language requirement when they file their application would give citizenship judges better evidence on which to base their decision.CICwould also be able to return applications of those who do not provide evidence they meet the requirements more quickly, thus improving application processing.

CICis also proposing to clarify that the language skills to be assessed would be speaking and listening, and the criteria would clearly align with Canadian Language Benchmark/Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (CLB/NCLC) 4, which represents basic fluent proficiency. This would allow applicants to understand the requirements they need to meet and to provide evidence that is correlated toCLB/NCLC 4.

The Notice of Intent, requesting comments from the public on the proposed change, will be posted for 30 days

“The ICCRC is the designated regulator of immigration consultants under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and it is crucial that all parties involved make sure that there is no confusion about who now regulates immigration consultants,” said Minister Kenney.

On June 30, 2011, after a public consultation process, the ICCRC was designated, by regulation, as the new regulator of immigration consultants, replacing CSIC. These regulations also state that all CSIC members who were members in good standing on June 30 are now deemed to be members of the new governing body, the ICCRC, until October 28, 2011. During this 120-day transition period, these CSIC members are not required to pay fees to the ICCRC, which will provide them with ample time to register with the new regulator.

CSIC has filed an application before the Federal Court for a judicial review of the decision to designate the ICCRC as the regulator of immigration consultants and this hearing will be held in October. In the meantime, Minister Kenney urges CSIC to in no way hinder the ICCRC’s work.

Under IRPA, membership in CSIC is no longer required for individuals wishing to practise as immigration consultants under federal jurisdiction. The ICCRC, as the new governing body, is able to determine whether an individual, other than someone who was a member in good standing of CSIC as of June 30, 2011, may become a member of the ICCRC. If CSIC members are uncertain of their status, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) encourages them to contact the ICCRC.

Minister Kenney also took the opportunity to remind CSIC that it would be in the public interest for this organization to act in good faith and transfer all relevant documents to the ICCRC, including all previous, outstanding and ongoing complaints and discipline matters related to their membership.