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IMPACT – MEDIUM
What is the change? The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said Thursday that it will delay a plan to restrict the acceptance of applications for permanent residence landings and new work permits at ports of entry in southern Ontario.
What does the change mean? Ports of entry in southern Ontario – including Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Queenstown and Rainbow Bridge – will continue to accept port-of-entry applications as normal until further notice. A plan to restrict schedules for accepting port-of-entry applications was announced Tuesday and was expected to take effect this week, but was subsequently delayed.
BAL Analysis: For the time being, port-of-entry applications will be accepted at southern Ontario ports of entry seven days a week. BAL will continue to follow this issue and will provide clients with information about any possible restrictions once CBSA makes it available.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Canada. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.
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What is the change? Canada’s immigration authorities will broaden the definition of “dependent child” by allowing children to qualify as dependents up until their 22nd birthday.
What does the change mean? Under current rules, only dependents who are under 19 years old qualify as dependents. The change, which the government will implement Oct. 24, will allow foreign nationals to sponsor children under 22 (i.e., 21 or younger) for permanent residency.
Background: On Aug. 1, 2014, the Canadian government changed the definition of “dependent child” to include only children who were under 19. Government officials announced a proposal last fall to revert to the pre-2014 definition of dependent child as “under 22” years of age. Authorities published regulations this week to implement the change on Oct. 24.
BAL Analysis: The reversion to the earlier and broader definition of “dependent child” will encourage family reunification and is a positive change for foreign employees seeking to sponsor children under the age of 22.
What is the change? Canada Border Services Agency has advised that several ports of entry in southern Ontario – Fort Erie, Niagara Falls, Queenstown and Rainbow Bridge – have restricted their schedules for accepting applications for permanent residence landings and new work permits to Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays only. However, it is unclear whether the restriction applies to all such applications or only to “flagpoling” cases where individuals exit Canada briefly and turn around and re-enter in order to obtain a work permit quickly.
What does the change mean? The policy was announced Tuesday with immediate effect. As such, it remains unclear how broadly it will be applied. Until further clarification, foreign nationals seeking to complete permanent residence landings or new work permits at any of the four ports should do so only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. Applicants appearing at other times risk being turned away.
BAL Analysis: This is the first week that the restricted schedule has been implemented, so it may not be clear until Friday how broadly Canadian Border authorities are applying the policy. Until further notice, travelers should take a cautious approach and make point-of-entry applications at the four ports only on Tuesdays through Thursdays.
What is the change? Canada is poised to implement a visa exemption for Brazilian, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals who have held valid Canadian visitor visas within the last 10 years or currently hold a valid U.S. nonimmigrant visa.
What does the change mean? Effective May 1, Brazilian, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals who meet one of the criteria above will be able to travel to Canada by air without first obtaining a Canadian visa. The limited visa exemption will be followed by a broad waiver for all Bulgarian and Romanian nationals Dec. 1. Foreign nationals, other than U.S. nationals, who are traveling on a visa waiver must obtain an electronic travel authorization (eTA) before departing for Canada.
Background: The changes were announced last fall. The visa waiver for Bulgaria and Romania is important for Canada’s relations with the European Union. Canada currently allows visa-waived status to all EU countries except Bulgaria and Romania, and Canada enjoys visa-waived status to all EU countries. EU law requires visa-waiver reciprocity and the EU has dropped the threat of a visa requirement for Canadian nationals now that Canada has promised to lift visa requirements for Bulgarian and Romanian nationals.
Canada has said it reserves the right to re-impose visa requirements on Bulgaria and Romania if irregular immigration levels rise significantly.
While the limited visa waiver will take effect May 1, Canadian officials have yet to issue official guidance on whether Brazilian, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals will be eligible to apply for work permits at points of entry like other visa-waived nationals. It appears likely, at this point, that this will not be an option for Brazilian nationals traveling with visa-waived status beginning May 1. BAL expects that Bulgarians and Romanians will be eligible to apply for work permits at points of entry, though it is unclear whether this change will be made May 1 (when the limited waiver takes effect) or Dec. 1 (when the full waiver takes effect).
BAL Analysis: Eligible Brazilian, Bulgarian and Romanian nationals making short-term or frequent business or personal trips will benefit from the removal of visas. Canada’s move to grant the visa waiver to Bulgaria and Romania is also important in that it ended the dispute over visa-waiver reciprocity between Canada and the EU. Employers with Brazilian, Bulgarian or Romanian employees in need of work authorization in Canada should consult with BAL about the best options available to them, especially because it remains unclear when and if nationals of these countries will be eligible to apply for work permits at points of entry.
What is the change? Canada has conducted its 10th Express Entry draw of the year, issuing 3,665 invitations to apply for permanent residency. The lowest qualifying score was 415.
What does the change mean? The number of invitations issued dipped slightly when compared with the past four draws, but still remained up significantly compared with draws in 2015 and 2016. The minimum qualifying score of 415 was the lowest qualifying score to date, indicating that a wide pool of candidates continues to be accepted.
Background: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada made significant changes to the Comprehensive Ranking System in November. The changes benefit candidates with a valid job offer that is not supported by a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment, provided the employee has worked for the employer for a year and the job is in NOC 0, A or B occupations. The new scoring system also benefits candidates who have completed post-secondary education in Canada. Additional changes to the scoring system are set to go into effect in June, and they should help attract Francophone immigrants and those with siblings in Canada.
There have been ten draws so far this year:
BAL Analysis: Wednesday’s draw was the third draw in the past 15 days after draws had been conducted roughly every two weeks for most of 2016 and 2017. The draw continues the trend of high numbers of invitations and low minimum qualifying scores since the new scoring system was introduced.
What is the change? Canada has conducted its ninth Express Entry draw of the year, issuing 3,923 invitations to apply for permanent residency. The lowest qualifying score was 423.
What does the change mean? The number of invitations issued was the highest number issued since the program was introduced in January 2015. The minimum qualifying score of 423 was the lowest qualifying score to date, indicating that a wide pool of candidates continues to be accepted.
Background: Canada made significant changes to the Comprehensive Ranking System in November. The changes benefit candidates with a valid job offer that is not supported by a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment, provided the employee has worked for the employer for a year and the job is in NOC 0, A or B occupations. The new scoring system also benefits candidates who have completed post-secondary education in Canada. Additional changes to the scoring system are set to go into effect in June, and they should help attract Francophone immigrants and those with siblings in Canada.
There have been nine draws so far this year:
BAL Analysis: The latest draw continues the trend of high numbers of invitations and low minimum qualifying scores since the new scoring system was introduced.
What is the change? Canada has conducted its eighth Express Entry draw of the year, issuing 3,753 invitations to apply for permanent residency. The lowest qualifying score was 431.
What does the change mean? The number of invitations issued was one of the highest totals issued since the program was introduced in January 2015. The minimum qualifying score of 431 the lowest qualifying score to date, indicating that a wide pool of candidates continues to be accepted.
There have been eight draws so far this year:
What is the change? Canada will introduce changes to the Express Entry points system beginning June 6.
What does the change mean? Candidates will be awarded 15 additional points for French language skills, 30 points for dual French and English language skills, and 15 points for having a sibling who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Registration with the Job Bank will become voluntary instead of mandatory.
Background: Currently, Express Entry’s comprehensive ranking system awards candidates up to 136 points for their first language and up to 24 points for their second official language. Under the changes, candidates can earn an additional 15 points if they test at level 7 of the compétence linguistique canadiens (NLC) and an English test result of Canadian Language Benchmark 4 or lower. Candidates may earn 30 additional points for NLC level 7 test results in all four skills in French and CLB 5 or higher in English.
Candidates with a sibling 18 years or older living in Canada who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident will be awarded 15 points.
BAL Analysis: The changes will attract Francophone immigrants and those with established sibling ties in Canada. The move to a voluntary rather than mandatory Job Bank registration should facilitate eligibility for invitation rounds.
What is the change? Canada has conducted its seventh Express Entry draw of the year, issuing 3,749 invitations to apply for permanent residency. The lowest qualifying score was 441.
What does the change mean? The number of invitations issued was nearly the highest number issued since the program was introduced in January 2015. The minimum qualifying score of 441 was one of the lowest qualifying scores to date indicating that a wide pool of candidates continues to be accepted.
Background: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada made significant changes to the Comprehensive Ranking System in November. The changes benefit candidates with a valid job offer that is not supported by a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment, provided the employee has worked for the employer for a year and the job is in NOC 0, A or B occupations. The new scoring system also benefits candidates who have completed post-secondary education in Canada. Friday’s draw was the first since March 1.
There have been seven draws so far this year:
BAL Analysis: The latest draw continues the trend of high numbers of invitations and relatively low minimum qualifying scores since the new scoring system was introduced.
What is the change? Canada has conducted its sixth Express Entry draw of the year, issuing 3,884 invitations to apply for permanent residency. The lowest qualifying score was 434.
What does the change mean? More invitations were issued than in any draw since the program was introduced in January 2015. The minimum qualifying score of 434 was the lowest since the comprehensive scoring system was modified in November, indicating that a wide pool of candidates continue to be accepted.
Background: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada made significant changes to the Comprehensive Ranking System in November. The changes benefit candidates with a valid job offer in NOC 0, A or B occupations who have worked for at least one year in Canada for the employer making the job offer without the need for a positive Labour Market Impact Assessment, as well as candidates who have completed post-secondary education in Canada.
There have been nine draws since the new scoring system was implemented:
*PNP nominees only
BAL Analysis: The latest draw continues the upward trend in numbers of invitations and downward trend in minimum qualifying scores since the new scoring system was introduced.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.