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IMPACT – MEDIUM
What is the change? The province of Ontario has announced that the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) has met its 2016 federal quota of applications and has temporarily paused intake of applications for high-volume streams.
What does the change mean? New applications under the Employer Pre-screen and International Student (masters and Ph.D. graduate) streams will not be accepted and will be returned with their filing fees. Lower-volume streams continue to be available.
Background: Ontario announced that applications in affected OINP streams that were not received by 5 p.m. EDT May 9 will be rejected.
The OINP will continue to accept applications in the Foreign Worker and International Student with a Job Offer stream, but only those whose job offer has been approved through the Employer Pre-screen application process may apply to the OINP within 60 days of the approval letter. Additionally, the OINP will continue to accept applications in the French-Speaking Skilled Worker, Corporate and Entrepreneur streams.
BAL Analysis: This indicates the strong demand for applications under the OINP, and foreign nationals may need to adjust their plans accordingly.
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 has conducted its 11th Express Entry draw of 2016, issuing 799 invitations to apply.
What does the change mean? The number of invitations dropped significantly from previous draws and the lowest qualifying score was 534, a sizeable rise from the previous draw and the highest minimum score this year.
Background: In 2015, Canada issued 31,063 invitations to apply through Express Entry, and officials have projected a greater number for 2016. So far this year, Canada has issued 12,236 invitations to apply.
Express Entry Draws in 2016:
BAL Analysis: While the minimum qualifying score has risen, it remains below 600. The number of invitations has also decreased since February, an indication that the government may be shifting resources toward family reunification applications and clearing backlogs on old permanent residence applications submitted under the previous non-Express Entry routes.
This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.
What is the change? Canadian authorities have announced that visa-waived nationals (excluding U.S. citizens) will be allowed to travel without an electronic travel authorization until Sept. 29, 2016.
What does the change mean? The initial eTA cutoff date was March 15. Canadian authorities announced in March that travelers would be able to board flights without an eTA “until fall 2016,” but did not provide a precise date for when the grace period would end.
Background: The eTA program was modeled on the U.S.’s Electronic System for Travel Authorization and requires travelers to be prescreened before entering Canada. The program was expected to become mandatory March 15, but authorities announced in early March that they would continue allowing visa-waived nationals to travel without an eTA until the fall. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has since clarified on its website that the grace period will last until Sept. 29, 2016.
BAL Analysis: Visa-waived nationals (excluding U.S. citizens) traveling to Canada by air are advised to obtain an eTA as soon as possible in order to avoid future delays. Those with urgent travel needs, however, will be able to travel to Canada without an eTA until Sept. 29, 2016.
What is the change? Canada has conducted its ninth Express Entry draw of 2016, issuing 1,018 invitations to apply.
What does the change mean? The lowest qualifying score was 468, a slight drop from the minimum score in the last two draws. This indicates that the minimum score to qualify for an invitation to apply for permanent residency has risen from earlier in the year, but remains low.
Background: In 2015, Canada issued 31,063 invitations to apply through Express Entry, and officials have projected a greater number for 2016. So far this year, Canada has issued 11,437 invitations to apply:
BAL Analysis: Despite the increases in the minimum qualifying score in recent drawings, the minimum score remains in the low range and below 600. The number of invitations issued per draw has also decreased since February.
What is the change? Canada has conducted its eighth Express Entry draw of 2016, issuing 954 invitations to apply.
What does the change mean? The lowest qualifying score was 470, the same minimum score as in the last draw. This indicates that the minimum score to qualify for an invitation to apply for permanent residency has risen from earlier in the year, but remains low.
Background: In 2015, Canada issued 31,063 invitations to apply through Express Entry, and officials have projected a greater number for 2016. So far this year, Canada has issued 10,419 invitations to apply:
BAL Analysis: Despite the increases in the minimum qualifying score in the last three drawings, the minimum score remains in the low range and below 600. The number of invitations issued per draw has dropped off since February and the latest draw had the lowest number of invitations, which could indicate a shift in resources toward family reunification, as detailed in recent government immigration projections.
What is the change? A report on the first full year of Canada’s Express Entry system has been released by the ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
What does the change mean? More than 31,000 invitations to apply for permanent residency were issued to foreign nationals in the first year, of which more than 21,000 applications remain pending and about 10,000 foreign nationals and their family members were admitted to Canada.
Key statistics:
Background: The Express Entry system launched in January 2015, using a 1,200-point comprehensive ranking system to prioritize candidates for permanent residency. Individuals must set up an online profile and earn points for qualifying job offers or provincial nominations and various human capital factors. Those who have an LMIA-supported job offer or a provincial nomination are automatically awarded 600 points.
BAL Analysis: Although the report is only a snapshot and the system is evolving, it confirms the strong advantage of those with an LMIA-supported job offer or provincial nomination. In addition, most of the successful applicants were in skilled positions. The report also showed that international students are at a serious disadvantage under Express Entry in contrast to the previous system.
What is the change? Canada has conducted its seventh Express Entry draw of 2016, issuing 1,014 invitations to apply.
What does the change mean? The lowest qualifying score was 470, indicating that the minimum score to qualify for an invitation to apply for permanent residency has risen from earlier in the year but remains low.
Background: In 2015, Canada issued 31,063 invitations to apply through Express Entry, and . officials have projected a greater number for 2016. So far this year, Canada has issued 9,465 invitations to apply:
BAL Analysis: Despite the increases in the minimum qualifying score in the last two drawings, the minimum score remains in the low range and below 600.
IMPACT – HIGH
What is the change? Foreign nationals in Canada have been contacted by scammers posing as immigration officials.
What does the change mean? Foreign employees should be aware that Canadian immigration authorities never contact individuals by phone for purposes of collecting fines to avoid deportation and never ask for payment via money transfers or pre-paid credit cards.
Background: Similar scams have been reported around the world in recent years. In the current iteration, phone callers posing as Canadian immigration police tell foreign nationals that they have failed to provide certain information or personal ID numbers when they entered Canada. The callers then threaten the foreign nationals with deportation and revocation of their passport unless they pay a fine via money transfer.
BAL Analysis: Foreign employees and family members are reminded about ongoing scams and are cautioned not to give personal information or pay immigration fees by phone. Canadian immigration authorities warned about a similar scam in June, advising that anyone receiving such calls hang up immediately and report the incident to local police and the Anti-Fraud Centre.
What is the change? A work permit stream will be introduced for foreign nationals from French-speaking countries intending to work in Canada outside of Quebec. A similar program was discontinued in 2014.
What does the change mean? The Mobilité Francophone stream will not require a Labor Market Impact Assessment and will be suitable for individuals in managerial, professional and technical/skilled trade occupations, but other details have not been released.
Background: Canada is launching the Mobilité Francophone stream with the goal of expanding French-speaking immigration outside of Quebec to 4 percent of all economic immigrants in those areas by 2018.
BAL Analysis: Employers may benefit from the new program if they are hiring foreign employees from French-speaking countries to work in skilled jobs outside of Quebec. BAL will update clients when details about the eligibility criteria and other requirements become available.
What is the change? The Canadian government plans to increase immigration levels in 2016 by 7.4 percent over those of 2015, with a target of admitting 300,000 new permanent residents this year.
What does the change mean? The increased admissions will be in the family reunification and refugee categories, while economic-based admissions will decrease by 11 percent.
Background: The new Liberal Party government’s immigration projections indicate a shift toward family reunification and refugee admissions.
BAL Analysis: Within the economic category, admissions through the Federal Economic High-Skilled Programs, which includes the Federal Skilled Worker Program, the Federal Skilled Trades Program and Canadian Experience Class, have a 2016 target of 58,400, a drop from the 2015 combined target range of 68,000 to 74,000 for the three programs.