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Category Archives: Spouse

How to sponsor your spouse to Canada

Family reunification is of utmost importance to the Canadian government. IRCC offers various pathways to sponsor your loved ones for immigration to Canada. If you are a Canadian Citizen or Permanent resident, you can apply for a Spousal Sponsorship application. If you are an international student or temporary foreign worker, you can opt for Spousal open work permit application.

Under Canadian Immigration Levels Plan 2021-2023, IRCC aims to roll mats for over 80,000 new immigrants per year through its Spousal, Partner, and Children category. Most of these immigrants will arrive as the spouses or partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

The first step to sponsoring your spouse for Canadian immigration is to check your eligibility, and to make sure you can provide financially for your spouse, any dependent children, and yourself.

Here is information on how you can sponsor your loved one for immigration to Canada. 

Spouses or common-law partners of Canadian citizen or permanent resident

If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada, you may sponsor your spouse to become permanent residents of Canada with Spousal sponsorship Application. As a Canadian PR your spouse, common law or conjugal can live, study and work in Canada. When your partner comes to Canada as a permanent resident, you are responsible for financially supporting them when they arrive.

Eligibility Requirements to be a sponsor:

  • Must Be at least 18 years of age.
  • Must be a Canadian permanent resident living in Canada or a Canadian citizen.
  • You and your spouse, common law or conjugal partner must sign a sponsorship agreement that commits you to provide financial support to your family member, if necessary.
  • You must provide financial support to a spouse for three years from the date you become a permanent resident.
  • You must provide financial support to your dependent child(ren) for 10 years, or until they turn 25, whichever comes first.

Eligibility Requirements to be sponsored:

  • Be at least 18 years old
  • Be legally married or in common law relationship (living together at least 12 consecutive months)

At Can X, we know how important it is for families to be together. For this reason, we consider applications for spousal sponsorship a top priority. We can help you reach across distance and unite with your spouse.

Spouses or common-law partners of full-time students [C42]

If you are an international student studying full-time with a valid student permit, you can apply for Spousal open work permit application. This permit will allow your partner to work full time while you are studying in Canada. In general, this “open work permit” will have the same duration as the Study Permit issued to the sponsor. If you have a dependent child, you can apply for a temporary resident visa (study /visitor) for your child. This will allow you to unite with your child.

Eligibility Requirements to be a sponsor:

  • Must Be at least 18 years of age.
  • Must be a must be a full-time student
  • Public post-secondary school, such as a college or university, or CEGEP in Quebec.
  • Private university level school in Quebec
  • Canadian private school that can legally grant bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degrees.

Spouses or common-law partners of skilled workers [C41]

Spouses or common-law partners of skilled workers coming to Canada may apply for a Spousal open work permit without having an offer of employment. A dependent spouse or common-law partner is eligible to apply for an open work permit under Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) exemption code C41 if the principal foreign worker.

Eligibility Requirements to be a sponsor:

  • Must Be at least 18 years of age, and physically resides or plans to physically reside in Canada while working.
  • Must hold a work permit that is valid for a period of at least 6 months.
  • Must be employed in an occupation that falls within National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill type 0, A or B.

In recent days, applications for spousal sponsorship have been delayed due to the global pandemic. However, the new measures announced by IRCC regarding acceleration of processing should help avoid further delays

If you are considering submitting a spousal sponsorship application, or spousal open work permit application, we recommend that you seek advice from a certified immigration consultant to help you in your immigration journey.

We hope this information about ways to reunite with your spouse has been helpful! If you have any queries, please feel free to contact us, we will help you find the right immigration solution for you!

The Impact of Processing Delays on Canadian Businesses

Canada is facing a growing skilled labor crunch and industries are struggling to find qualified workers. The increased processing times of immigration pathways is a problem that is closing doors to new growth and leaving employers open to risk.

According to a survey conducted by The Canadian Employee Relocation Council (CERC), “Unless addressed, increasing processing times are likely to have a negative impact on business operations within the next year.”

A total of 26 organizations that rely on access to international talent to meet talent needs and fill skills gaps were surveyed. Participating organizations were from technology, manufacturing, government /health care/ education, natural resources, and construction/engineering services. 44 % of participating organizations report using economic immigration programs to access temporary residence workers.

Primarily, 74% of participating companies used Express Entry and CUSMA professional pathways to hire foreign nationals while 67% used PNP immigration pathways. All participating organizations agreed to the importance of international talent to their businesses, while 70% strongly agreed to their contributions.

In the survey, as an impact of processing impediments 83 % of organizations stated that canceled and or delayed projects are the most common consequence of the delays, almost two-thirds expect the delays to result in lost revenues and 30% stated they had to face penalties for not meeting contractual obligations. The unprecedented labor shortage is forcing organizations to hire ill-suited candidates, resulting in foregone opportunities that impede businesses’ ability to compete.

This lack of skilled labor and halt in the international mobility of temporary foreign workers is increasing the labor market gap, businesses are facing a labor shortage and the demand for skills across many sectors is on the rise. The survey sheds light on global talent access via immigration and international mobility programs, the top three skills accessed are 93% of skilled workers, 85 % executive management, and 67 % engineering staff. Nonetheless, the demand for non-degreed professionals and technical staff is growing, though the lack of education makes it difficult to access their talent.

The survey also highlighted that apart from ongoing challenges faced by IRCC, the continued closure of Consulates, High Commissions and VAC abroad has had a great impact as temporary foreign workers cannot complete biometrics in their home country.

With a dearth of new talent pools and retiring workforce, Canada should take actions to expedite processing of applications. The survey questioned respondents if they would pay an additional fee for expedited processing of applications and 89% of respondents said they would be willing to pay between 10% and 25% above current processing fees for expedited processing as for Skilled labor shortage has become the most pressing need of their organizations.

What makes Canada a great destination for immigrants?

10th largest economy in the world

Canada is a thriving country that claims the 10th largest GDP worldwide, fueled in part by its vast natural resources, significant industrial base, tourist attraction, and vibrant seafood industry. According to Statistics Canada, Canada’s economy is extremely service-oriented, with 78.9% of Canadians working in a service-related job, though it is perceived that Canada is growing due to its natural resources. Though the manufacturing sector is relatively small in comparison to the service sector, it is the cornerstone of Canadian economy, with 68% of its exports constituting merchandise exports.

World-class education system

Canada tops the list as the most educated country in the world. According to the OECD over 56 percent of adults in the Great White North have earned some education after high school. Canada’s high academic standards and rigorous quality controls assure that you will be earning a high-quality education that will open doors for your future and benefit your career over the long term. A Canadian degree, diploma or certificate is globally recognized as being equivalent to those obtained from the United States or Commonwealth countries.

The quality of education and living standards in Canada are amongst the highest in the world, but the cost of living and tuition fees for international students are generally lower than in other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom. Under Canada’s highly dynamic and hands-on academic environment, you will not only acquire knowledge and skills in analysis and communication, but you will also learn how to express yourself, demonstrate your creativity, and develop your self-confidence.

Canada has world’s top universities, such as McGill University, the University of Toronto, McMaster University, and the University of British Columbia which rank among the world’s top 100 academia.

Booming tech industry

Canada’s evolution over the years as a fount of technology is mirrored by the growth of the Tech sector. Toronto and other parts of Canada have been feasting on tech talent as immigrants are diverting from the U.S. due to stringent immigration policies like temporary suspension of H1B1 Visa which facilitated immigration for thousands of skilled immigrant workers every year. Even during coronavirus outbreak, immigrants in the U.S. faced unusual threat to employment, where in the U.S. is closing doors for immigrants while Canada is attracting an impressive flow of technology jobs and investment.

Tech companies with global footprint are setting up hubs and expanding operations in Canada. The number of tech jobs in Toronto has risen steeply with an increase of 54% from about 148,000 to 228,000 in the past since 2013. Canada certainly displays compelling potential with its mix of talent, technology, and universities together with highly skilled immigrants possessing STEM degrees even before arrival into the country.

Vancouver and Calgary are booming towards clean tech innovation, while Montreal has established itself as a hub for innovation in Artificial Intelligence and game development. Overall, Canada is attempting to attract highly skilled foreign professionals through visa programs like the Global Talent Stream with fast processing time where you move to Canada as quickly as a month as well as provincial tech programs that offer an expedited immigration pathway for people with tech skills .

Multiculturalism and immigration supportive

Over several decades, multiculturalism has evolved from a humanitarian approach to an official policy which became a defining part of Canada’s national identity. Canadian Prime minister Justin Trudeau government’s mantra is “diversity is our strength” which depicts the characteristic Canadian willingness to include various ethnic groups towards the cultural enrichment of Canada.

Canada has been accepting more immigrants per capita than any other developed Western countries. Particularly 310,000 new permanent residents were welcomed by Canada in 2018 and further it is expected that Canada will welcome nearly one million immigrants over the next three years.

In Canada, multiculturalism has always been a form of integration where people respect the diversity of languages, religions, and cultures. Multiculturalism exists when people accept and encourage many cultures to thrive in a society which can be seen particularly in major cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in modern history and this is because of a unique mix of various dominant groups like the British, Irish, Indian, Chinese, Italian and smaller groups like the Dutch, Japanese and Romanians.

Most inclusive country in the world

Canadians have always prided themselves as being open and inclusive. According to Ipsos recently released research, Canada ranks 1st among 25 countries on inclusiveness. Canada stood 2nd on LGBTQ Inclusiveness Score after France as the country has strong support for the LGBTQ community which is evident as Canada became the 4th nation worldwide to legalize same-sex marriage and the first nation outside of Europe in 2015.

Canada actively promotes inclusion and respect for diversity at home and abroad. Establishing equality is a top challenge that the entire human society is facing at the moment, but Canada seems to manage this challenge efficiently in social, economic, cultural, and civic inclusion. In Canada it is apparent that women have a strong voice, along with this basic women’s rights such as voting, birth control access and abortion are long-established and safeguarded in the country.

Universal health-care system

Canada’s health care system has prominent features that distinguish it from virtually all other high-income countries providing universal health care coverage. Firstly, healthcare in Canada is delivered through the provincial and territorial systems called Medicare, which is publicly funded. Canada has one of the world’s highest life expectancy rates and stands at 18th position in the world for life expectancy.

Canadian citizens have the second highest quality of life in the world, according to The World Economic Forum ranking, which ranks countries by quality of life using criteria like access to medical care, sanitation, and shelter, as well as education, life expectancy, and personal freedoms.

Employee entitlements

Canada is exceptional as “provincial law governs annual paid leave, unless the employee falls under federal jurisdiction.” All provinces guarantee two weeks paid vacation, except for three weeks in Saskatchewan. Along with this the employees receive statutory holidays depending on the province.  Canadians also have secured access to a variety of monetary protections including Employment Insurance (EI), old age security, the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP), and a federal childcare benefit.

The minimum wage in Canada ranges from $11 to $15 among different provinces and it stands among one of the highest in the world.  Canadian workers also have access to new family-friendly benefits and progressive workplace policies that allow up to 18 months of parental leave, with the mother and father able to share the leave however they choose.

Beautiful and safe place

The landscapes of Canada range from arctic tundra and BC’s snow-capped mountains, to beautifully desolate prairies and PEI’s rugged coastlines along with interesting architecture in Montreal’s historic buildings. From coast to coast to coast, the country is home to vibrant and culturally rich cities, along with incredible natural wonders.

According to the Global Peace Index of 2018, Canada was ranked the 6th most peaceful nation in the world. Be it protection of citizens on the streets, guarding them against misconduct, or even shielding them against online crime, Canada has done it all. Canada is also known for their strong gun control as they have a comparatively peaceful approach to foreign diplomacy.

Stable democratic political system

The Economist ranked Canada as third-most democratic nation according to its Democracy Index in the year 2006. Canada’s political system is a parliamentary democracy, with its own social and political institutions. Though Canadian governments shift between various liberal and conservative parties depending on the political climate; there is no moral shift as core values and ideologies like women’s and LGBT rights, environmental concerns, and immigration, are shared by the political parties.

Canada is extending the open work permit pilot program for spouse or common-law partner

Canadian Government is extending the open work permit pilot for spouses and common-law partners applying for permanent residence under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class until the regulatory changes come into force to permanently implement this policy.

Support for families is a priority for the Government, and these measures ensure that applicants can work and contribute to the economy. The extension of these measures provides certainty and stability to spouses and common-law partners in Canada who are awaiting their permanent resident status.

The open work permits are limited to applicants living in Canada who have submitted an application under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class, and who have temporary resident status or are eligible to restore their temporary resident status (as a visitor, student or worker) and live at the same address as their sponsor.

Open Work Permit Pilot is for inland spousal and common-law sponsorship applicants. Inland sponsorship is for couples who are already living together in Canada.

 Eligibility

 Applicants should meet the following requirements: 

  • Permanent residence application should be submitted under the SCLPC class
  • The SCLPC class applicant should reside at the same address as the sponsor
  • The SCLPC class applicant should have valid temporary resident status (as a visitor, student, or worker), or should be eligible to restore their temporary resident status, and had submitted the restoration application with their application for permanent residence

 Who do not qualify for the open work permit pilot program? 

  • Applicants who have applied for permanent residence under the SCLPC class and have been refused or have withdrawn that application before submitting the open work permit pilot application
  • Applicants whose application for permanent residence is being processed under the spousal public policy on the basis that they do not have a valid temporary resident status (these applicants must wait until they receive approval in principle to be eligible to apply for an open work permit)
  • Applicants who have applied as members of the overseas family class, including those living in Canada
  • Applicants applying for the work permit pilot program at a port of entry

COVID-19: Program delivery updates for permanent residence applications

COVID-19 program delivery instructions are for new and existing permanent residence applications in Canada and abroad.

Applications will not be refused for non-compliance, and all applications currently in progress at IRCC offices abroad and at case processing centres within the Centralized Network and within the Domestic Network will continue to be processed but may experience delays.

Application intake

IRCC will continue to accept new permanent residence applications. Incomplete applications because of unavailable documents will be retained in the system and reviewed in 90 days. New, complete permanent residence applications will be processed as per normal procedures while taking into consideration the following additional processing guidance:

If a new application is missing supporting documentation (associated fees are required), the applicant should include an explanation with their application that they are affected by the service disruptions because of the novel coronavirus. The application may then be promoted and reviewed in 90 days.

If the application is still incomplete in 90 days, officers should request the missing documents with an additional 90-day deadline.

Incomplete applications with no explanation provided, or for reasons unrelated to the disruption of services associated with impacts of the novel coronavirus, may be rejected and all fees associated with the application should be refunded to the applicant. The reason for rejection should be unrelated to the disruption of services. 

Approved permanent residence applications (COPR and PRV) 

Permanent residence applicants who are in possession of a COPR and PRV and inform IRCC, by submitting a Web form, that they are unable to travel within the validity of their documentation should be processed as follows:

Valid COPR and PRV: In an effort to reduce the number of cancelled COPRs and PRVs, IRCC will put a note in the file explaining that the applicant is unable to travel, and the file should be brought forward to the expiration date of the COPR and PRV. If the applicant informs IRCC that they can travel prior to the COPR and PRV expiration, they are encouraged to use their existing COPR and PRV to land.  

Expired COPR and PRV: If the applicant informs IRCC via the Web form that they are unable or unwilling to travel after the expiration of their COPR and PRV, or if they are unable or unwilling to travel prior to expiration, officers are to re-open the application, and it should be brought forward for review in 90 days.  

Re-opened applications

Approved applications where the principal applicant has not already become a permanent resident can be re-opened in GCMS by cancelling the COPR and PRV and removing the final decision.

Review of a re-opened application 

Once the applicant informs IRCC via the Web form that they are able to travel, a re-opened application may be re-approved provided that the applicant and their family members, whether accompanying or not, have valid immigration medical examinations, criminal and security checks and passports.

If the 60-day waiting period elapses and the applicant has not informed IRCC that they are able to travel, a note will be placed in the application, and it should be brought forward for review for an additional 60 days.

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