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Tag Archives: restoration

Express Entry: IRCC invited Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates

Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited 3,343 candidates to apply for Canadian permanent residence in Express Entry draw which took place on July 23, 2020. The cut-off CRS score in this draw was 445 targeting only Canadian Experience Class (CEC) candidates. IRCC) has now issued a total of 57,700 Invitations to Apply (ITA’s) in 2020 through the Express Entry system.

Current cut-off CRS score of 445 is a decrease of 14 points from the previous all program draw on July 8, 2020.   Yesterday, IRCC issued 557 ITA’s to Express Entry candidates nominated through the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). The minimum CRS score for these candidates was 687. Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Candidates receive an additional 600 points in the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which is usually sufficient to trigger an invitation to apply (ITA) at the next round of invitations.

Calculate your CRS score with IRCC’s CRS calculator

Express Entry is the application process for skilled workers in Canada or Overseas who want to settle in Canada permanently. Interested Candidates are required to submit an online application to express their interest by creating Express Entry (EE) profile and, providing information about their skills, work experience, language ability, education and some other details. After submitting the profile, candidates get a score to determine their place in the pool using the point-based system called Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). The CRS system considers skills, work experience, language ability, education and other factors (e.g. having a sibling in Canada, Canadian education or a valid job offer in Canada, etc.) to award points. Highest ranking candidates from Express Entry pool are regularly invited to apply for Canadian Permanent Residence. Express Entry manages applications for permanent residence under these federal economic immigration programs:

Nearly 110,000 new permanent residents were admitted through Express Entry in year 2019

A total of 109,595 principal applicants and their family members were granted permanent residence through express entry in 2019, compared to 92,229 in 2018. This represents a year over year increase of 19%. The CRS cut off ranged from 438 to 475 in 2019, making an average score of 461. In 2018 the average score was 442. This increase in average CRS cut-off score demonstrates that the express entry pool became more competitive last year. This increase was partially due to a larger pool size, as well as the increased number of candidates selected through a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP). PNP recipients automatically receive an additional 600 CRS points toward their overall score.

How minimum CRS score will fluctuate in next draws?

Despite COVID-19 pandemic, total number of ITA’s issued this year so far exceeds the number of invitations issued at the same time last year.  As per Government of Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan for 2020-2022, Canada aims to welcome 341,000 new permanent residents in 2020, 351,000 in 2021, and 361,000 in 2022. Federal Skilled Worker Program candidates represented the largest proportion of all individuals admitted in 2019 with 58,173 admissions, followed by candidates in Canadian Experience Class (30,230) Provincial Nominee Program (20,014) and Federal Skilled Trades (1,178). After coronavirus travel restrictions, IRCC began to hold PNP and CEC specific draws. First all-program Express Entry draw took place on July 15, 2020 since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

We had speculated that IRCC will hold program specific draws in consecutive draws and this is evident from today’s draw when only CEC candidates has been invited. There are several factors and reasons (e.g. unemployment rate, travel restrictions, closure of visa processing offices etc.)  why government is preferring CEC and PNP candidates during this pandemic. Unemployment rate in Canada is historically high, and it will be challenging for a new immigrant to find a job in today’s job market, and get settled in new country. Government’s may prefer to restrict influx of new permanent residents coming outside from country. However, to meet the immigration target for  this year, the Government will prefer to invite candidates who are already in Canada.

IRCC may continue to invite only CEC candidates in consecutive draws. This may be good for several candidates in Canada having low CRS scores. Candidates qualified under CEC & having low scores still have an opportunity to get an ITA in coming months.

Contact us for consultation, assessment or assistance!

OINP : Employer Job Offer Stream is opening on July 21, 2020

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) will start accepting applications to the Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker stream on July 21, 2020. OINP is expecting a high volume of applications any place users in a priority queue. The online portal will automatically prevent further registrations once the intake limit has been met. Candidates applying under this stream must access the OINP’s e-Filing Portal. OINP is not recommending using a mobile device to access the e-Filing system.

Earlier this year, the foreign worker stream opened on March 03 and closed on the same day after a brief pause in intake due to technical issues.

Important changes in employer form

Applicant’s  must submit the most recent version of the Employer Form, which must be completed and dated no earlier than July 21st, 2020. Including an Employer Form completed and dated prior to July 21st, 2020 will result in the application being returned as incomplete. Applicant’s will have 14 days to complete and submit the application after registration.

OINP has revised the Regulatory Compliance Information of the employer to indicate whether the employer’s business is currently compliant (i.e. has no outstanding orders) under the Ontario Employment Standards Act 2000 and the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act.

How to contact OINP in case of technical difficulties?

OINP can be contacted directly at [email protected] and include a screen shot showing the time and date stamp and include details about how the error occurred during registration.

OINP Employer Job Offer: Foreign Worker Stream

This stream is for foreign workers with a job offer in a skilled occupation at Skill Type 0 or Skill Level A or B of the National Occupational Classification (NOC). This stream is open to foreign workers in and outside of Canada.

 Requirements

 Job Offer requirements

  • The candidate must have a full-time and permanent job offer. Full-time means the job must be a minimum of 1,560 hours a year and a minimum of 30 hours of paid work per week. Permanent means the job must have no end date (also known as an indeterminate duration).
  • The job offered must be in a skilled occupation at Skill Type 0 or Skill Levels A or B of the National Occupation Classification (NOC).
  • Salary in the job offered must meet or be higher than the median wage level, for that occupation.
  • The position offered must be necessary to the employer’s business. This means that the job offer must align with the employer’s existing business activities and the position must be needed to maintain or grow ongoing business activity.
  • The job duties for the position of the job offer must occur primarily in Ontario.

 Applicant Requirements 

  • Applicant must have at least 2 years of paid full-time (or the equivalent in part-time) work experience (within the 5 years prior to submitting the application) in the same occupation (same NOC code) as in job offer.
  • The applicant must intend to live in Ontario after becoming permanent residence.
  • The applicant must have legal status (a visitor record, study permit, or work permit) at the time of the application and should maintain that status until the time of nomination.

 Employer requirements 

  • The employer must be in active business in Ontario for at least three years prior submitting the application.
  • The employer must have a minimum of $1,000,000 in total gross annual revenue for a job offer based in Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York, and Peel regions) and $500,000 for a job offer based outside of the Greater Toronto Area.
  • The employer must have at least 5 full-time employees (Canadian citizens or permanent residents) for GTA region and 3 full-time employees for a job offer based outside of the Greater Toronto Area.

Document requirements 

EmployerApplicant

 Cost to apply 

  • $1,500 CAD: if the job offer is outside of the Greater Toronto Area
  • $2,000 CAD: if the job offer is within the Greater Toronto Area (City of Toronto, Durham, Halton, York, and Peel regions)

 Need help in applying for OINP!

 Please contact us for free consultation and assessment!

Major changes to help international students

Canada aims to attract more international students as they contribute to economic and social development of the country. Canada hosted over 640,000 international students prior to the start of COVID-19 pandemic.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has stated that it will help international students with the following reforms:

  • IRCC will prioritize study permit processing for students who have submitted a completed application online.
  • In the light of COVID-19 pandemic, they have launched a temporary 2 stage approval process for international students, who wish to begin their Canadian education program online this fall and, cannot submit a completed study permit application by September 2020.
  • IRCC is also allowing international students to begin their Canadian studies online while they are in their home country and will consider that time count towards their Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP)eligibility, only if they have submitted a study permit application and if at least 50 per cent of the program is completed in Canada.

Reason to help international students

Canada covets international students and IRCC acknowledges that COVID-19 pandemic is creating uncertainty for international students to begin their programs for the Fall 2020 academic year, so they are rolling out measures to facilitate study permit process. These measures will assist students to commence their studies this fall at a Canadian designated learning institute.

How to get a pre-approval for a study permit?

IRCC will provide an approval-in-principle for study permits if students pass the first stage. The two-stage assessment process will be applied to applicants at all levels of study whose program is starting in the fall semester or earlier and who submit, or have already submitted, a study permit application online on or before September 15, 2020.

At the initial eligibility stage, officers will assess:

For the admissibility stage, before a final decision is made, officers will review the following:

After receiving final approval for their study permit, students will be able to travel to Canada.

Mutual benefits

IRCC has made several temporary policy changes to support and reassure international students as international student attraction is beneficial to both, the students and to the Canadian economy.

International students attain world class education in Canadian learning institutes, with hands on academic learning and a highly dynamic approach. After completing education, students can gain a PGWP and gain work experience which will help to obtain permanent residency through Express EntryProvincial Nominee Program (PNP), and many other pathways.

According to IRCC, in year 2018 Canada accommodated over 650,000 international students at the post-secondary education level in the year 2019 and over 60,000 former international students become immigrants each year.

International students contribute $22 billion annually to support the Canadian economy which in turn facilitates 170,000 jobs in Canada.

How Can-X can help?

  • Each study program has different set of requirements. We help clients in selecting suitable courses and/or programs based on their educational background, interest and long-term goals.
  • We help clients in getting a letter of acceptance from a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) in Canada.
  • We prepare and submit the student visa application on the behalf o the client.

Want help in student visa application process! Please contact us for assessment & more information.

Work permit levels in Canada remain steady post COVID-19 outbreak

The number of work permits issued to TFWs in Canada appears to have been affected by coronavirus closures. The year started off strong where a total of 32,995 work permits were issued in January 2020 but, after the novel coronavirus pandemic in March total number of work permit went down to 19,650.

The work permit number increased to 29,900 in April which again dropped to 25,125 in May, 2020. The drop in May work permits is typically in part due to less Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) permits.

These new permits issued to TFWs post COVID-19 outbreak include permits issued to people who were eligible to work in Canada through the

  • Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) or
  • International Mobility Program (IMP)

The TFWP allows Canadian employers to hire foreign talent when no Canadian worker could fill the job vacancy. It is mainly used to admit seasonal agricultural workers to Canada, but also covers other sectors while IMP, which meets Canada’s broad economic and social needs, includes the Global Talent Stream (GTS), and the Post Graduation Work Permit (PGWP).

Tech workers who either work for designated companies or are being hired in highly skilled occupations can apply under GTS.

International students can use the PGWP to gain up to three years of Canadian work experience, which is highly valued in an application for permanent residence.

General eligibility requirements for Work permit. No matter where you apply, you must

  • Prove to an officer that you will leave Canada when your work permit expires. You can include many supporting documents to support this claim. For example: your family ties, employment etc.
  • Show that you have enough money to take care of yourself and your family members during your stay in Canada and to return home. You can include your financial documents.
  • Obey the law and have no record of criminal activity (IRCC may ask you to provide a police clearance certificate)
  • Not be a danger to Canada’s security,
  • Be in good health and have a medical exam, if needed,
  • Not plan to work for an employer listed with the status “ineligible” on the list of employers.
  • Not plan to work for an employer who, on a regular basis, offers striptease, erotic dance, escort services or erotic massages, and
  • Give the officer any other documents they ask for to prove you can enter the country. 

Work Permit from outside Canada

To come to Canada as a temporary foreign worker, you must get a work permit. In general, you need to apply for a work permit from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) before you come to Canada. You must apply to a visa office outside Canada if you need a visa to enter Canada or if you need to have a medical exam before you come to Canada. You need to get a job offer and some other documents from a Canadian employer before you apply.

Work Permit from inside Canada

You can apply for a work permit from inside Canada if you are currently in Canada and

  • Have a valid study or work permit, or your spouse or parents have a study or work permit
  • Have graduated from a program at a Canadian university, community college, CÉGEP, publicly funded trade/technical school, or other eligible school.
  • Have a temporary resident permit that is valid for six months or more,
  • Have applied or been included in an application for permanent residence from inside Canada (you will have to pass certain stages in the main application process to be eligible for a work permit)

Work Permit at the port of entry

You may apply for a work permit on arrival at a port of entry (POE) in Canada if the following applies

  • You are exempt from the requirement for a temporary resident visa and your job falls within the International Mobility Program (i.e., you are not required to obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment [LMIA]);
  • You are exempt from the requirement for a temporary resident visa and your job falls within the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (i.e., you are required to obtain an LMIA) and a positive or neutral LMIA has been issued by the time you arrive, and your employer has completed all of the steps for your type of work permit
  • You are a national or permanent resident of the U.S., Greenland or Saint-Pierre and Miquelon regardless of whether your job falls with the Temporary Foreign Worker Program or the International Mobility Program.
  • You will not be working as a live-in caregiver or as a seasonal agricultural worker

In addition to the above, you must have completed your immigration medical examination, if required, before your arrival. If you’re a citizen of an eTA-required country, you’ll need to get an eTA if you plan to fly into Canada. IRCC recommends that you apply for your work permit before you travel to Canada.

Work permits based on skill types

High Skilled Work Permits

High skilled work permits are obtained in an occupation under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level 0, A or B.  Generally, for skilled work permits, applicant need to have 1-3 years of experience depending upon the occupation and in certain cases only relevant education can fulfill the job requirements. Applicants also need to prove their English or French language skills to meet the job requirements.

Low skilled work permits

Low skilled work permits are obtained in an occupation under the National Occupational Classification (NOC) skill level C & D. Low skilled work permits require maximum of high school education or job specific training. Applicants also need to prove their English or French language skills to meet the job requirements.

Low skilled work permits under agriculture stream

Low skilled work permits under agriculture stream generally do not require any specific language skills, education and experience. You still need to meet all general eligibility requirements for work permit.

Under low skilled work permits, generally employers pay return airfare, ensure that affordable and suitable accommodation is available, provide temporary medical insurance coverage, register workers with provincial workplace safety insurance plans, sign an employer-employee contract.

How Can-X can help?

  • We can help foreign nationals and foreign workers to apply for Canadian Work Permit which authorizes them to legally work in Canada.
  • We can apply for approval of Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) to Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) on behalf of employers.

Contact us for assessment and more information!

 

Temporary residents can now restore their status until December 31, 2020

During the COVID-19 pandemic, temporary residents who remained in Canada have been encouraged to renew their work or study permits to maintain their legal status in Canada. As a result of the pandemic and its associated challenges, a new public policy has been implemented that provides an extension to apply for restoration beyond the current 90-day time frame for foreign nationals in Canada.

This public policy comes into effect on July 14, 2020 and remains in effect until December 31, 2020. Applications received on or before December 31, 2020 may benefit from this public policy.

Former workers, students and visitors whose status expired after January 30, 2020, and who remained in Canada now have until December 31, 2020, to apply to restore their status, provided they meet the requirements for the type of status and authorization they are applying to restore.

 The public policy aims to 

  • provide eligible foreign nationals who have fallen out of status during the COVID-19 pandemic with more time to restore their temporary resident status
  • exempt eligible foreign nationals from the requirement to have complied with certain temporary resident conditions for a work or study permit to be issued
  • allow eligible foreign nationals applying for a job offer-supported work permit to work while decisions on their restoration and work permit applications are pending

The public policy also allows former work-permit holders applying for an employer-specific work permit to work while a decision on their restoration application is pending. However, they need to:

Eligibility requirements for restoration application 

Foreign national restoring their temporary resident status 

To be eligible for restoration under the public policy, the foreign national must:

  • have been in Canada with valid temporary resident status on January 30, 2020, remained in Canada since, and lost their temporary resident status more than 90 days ago: and
  • have applied for restoration of temporary resident status and paid the associated application processing fees. 

Foreign national seeking interim work authorization 

To be eligible for interim work authorization, the foreign national must:

  • have submitted an employer-specific work permit application with correct fees for which a decision has not yet been made, included an application for restoration and paid the associated application processing fee;
  • have held a valid work permit in the 12 months preceding the date on which they submitted their application for restoration of temporary resident status;
  • intend to work for the employer and/or occupation specified in the LMIA or LMIA-exempt offer of employment included in their work permit application;
  • have applied for the public policy exemption using the electronic means (that is, the IRCC Webform) identified by the department for that purpose; and
  • have requested that the public policy exemption be applied until a decision is made on their work permit application. 

Examples where the interim work authorization would apply 

  • The foreign national’s work permit expired on December 30, 2019, and they fell out of status. They submitted a restoration and work permit application on March 1, 2020 (within 90 days of losing status), and a decision is still pending on their application.
  • The foreign national’s work permit expired on March 1, 2020, and they fell out of status. They submitted a restoration and work permit application on October 1, 2020 (under the public policy), and a decision is still pending on their work permit application. 

Example where the interim work authorization would not apply 

  • The foreign national’s work permit expired on March 30, 2019, and they extended their stay in Canada as a visitor. In this case, the foreign national cannot benefit from the interim work authorization under this public policy as they do not meet the eligibility criteria (that is, they did not hold a work permit in the last 12 months).
  • The foreign national is a work permit-exempt worker who is restoring their status and applying for a work permit with a job offer, but they did not hold a valid work permit in the 12 months preceding the date on which they submitted their application for restoration of temporary resident status.

Want help restoring your status? Please contact us at (778) 564-3555 or email at [email protected]