Canada Immigration Changes This Year

The rules of the game have changed. If you are serious about your dream to live and work in Canada, there should be no room for hesitation. It is important that you make a decision NOW. Otherwise, your opportunity will soon be gone and you'll never know when it will be back again.

A bit of Canada's immigration history is in order.

In the past, almost all professional and skilled workers are eligible to apply for Federal Skilled Worker program. No quota, not cap, no limit. Anybody can apply at his preferred and convenient time. The processing period back then was about 5 to 6 years. There were about 350 occupations eligible.

A new law had passed on June 2008 giving the Immigration Minister the power to identify occupations that are eligible for priority processing through a Ministerial applications.

November 2008. The 1st Ministerial Instruction was issued identifying 38 high demand occupations eligible for priority processing with a commitment to process each application within 6-12 months. There was no limit on the number of application to be processed.

June 2010. The 2nd Ministerial Instruction was issued identifying 29 in-demand occupations and there's still a commitment to process each application within 6-12 months. This time, however, there's a limit on the number of applications they will receive for processing. A quota and a cap for each occupation was imposed. Only a maximum of 1,000 applications will be accepted until June 30, 2011. As of this writing, the cap for two occupations have already been reached.

June 2011. The chance to file the application of those included in the 29 in-demand occupations would be over. A new list of in-demand occupations would be released through another Ministerial Instruction.

What's in it for you?

If your occupation is included in the current priority list, you should file your application ASAP! The cap for your occupation may be filled sooner than you expect.

What about me? My occupation is not in the current list. Since there will be a cap for the next list of in-demand occupations, I want to make sure my documents are ready. What are my options?

Good thinking! There is a great chance that the cap will be reached within a month or two once the list is made public - just like in the case of US Work Visa Applications. You should really get your documents as early as NOW.

Take the FREE Online Assessment to learn your options.

I will be conducting Live and Work in Canada information seminar in Canadian Immigration Consultancy Main Office at 21st Floor Washington Tower Paranaque City. Seminar details would be posted soon.