Monthly Archives: March 2013

Former Immigration Officer Sentenced to Four Years in Prison

Posted on March 30, 2013 by CICS Immigration Team

Former Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) officer Diane Serré was sentenced to four years in prison on Thursday for accepting bribes in exchange for preferential official treatment of applications for permanent residence. Serré was found guilty of 15 counts of fraud … Continue reading →

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Immigration Canada Announces April 1 Launch of Start-Up Visa Program

Posted on March 28, 2013 by CICS Immigration Team

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced on Thursday that foreign entrepreneurs would be able to start applying for the newly created Start-Up Visa Program on April 1st of this year. “Canada is open for business to the world’s start-up entrepreneurs,” … Continue reading →

Posted in canadian immigration, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, entrepreneur program, Federal Investor Program, permanent residence, Start-Up Visa, startup visa | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Canada’s Immigration Backlog Reduced by 40 Percent

Posted on March 27, 2013 by CICS Immigration Team

Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s (CIC) backlog of permanent resident applications has declined by forty percent since 2008, according to a CIC announcement on Tuesday. A freeze in the acceptance of new Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Immigrant Investor applications, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Expression of Interest (EOI), Federal Investor Program, federal skilled worker, Federal Skilled Worker Program, permanent residence | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Canada Among Most Welcoming Countries to Foreign Visitors

Posted on March 26, 2013 by CICS Immigration Team

A new travel and tourism study from the World Economic Forum (WEF) ranks Canada as one of the most welcoming countries to foreign visitors, ahead of the United States and most European countries. The rankings, revealed by Max Fisher in … Continue reading →

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Canadian Immigration Application Fees to Increase

Posted on March 24, 2013 by CICS Immigration Team

Immigration processing fees are going to increase, according to a proposed federal budget released on Thursday. The cause of the coming fee hikes, according to Alexis Pavlich, a spokeswoman for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, is Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) … Continue reading →

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Burlington, Ontario Ranks as Best City in Canada for Immigrants

Posted on March 22, 2013 by CICS Immigration Team

MoneySense, a Canadian personal finance magazine, has released its annual Best Places to Live for 2013 index, and Calgary takes the number one spot as the best place to live in Canada overall, while Burlington, Ontario is ranked as the … Continue reading →

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Canadian Immigration Department Releases TV Ad Warning of Marriage Fraud

Posted on March 20, 2013 by CICS Immigration Team

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) began airing a television ad today warning Canadians of the dangers of marriage sponsorship fraud. The ad tells Canadians that some foreign individuals seek out Canadians and feign genuine affection for them, in order to … Continue reading →

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Irish Immigration Shift from Australia to Canada, Fuelled by Calgary’s Economy

Posted on March 19, 2013 by CICS Immigration Team

A story in Saturday’s Irish Times examines the increase in Irish immigration to Canada as the country’s workers seek employment abroad. The article notes two trends in recent years: Canada being increasingly favoured by Irish emigrants over Australia and the … Continue reading →

Posted in best city to live in Canada for immigrants, best province in Canada, Calgary, Canadian economy, canadian immigration, Canadian job market, International Experience Canada, working holiday Visa | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Changes to Arranged Employment Stream of Federal Skilled Worker Program

Posted on March 16, 2013 by CICS Immigration Team

Changes will be coming to application requirements under the arranged employment stream of the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) on May 4, 2013, according to an announcement by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) this week. Individuals with arranged employment in … Continue reading →

Posted in arranged employment, federal skilled worker, Federal Skilled Worker Program, Labor Market Opinion, Labour Market Opinion | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Immigration Canada Announces A Priority Occupations List for Federal Skilled Worker Program

Posted on March 13, 2013 by CICS Immigration Team

After months of speculation that the new Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) would not have a priority occupations list, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has officially announced that the program will in fact have a priority occupations list when it … Continue reading →

Posted in canadian immigration, Educational Credential Assessment (ECA), federal skilled worker, Federal Skilled Worker Program, priority occupations list | Tagged | 12 Comments