Upcoming Changes to the Canadian Citizenship Rules in 2015

Posted on May 26, 2015 by CICS Immigration Team

Angelica Detablan, 7, is handed her citizenship certificate and a Canadian flag by RCMP Const. Gerri Beardy at a ceremony at Charleswood School in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

In June of 2015, it is expected that a few new rules and regulations will be implemented into the Canadian Citizenship Rules and the processing of applications. Majority of changes have received negative feedback from immigrants and several civil rights organization which accuse the government of creating a two-tier citizenship system.

Below is a list of some of the biggest changes:

Residency –

Current rules	New changes
One must show physical residency in Canada for 3 out of 4 years	4 out of 6 years and must show that you were physically present in Canada for at least 183 days per year for each of those four years.

Residency before becoming Permanent Resident –

Current rules	New changes
Any time spent in Canada before becoming a Permanent Resident could be used towards residency.	No time before becoming a Permanent Resident can be used towards calculating your days in Canada for citizenship.

Intent to reside –

Current rules	New changes
No such rule.	Applicants must now declare their intent to reside in Canada during the application and indicate that they plan to make Canada their permanent home.

Proof of language –

Current rules	New changes
Applicants between 18 – 54 must submit proof of language proficiency in English or French	The required age will be changed to 14 – 64

Taxes –

Current rules	New changes
Not required to file taxes.	Must file taxes.

On top of the above, a few more changes that we should be expecting are stricter offences and penalties for fraud and misrepresentations and new grounds and process for revoking citizenship.

It is highly recommended that anyone who is eligible for citizenship now to apply before the rules are implemented.

Temporary Foreign Worker Program Overhaul: What Workers Need to Know

Posted on August 4, 2014 by CICS Immigration Team

On June 20, 2014, the Government of Canada announced major changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP). These changes have significant repercussions for Canadian employers across the country as well as current and future foreign workers.
The recent TFWP overhaul affects Canadian employers. Of course, many of these changes also have a significant impact on how foreign workers obtain their work permits, as well as what will happen during and after arrival in Canada.
Following is detail of the most important changes and what they mean for current and future foreign workers in Canada.

Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs)

In most cases, Canadian employers need to obtain government approval before hiring a foreign worker. This approval comes in the form of a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), formerly known as a Labour Market Opinion (LMO).
In the eyes of the government, the responsibility for securing an LMIA rests solely with the employer in Canada. The LMIA process assesses whether the employer is eligible to hire from abroad.
If you are a foreign worker who has received a job offer in Canada, especially from a small or medium sized employer, you should be prepared for the employer to possibly question whether they want to go through this process at all.

LMIA-Based Work Permit Restrictions

In addition to increased LMIA requirements, there are now new time limits placed on work permits that require LMIAs. Individuals whose Canadian job offers are considered ‘low-wage’ under the new LMIA system (that is, individuals who will be paid less than the provincial median wage) will be issued work permits valid for no longer than one year in length. In addition, low-wage applications that were submitted before June 20, 2014 will not be processed. They will be returned with a refund of government processing fees. Employers are welcome to re-apply following the new rules for low-wage LMIAs.
The government has also implied that the maximum work permit length for ‘high-wage’ workers, who are paid a salary that meets or exceeds provincial median wages, will also be reduced. It has been reported that the maximum length will be cut to two years, although this has yet to be formally implemented.
Options remain in place to renew work permits that are set to expire, as well as to transition from temporary worker status to permanent resident status.
Moratorium Lifted for Food Service Work Permits
On April 24, 2014, the government announced a moratorium on LMIA and work permit issuances for certain occupations in the food services sector. As ofJune 20, this moratorium has been lifted and workers in the food sector may once again apply for work authorization.

LMIA-Exempt Work Permits

Work permits that do not require LMIA approval are now known as ‘International Mobility Programs’.
Certain work permits are LMIA-exempt but remain tied to a specific employer. These sorts of permits most commonly pertain to individuals applying under the NAFTA Program and the Intra-Company Transfer Program.
Currently, individuals are able to apply for their LMIA-exempt work permit once they obtain a job offer from a Canadian employer. In the future (date unknown), Canadian employers will be required to submit their job offers for approval to Citizenship and Immigration Canada before the foreign worker can apply for the work permit. Employers will be required to pay a $230 processing fee to have their job offer evaluated.
The foreign worker must still pay the standard $155 work permit application fee when submitting an application.

Open Work Permit Fees

In the future (date unknown), recipients of Open Work Permits will be required to pay a $100 ‘privilege fee’ in addition to the standard application fee of $155. Individuals who are eligible for open work permits include the spouses of foreign workers and students in Canada as well as participants in certain work exchange programs.
All new fees will help to cover government services such as work permit processing and employer compliance inspections.

Working in Canada Today

It is important to note that individuals who are currently in Canada on a work permit will not see any changes made to their current permits. However, any requests to renew or extend their work permits will be subject to the new rules.

2,300 People to Have Canadian Citizenship Revoked

Posted on April 23, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

Canadian citizenship ceremony (Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada)

In a meeting with the editorial board of the Montreal Gazette, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said that 2,300 people are to have their citizenship revoked for providing fake proof of residency, with 6,000 additional cases under investigation, after a two year RCMP investigation into the issue.

Mr. Kenney said that most of the offending individuals are clients of particular immigration citizenship consultants who offer to fabricate proof of residency.

The Immigration Minister also talked about the Quebec Investor program in the meeting, criticizing the fact that only one out of ten immigrants accepted through the provincial program end up settling in Quebec.

He said most end up going to Vancouver or Toronto, and this can create problems for those cities:

“Here’s what often happens. Quebec will get the $800,000 for five years. B.C. will get the social services costs for health care and everything else for the dependents who have been brought to Vancouver.

People in Vancouver are always asking me why are we facilitating this because it is leading to inflation of real estate prices. Which is great if you are well-established and you have paid down your mortgage. But if you are a young family starting out, good luck being able to afford a house in Vancouver. A lot of people who aren’t rooted in Vancouver are inflating the costs.”

Permanent residents taking their oath of citizenship (Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada)

Mr. Kenney added that the federal government is planning on increasing the price that immigration applicants would have to pay to qualify for the Federal Immigrant Investor Program, given the large number of wealthy individuals looking to immigrate to Canada.

He also said the Ministry would like to change the Investor Program requirement of loaning the government money without interest to making a more active investment, so that Investor class immigrants become financially more committed to Canada.

Immigration Canada to Create New ‘Skilled Trades Worker’ Program

Posted on April 17, 2012 by CICS Immigration Team

The federal government will be creating a new Federal Skilled Worker Program specifically for tradespeople later in the year, that is intended to help meet Canada’s shortage of skilled trades labor.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney remarked that “we are facing huge and growing labour shortages in Canada, particularly here in the West and in Alberta” at a construction site in Calgary earlier in the month.

The current Federal Skilled Worker Program scores immigration applicants out of 100 points, with a passing score of 67. The criteria the score is based on are English/French language ability, education, work experience, age, the existence of a Canadian job offer to them, and their adaptability.

The assessment criteria have been unfavorable to skilled tradespeople, who generally score lower on language ability and education than skilled professionals, resulting in skilled tradespeople making up only three percent of those accepted under the current Federal Skilled Workers Program.

The new skilled trades immigration class will put more emphasis on practical training, as opposed to just formal education, and will favor trade workers skilled in construction, mining, transportation, manufacturing and services.