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Arranged Employment is possible when a Canadian employer extends an offer of full-time permanent employment in Canada to a foreign skilled worker. The foreign skilled worker’s Canadian Immigration (Permanent Resident) Visa will be expedited so that the worker can come to Canada and start working for the Canadian employer quickly.

Arranged Employment is one of ways to qualify for a Canada Permanent Resident Visa through the Federal Skilled Worker category of immigration. It also provides the Federal Skilled Worker applicant with up to an additional 10 points towards Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s (CIC) selection factor requirement of 67 points.

These points are awarded under the Arranged Employment Factor as follows:

Permanent job offer from a Canadian employer, approved by the Canadian Government Department of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC): 10 points

or

Permanent job offer from a Canadian employer, without the necessity of HRSDC approval, if, at the time of applying for the Permanent Resident Visa, the applicant is employed in Canada by the same employer, on one of the Temporary Work Permits that allow for arranged employment: 10 points.

An additional 5 points may also be awarded under the Adaptability Factor.

British Columbia (BC) has recently announced that it is making changes to its Provincial Nominee Program that will allow the province to welcome greater numbers of qualified immigrants.

The BC Provincial Nominee Program already had a category for international graduates under its Strategic Occupations Stream, but the students were required to have a job offer from a BC employer in order to qualify for the program.

However, a job offer is no longer required for recent masters and doctorate graduates from a BC post-secondary institution in the natural, applied or health sciences.

“These highly skilled graduates are vital to helping our province succeed in a world where knowledge is the most important currency,” said Moira Stilwell, BC’s Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development.

In addition, international graduates with a BC job offer previously needed to have completed a portion of their degree or diploma in the province. That requirement has been modified so that students who have graduated from any eligible Canadian educational institution may qualify if they have a BC job offer.

Expanding the Provincial Nominee Program will enable the province to counter the upcoming skilled worker shortage that is expected, not just in BC, but all across Canada.

“With over 950,000 job openings anticipated by 2020, attracting international post-secondary students is one way we can meet the future needs of BC business for well trained, highly educated employees,” Stilwell said.

Legislation to Crack Down on Crooked Consultants a Step Closer to Becoming Law

Legislation to crack down on crooked immigration consultants received final approval today in the House of Commons.
“I am pleased that C-35, our tough measures to crack down on crooked consultants, is now moving to the Senate for its consideration,” said Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.
The legislation, introduced in the House of Commons on June 8, aims to crack down on crooked immigration consultants who exploit prospective immigrants and undermine the integrity of Canada’s immigration system.
“In their quest for personal gain, crooked consultants have displayed a wanton disregard for our immigration rules and bilked too many people out of their hard-earned dollars,” said Minister Kenney. “They are a menace, posing a costly threat not only to their victims, but also to the integrity and fairness of our immigration system. When crooked consultants encourage prospective immigrants to cheat the system, it slows down the immigration system for those following the rules.”
The legislation would make it a crime for unauthorized individuals to provide immigration advice or representation for a fee. This includes services offered or performed before an application is submitted or a proceeding begins, thus closing a loophole in the current framework. It would also give the Minister the authority to designate a body to govern immigration consultants and authorize the Governor in Council to make regulations to enhance the government’s oversight of this body.
A public call for submissions from candidate entities interested in becoming the governing body was published in the Canada Gazette in August. Interested parties have until 4 p.m. (EST) on December 29, 2010, to deliver their submissions.

In addition, the legislation would authorize the disclosure of information on the ethical or professional conduct of an immigration consultant to those responsible for governing or investigating that conduct.

Effective December 1, 2010, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will once again accept applications under the federal Immigrant Investor Program.

Under the new program criteria, investor applicants will need to have a personal net worth of $1.6 million, up from $800,000 under the old criteria, and make an investment of $800,000, up from the previous requirement of $400,000.

The requirements for this programme had not been changed in more than a decade leading the minister of immigration to believe Canada needed to keep pace with the changing economic climate.

Canada’s old immigrant investor criteria were the lowest when compared to other countries with similar programs. The new criteria now align it more closely with other immigrant-receiving countries.

The investor program was suspended in June, in part because the high volume of applications was leading to wait times that were too long. Raising the requirements will help reduce the flow of applications while ensuring we attract experienced businesspeople who can make a more substantial contribution to the economy. Higher personal net worth criteria mean the program is now better positioned to attract investors with valuable business links and the resources to make secondary investments in the Canadian economy.

It is hoped that higher investment amounts will mean provinces and territories will receive more investment capital to put toward job creation and economic development projects.

Canada’s Immigrant Investor Program offers several benefits to international investors, including permanent resident status up front and guaranteed repayment of the investment.

Under Canada’s old criteria, the volume of applications submitted under the Program had grown exponentially and processing times had increased. It is hoped that stopping applications between June 26, 2010, and December of this year will prevented further delays. Applications received on or after December 1, 2010 will be subject to the new criteria and will be processed alongside the old ones. In this way, Canada can begin to realize the benefits of the changes as soon as possible.

Recently, British Columbia (BC) announced that it is making changes to its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) that will allow the province to welcome greater numbers of qualified immigrants.

The BC PNP already had a category for international graduates under its Strategic Occupations Stream, but the students were required to have a job offer from a BC employer in order to qualify for the program.

However, a job offer is no longer required for recent masters and doctorate graduates from a BC post-secondary institution in the natural, applied or health sciences.

“These highly skilled graduates are vital to helping our province succeed in a world where knowledge is the most important currency,” said Moira Stilwell, BC’s Minister of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development.

In addition, international graduates with a BC job offer previously needed to have completed a portion of their degree or diploma in the province. That requirement has been modified so that students who have graduated from any eligible Canadian educational institution may qualify if they have a BC job offer.

Expanding the PNP will enable the province to counter the upcoming skilled worker shortage that is expected, not just in BC, but all across Canada.

“With over 950,000 job openings anticipated by 2020, attracting international post-secondary students is one way we can meet the future needs of BC business for well trained, highly educated employees,” Stilwell said