Filipiniana News – April 2015
RHYME & REASON
On 10 April 2015, CIC issued a news release welcoming the
first three people who were granted permanent residence under the Express
Entry, only three months after its launch and two months after the first round
of invitations. One of the newest
permanent residents is from Ireland who qualified under the Federal Skilled
Worker class, and is now working as an application scientist in Ontario. The two others are former international
students from China who qualified under the Canadian Experience Class and who
are likewise already working for Canadian employers.
After submitting my article on the Express Entry system last
month, three additional draws of applications have been conducted by
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to prospective permanent residence
applicants. Since its launch on 1
January 2015 therefore, CIC has conducted a total of six draws and invited a
total of 6,851 prospective applicants
for permanent residence in Canada under the high-skilled occupations
classes. The numbers of those given an
invitation to apply (ITA) and lowest CRS scores for each draw are broken down
as follows:
·
On 31 January 2015, 779 Express Entry pool candidates were given
an ITA with the lowest ranked candidate having a CRS score of 886 points
·
On 7 February 2015, 779 Express Entry pool candidates were given
an ITA with the lowest ranked candidate having a CRS score of 818 points
·
On 20 February 2015, 849 Express Entry pool candidates were given
an ITA with the lowest ranked candidate having a CRS score of 808 points
·
On 27 February 2015, 1187 Express Entry pool candidates were given
an ITA with the lowest ranked candidate having a CRS score of 735 points
·
On 20 March 2015, 1620 Express Entry pool candidates were given
an ITA with the lowest ranked candidate having a CRS score of 481 points
·
On 27 March 2015, 1637 Express Entry pool candidates were given
an ITA with the lowest ranked candidate having a CRS score of 453 points
At the rate CIC is going, it is highly possible that a new
draw will be conducted anytime soon. If
interested or if you have posted an Express Entry profile, you may check the
CIC website at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/express-entry/rounds.asp for more recent updates.
***
Meanwhile, CIC's highly-controversial policy for
participants of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program - i.e.
the four year cumulative duration limit, a policy which took effect on 1
April 2011, hit its first "victims" on 1 April 2015.
The various media
outlets in print and broadcast, reported various cases of temporary foreign
workers who felt unjustly treated as a result of this policy. Many of these workers are working in
so-called low-skilled jobs and did not realize when they came to Canada, that
their occupations did not have a guaranteed path to permanent residence. Since their jobs are not in the NOC O, A or
B categories, they did not qualify for permanent residence under the existing
classes that are accepted through the Express Entry system. Now, they are further prejudiced by the
four-year cumulative duration limit, as not only are they forced to cease
working in Canada after four years, but they will also need to stay outside
Canada for at least four years before they can qualify to reapply for a new
work permit.
On 1 April 2011, CIC released Operational Bulletin (OB)
275-C which states that since the new TFW regulations took effect on 1 April
2011, this is also the date when the clock starts ticking towards the four-year
limit. Therefore, work permit refusals
arising from the inability to meet the four-year limit only started on 1 April
2015.
However, the TFW regulations
provide exceptions to the four-year limit if:
· the
foreign national intends to perform work that would create or maintain
significant social, cultural or economic benefits or opportunities for Canadian
citizens/PRs or
· the
foreign national intends to perform work pursuant to an international agreement
between Canada and one or more countries, including an agreement concerning
seasonal agricultural workers.
OB 275-C also stated that the exceptions include permanent
resident applicants from within Canada through the inland spousal sponsorship,
humanitarian and compassionate, and
Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP) routes.
On 22 May 2013, CIC released OB 523, which is meant to
provide more specific operational guidelines and information regarding the
four-year cumulative duration limit for temporary foreign workers. OB 523 clarified that "all work
counts" in assessing the four year cumulative duration limit. The exceptions only become relevant when the
worker applies to extend his/her work permit.
That is, if they are applying for a work permit that falls under one of
the exceptions cited above, the temporary foreign workers may be issued work
permits beyond four years. This
includes open work permit applicants for those granted approval in principle in
their permanent residence applications such as those under the LCP.
However, these are general guidelines for straightforward
cases only. There could be specific
cases which may appear to fall under one
of the exceptions but which actually do not.
If you are unsure, it is best to consult a trusted immigration legal
professional well before it is too late.
The author is a Filipino-Canadian
immigration lawyer and may be reached via email at deanna@santoslaw.ca or tel. no. 416-901-8497.
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