New Quotas and Eligible Occupations for Permanent Residence Applications

Filipiniana News – May 2014

RHYME & REASON

New Quotas and Eligible Occupations for Permanent Residence Applications 

Last month, I wrote about Citizenship and Immigration Canada's (CIC) much-touted Express Entry system.  In preparation for its implementation in January 2015, CIC started accepting applications on 1 May 2014 under the new quotas and a new list of eligible occupations for the the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP), Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP) categories. 

It was announced that effective 1 May 2014, there is a new quota of 25,000 applications under the FSWP,  5,000 applications under the FSTP and 8,000 applications under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) 

In addition to these overall quotas under the FSWP, there will be a limit of 1,000 applications to be accepted under each eligible occupation, 500 applications under the PhD stream but no limit for applications with valid arranged employment from a Canadian employer.

The list of eligible occupations under the FSWP has been increased from 24 to the following 50 occupations (with the NOC codes):

1. Senior managers – financial, communications and other business services (0013)
2. Senior managers - trade, broadcasting and other services, n.e.c. (0015)
3. Financial managers (0111)
4. Human resources managers (0112)
5. Purchasing managers (0113)
6. Insurance, real estate and financial brokerage managers (0121)
7. Managers in health care (0311)
8. Construction managers (0711)
9. Home building and renovation managers (0712)
10. Managers in natural resources production and fishing (0811)
11. Manufacturing managers (0911)
12. Financial auditors and accountants (1111)
13. Financial and investment analysts (1112)
14. Securities agents, investment dealers and brokers (1113)
15. Other financial officers (1114)
16. Professional occupations in advertising, marketing and public relations (1123)
17. Supervisors, finance and insurance office workers (1212)
18. Property administrators (1224)
19. Geoscientists and oceanographers (2113)
20. Civil engineers (2131)
21. Mechanical engineers (2132)
22. Electrical and electronics engineers (2133)
23. Petroleum engineers (2145)
24. Information systems analysts and consultants (2171)
25. Database analysts and data administrators (2172)
26. Software engineers and designers (2173)
27. Computer programmers and interactive media developers (2174)
28. Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians (2232)
29. Construction estimators (2234)
30. Electrical and electronics engineering technologists and technicians (2241)
31. Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics (2243)
32. Inspectors in public and environmental health and occupational health and safety (2263)
33. Computer network technicians (2281)
34. Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors (3011)
35. Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses (3012)
36. Specialist physicians (3111)
37. General practitioners and family physicians (3112)
38. Dietitians and nutritionists (3132)
39. Audiologists and speech-language pathologists (3141)
40. Physiotherapists (3142)
41. Occupational therapists (3143)
42. Respiratory therapists, clinical perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists (3214)
43. Medical radiation technologists (3215)
44. Medical sonographers (3216)
45. Licensed practical nurses (3233)
46. Paramedical occupations (3234)
47. University professors and lecturers (4011)
48. Psychologists (4151)
49. Early childhood educators and assistants (4214)
50. Translators, terminologists and interpreters (5125)

Under the FSTP, all 90 skilled trades occupations classified under NOC B will be eligible to apply but with a limit of 100 applications per eligible occupation:  

• Major Group 72:  Industrial, electrical and construction trades
• Major Group 73: Maintenance and equipment operation trades
• Major Group 82: Supervisors and technical occupations in national resources, agriculture and related production
• Major Group 92: Processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators
• Minor Group 632: chefs and cooks
• Minor Group 633: butchers and bakers.                                                                                        

For CEC applications, there are no sub-caps for NOC O and A occupations while there is a limit of 200 applications for each of the NOC B occupations.  The following six occupations will continue to be ineligible under the CEC class:  administrative officers (NOC code 1221), administrative assistants (1241), accounting technicians/bookkeepers (1311), cooks (6322), food service supervisors (6311), and retail sales supervisors (6211).

According to CIC, these will be the last batch of applications under the FSWP, FSTP and CEC categories that will be accepted prior to the implementation of the Express Entry system.  It is unclear what this exactly means for applications that will be submitted on 1 January 2015 and onwards.  For instance, will applications under the eligible occupations where quotas are yet unfilled, continue to be accepted until 30 April 2015?  Will the PhD stream also be eliminated?  Will the points system and current eligibility factors still be relevant?  Will the CEC class and other programs be scrapped?  As usual, many aspects remain eerily uncertain in this ever changing Canadian immigration landscape.    

The author is a Filipino-Canadian immigration lawyer and may be reached at deanna@santoslaw.ca or tel.  no. 416-901-8497.