Filipiniana News - January 2018
Caregiver Program Changes
Before the end of 2017, IRCC promised to expedite family
reunification for caregivers and their families by addressing the huge backlog
of permanent residence applications under the now defunct Live-in Caregiver
Program.
In addition, employers who would like to hire
caregivers for people with high medical needs and those who would like to hire
caregivers for children with annual household income of less than $150,000 are
now exempt from paying the $1,000 LMIA processing fee.
We truly hope that these changes will only be the start of other significant
changes that will help improve the status of caregivers in Canada who are
initially admitted as temporary workers.
Among others, the employer-specific and precarious nature of the
caregiver work permits will need to be removed, being the root cause of their
vulnerability to various forms of abuse and exploitation.
Reopening of Parent-Grandparent Sponsorship Applications
As in 2017, the
IRCC reopened the parent-grandparent sponsorship program by allowing
prospective sponsors to fill up an online form for this purpose anytime between
January 2 to February 1, 2018. Completion of this form is not equivalent to
an application but is only an expression of interest to sponsor and will form
part of the pool of prospective applicants.
At the end of the
designated one-month period, IRCC officials will again randomly select 10,000
sponsors from those who completed the online form and who will then be invited
to submit their applications to sponsor their parents' or grandparents'
permanent residency.
Unlike in the past
year however, where minimal information was required, the online form this time
asks for more detailed information, including the names, dates of birth, family
size and incomes of prospective sponsors for the past three taxation
years. This is meant to weed out
prospective sponsors who are not qualified to sponsor due to lack of the minimum
necessary income which apparently led to the inability to meet the target of
10,000 applications last year even after two rounds of lottery
invitations.
Those invited but
who will fail to submit the complete application packages within the 90-day
prescribed period or fail to meet the requirements, will be refused. If they would like to reapply, they will have
to resubmit a new online interest form when the parent-grandparent sponsorship
quota reopens and/or wait to be chosen in the next lottery.
IRCC has also clarified that one can only sponsor his/her own parents and grandparents. An
invitation to apply received from IRCC cannot be used to sponsor the spouse'
parents or grandparents. If one is a
co-signer in his/her in-law’s application, it is the spouse or partner who must
have received an invitation to apply as a sponsor.
If, like last
year, the quota of 10,000 applications is not met after the first round of
invitations, it is possible that the IRCC will randomly pick and invite more
sponsors to apply, just like what happened in September 2017.
Work Permit Pilot Program for Inland
Spousal Sponsorship Applicants Extended
In line with the IRCC's policy of prioritizing
family reunification through the faster processing of spousal sponsorship applications, the open work permit pilot program had also
been extended until 31 January 2019, to give spouses a chance to work while
their applications are being finalized
This pilot program authorizes the issuance of an
open work permit to the sponsored spouse shortly after the complete inland
spousal sponsorship application is received by IRCC (normally a few months
later) and even before the grant of an approval in principle. To be eligible for an open work permit under
this program, the applicant must:
1. be a
spouse or common-law partner living in Canada who is being sponsored under the
spouse or common-law partner in Canada class
2. have
valid temporary resident status (as a visitor, student or worker) and
3. live at
the same address as the sponsor.
If the sponsored spouse does not qualify for the
open work permit pilot program but is in a genuine marriage or common-law
relationship with the sponsor in Canada, then they will just have to wait for
the approval in principle before becoming eligible for the open work
permit. With the current faster
processing of inland spousal sponsorship applications, this should not take
much longer than the few months it takes to be granted an OWP under the pilot
program.
Express Entry Recent Rounds of Invitations
The most
recent Express Entry round of invitations issued on 10 January 2018 to 2,750
applicants had 446 as the minimum score.
In the past few weeks, the minimum scores ranged from 439 (on 15
November 2017) to 452 (on 6 December 2017).
So far, the lowest score of those invited had been 413 (and 199 for the
Federal Skilled Trades class) which occurred in May 2017.
For those who
are already in the Express Entry pool but have not reached the minimum score to
be invited to apply, it will be best to continue being proactive by applying
for prospective employment in Canada which may increase the candidate's CRS
score by 50 points (for NOC 0, A or B occupations) or 200 points (for a NOC 00
occupation). Better yet, if the
candidate is able to use this job offer to obtain a provincial nomination
certificate, this will give an added score of 600 points, which will ensure an
invitation to apply in the next round.
As always, the
above are meant for information purposes only and not as legal advice. To seek legal advice about your particular
situation, please consult a trusted immigration legal professional.
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