The Canadian Government today announced that, effective July 1st, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will place a temporary pause on new applications to the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and the federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP).
The pause is intended to allow the Government an opportunity to re-design its economic immigration programs, with the goal of moving towards a faster, more flexible immigration system.
It is important to note that the temporary pause on FSWP applications does not apply to candidates with offers of arranged employment or those applying under the PhD eligibility stream, nor does it affect the processing of applications already received. Today’s announcement is, however, independent of the Government’s prior announcement, as part of the Budget 2012, regarding the proposed termination of processing of FSWP applications received prior to February 27, 2008.
The Government plans to resume accepting new applications under the FSWP in January 2013, at which time revised selection criteria are expected to come into force. The new selection criteria are likely to reflect the Government’s goal of attracting younger immigrants with Canadian work experience and better language skills, as previously outlined in the Economic Action Plan 2012.
The pause on new federal IIP applications will remain in place indefinitely, as CIC works towards reducing its current backlog of IIP applications and consults with the provinces, territories and other stakeholders on ways to reform the current IIP to maximize the economic benefit to Canada. The Government has indicated that it may introduce a new, small-scale investor program on a short-term basis while is undertakes the extensive consultations and lengthy regulatory process necessary to overhaul the current IIP. The parameters of any such temporary program have yet to be announced.
For further information with respect to US and Canadian immigration or to find out if you or a company employee is eligible for temporary or permanent relocation to Canada or the US, we invite you to contact our experienced immigration lawyers and attorneys by contacting the Bomza Law Group at:
1-800-993-9971 or by clicking here: “Contact Us”.
1-800-993-9971
