Immigration Blog about US & Canadian Immigration matters.

What financial criteria must be satisfied to qualify as a sponsor?

In order for you to be eligible to qualify as a sponsor, you must be able to prove that you meet the financial requirements. This means that as the sponsor you must meet the minimum necessary income or the low-income cut off known as LICO, for the appropriate size of your family. You must meet these requirements in order for you to be able to provide for the essential needs that the person you are wanting to sponsor has.

Are there any exceptions?

There are actually! The financial requirements are exempt if:

This category is for entrepreneurs and/or owner/operators of businesses, who want to immigrate to Northwest Territory (NWT) and establish business operations in the territory. Businesses are considered priority for assessment under this stream if they involve the introduction of a product that is new to the NWT, or if the business you want to do would generate significant profits for the territory. A business plan must be provided for this.

If you want to apply under this category, you have to meet the following criteria:

What is the Right of Permanent Resident Fee?

This is a payment in which you as the applicant along with your spouse/common-law partner will be required to pay.

When do you pay this fee?

You will be required to pay this fee before your Canadian Immigration Visa has been issued to you.

In Canada we are committed to the reunification of families and we take pride in making this possible at every opportunity that we can. Our goal is to be able to keep as many families as we can together throughout all of the immigration processes.

If you are coming to Canada through the Express Entry Program can you bring your family with you?

This is a question that is asked by most, and the answer is yes. If you are successful in coming to Canada then you will have the opportunity to bring your spouse, common-law partner or dependent children.

What is Canadian Experience Class?

Canadian Experience Class is when you can obtain permanent residence in Canada if you have worked for at least one year in the last three years. In order to gain qualifications for this program you will need to have experience within Canada which may lead to Permanent Residence for you.

It is known as an immigration category for Canada’s Temporary Foreign Workers when you are wanting to become a Permanent Residents of Canada.

No, not everyone needs a Temporary Visa to visit Canada, some countries are exempt from needing a visa to travel to Canada. You must research and ask the immigration officer in the country that you reside in, if a visa is necessary. While some countries are exempt others are not, if the country requires a visa to visit Canada then you must apply to do so with all necessary documentation that is needed to apply for a Temporary Visa to visit Canada.

What types of documents do I need to show the immigration officer?

While you do not need a visa to visit transit Canada, you will need to show the immigration officer required documentation which will permit you to travel to Canada. You will need to show the immigration officer proof that you meet all the requirements that are needed to enter Canada, and they must be satisfied with the documentation that you are presenting them with. Further, a medical exam or police clearances may be required.

It depends on when you send it, how it’s been sent or when it’s been received, a lot of things can affect the process of your immigration application, so taking safe precautions may help you along the processing.

What is a complete application?

Your application will be completed if you did the following

What documents do you need to support your application?

Within the Canadian Business Immigration program there are several documents that you are required to submit along with your application.

To start, in order to be eligible for this class you will need to show proof of your business and/or managerial experience that you have. Included within this will be the documents that will show your net worth.

Documents needed for LMIA Application:

• Business license or documentation showing proof of employers’ involvement in the business
• Union consultations done before applying to hire the foreign worker(s)
• Drafted and signed an employment contract
• Documentation of recruitment efforts to hire a Canadians and permanent residents before offering this job to a temporary worker and have proof of required advertisement
• Proof that the work place is safe
• Proof of health insurance coverage for temporary foreign worker paid by employer
• Proof that employer will accommodate foreign worker with affordable housing
• Receipt of payment for round trip by employer
• Need proof that the temporary foreign worker will leave Canada once your work permit expires
• May need to provide proof of education of foreign worker
• Proof that the wage rate meets the minimum requirement set by provincial legislation
• Proof that there is a shortage of Canadian citizens and permanent residents in that job area
• Registration of foreign worker under the appropriate provincial Workers’ Safety and compensation Board

There may be other documents needed. If you are looking at filing a Labour Market Impact Assessment, contact us today! At Akrami & Associates, There is Always a Way!

What is a Live-In Caregiver?

A live-in caregiver is a person who has the qualifications and ability to work without any supervision within a private home. They provide care for candidates such as: elderly, children and the disabled.

What has happened to the Live-In Caregiver Program Recently?

There have been significant changes that have taken place within the Live-In Caregiver Program as of November 30, 2014. Some of the changes are as follows:

What is Express Entry?

As of January 2015, Canada has come up with a new electronic management application system and it is known as Express Entry. The program itself is new, and is supposed to facilitate selecting and processing of the economic immigration programs in Canada. The programs are:

• Federal Skilled Worker Program
• Federal Skilled Trades Program
• Canadian Experience Class
• And a portion of the Provincial Nomination Programs

How does the Express Entry process begin?

Express Entry starts when you make an expression of interest to immigrate to Canada. If you are eligible for the minimum of one of the programs then you will enter the Express Entry Pool.

Can you apply for Refugee Protection from outside of Canada?

Yes, you can apply from outside of Canada if you are outside of your country. This however, can be a difficult process in most cases. In order to start this process you must first apply to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

By taking this step you will be asked to prove that there is no way that you can be settled in the country that are currently residing in. You will usually also have to show that you are going to be economically successful in Canada if you come.

A live in caregiver program is for an individual who is qualified to care of children, elderly persons or persons with disability in private home without supervision. If you want to apply for live-in caregiver program under the economic class, you have to qualify for this program. There are certain requirements for live-in caregiver program and those are:

Requirements for caring for children

• You need to have two year full-time work experience in Canada as a child care within last four years
• You also have to meet a minimum language requirement against the Canadian benchmark 5.
• You also need to have a Canadian postsecondary education credential of at least one year. If you have completed your education outside Canada then you need credential equivalency against Canadian standard by Education Credential Assessment (ECA).

Requirements for caring for high medical need

• You need to have two year full-time work experience in Canada as a home care to someone or provide health facility as a registered nurse, a registered psychiatric nurse, a licensed practical nurse , a nurse aide, or a home support worker
• Show that you are licensed to practice in Canada if required
• You also have to meet a minimum language requirement against the Canadian benchmark 7
• You also need to have a Canadian postsecondary education credential of at least one year. If you have completed your education outside Canada then you need credential equivalency against Canadian standard by Education Credential Assessment (ECA).

There are some other requirements in order to qualify for live in caregiver program. You have to meet certain other requirements except your education specifically for caring for children and caring for high medical need in order to eligible for live in caregiver program in Canada. The requirements are following:

It is not mandatory as an applicant to Canada within the Express Entry system for you to have a job offer in order to apply.

Canadian employers now play a larger role now with the immigration under the Express Entry than they have ever before. Meaning, that having a valid job offer from a Canadian employer may increase your chances of being invited to apply for Permanent Residence.

The Canadian Experience Class Program is another way of applying for Permanent Residence under the Express Entry system, which was introduced in January of 2015. It means after a certain amount of Canadian work experience you can apply to obtain a Permanent Residence Visa. Express Entry is an electronic management application system for immigration into Canada. It helps in the selection and processing of applications for permanent residence, under particular economic immigration programs. The major goal for Express Entry is to connect immigration to the labour market. Express Entry received the name because once you are given an “Invitation to Apply”, then you have 60 days to complete the application for Permanent Residence, it could only take up to 6 months to process. The Express Entry does not change the immigration requirements; it just assists in making it faster and more organized.

You can only qualify for the Canadian Experience Class Program through a post-secondary education, if you have only acquired a Master’s degree, after completing a previous program one year in length. Both must be completed from an approved Canadian post-secondary institution, and within 2 years. If you did a co-op year it does not qualify for the one year of employment, you must graduate from the program before work hours can be accounted for. The work experience does not have to relate back to what was studied. Part time work while you were a student also does not qualify.

As of January 1, 2015 there is no longer a list of qualifying occupations. There used to be a list of fifty qualifying occupations of which you must work full time continuously full time for one year, but with the new start of Express Entry that is no longer the case.

The Federal Skilled Worker program does still exist but now you must apply under the Express Entry. You will require to have worked continuously for a total of 1,560 hours (30 hours per week) full time or part time to the same total of 1,560 hours (either 2 jobs at 30 hours a week, or 15 hours a week over 2 years (24 months)) The job would have to be in the same skill level, and be at the skill level of 0, A, or B according to the National Occupational Classification.

For starters, what is Express Entry?

In 2015 the Canadian government has started a new and improved immigration program. This program will allow “Express Entry” to immigrants that meet the requirements to fill open jobs that there are no available Canadians for.

Are you required to hire an immigration representative for Express Entry?

You are NOT required to hire an immigration representative for this application process. However, hiring a representative for the Express Entry will allow you to ensure that all of the requirements are met and that the application is filled out properly and efficiently. Our immigration representatives are here to help you in any way that we can, while working towards making the process less overwhelming.

You as a lower-skilled worker can be hired by employer for up to a maximum of 24 months where there is a demonstrable shortage of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

An employer needs to get Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) once that is approved that can then give the LMIA to you as the foreign worker and then you are to take it to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to apply for a work permit.

There is a new system for people who apply to this program, and it’s called Express Entry.

The federal skill trade program is for people who would like to become permanent resident, based on being qualified in a skill trade.

Work Permits are essentially temporary visas, with the added permission to work in Canada. To be able to work in Canada you:

• First and foremost need a job offer from a Canadian employer.
• Secondly, you would need your employer to get a positive LMIA

Since you are in a foreign country and your employer is in Canada, a lot of times you may be unaware of the specific requirements that an employer needs to fulfill. Providing you with a job offer is simply not enough, as they would also have to receive an approval from Employment and Social Development Canada and would have to complete a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). The LMIA itself requires the employer to show significant attempts to hire a Canadian resident.