Next Steps for Canadian Express Entry? In our last blog on February 13, 2021, Express Entry draw (click here), we reported on the unprecedentedly large number of Canadian Experience Class candidates that were invited to apply for permanent residence. Canada’s Express Entry system is a two-step process whereby economically desirable foreign nationals must qualify for an Express Entry category and then rank competitively among others in those categories in order to be selected from biweekly draws and receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence. There are three categories – Canadian Experience Class, Foreign Skilled Worker, and Foreign Skilled Trades. The first step in the Express Entry process involves meeting minimum requirements for one of the categories and creating an Express Entry profile. The second step is that, in that pool of minimum qualifying candidates across all three categories, candidates are ranked among one another in a system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS). Every couple of weeks, the government draws the most competitive (i.e. highest scoring) candidates and sends them invitations to apply for permanent residence. The application process thereafter can take 6 months to a year or more depending on circumstances. The Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades categories have all but stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic, due largely to the travel restrictions that have been in place consistently since March 2020 and the fact that candidates in those categories tend not to be residing in Canada but rather are in their home countries. The Canadian Experience Class on the other hand requires at a minimum that the candidate has at least one year of full-time Canadian skilled work experience. Often, candidates in this category are already in Canada (though not always). The CEC category has continued to invite candidates in biweekly draws throughout the last year, often resulting in lower than usual competitive CRS scores, given the dwindling pool of available candidates currently in Canada/with Canadian work experience. Prior to the February 13, 2021 draw, CEC candidates with less than 400 CRS points may have felt no need to submit a profile given that for years until now, the competitive CRS score for the CEC category had not dropped anywhere below that. On February 13, 2021, those with 75 points or more were invited, resulting in an unprecedented number of invitations in the CEC category. However, even with that astounding figure, some prospective candidates that would have scored 75 or more but did not have active profiles because of their perceived lack of competitiveness may be now disappointed. While there is no predicting the next move of the Canadian government, lawyers across Canada are now recommending that anyone who meets the minimum requirements of any of the three Express Entry categories create a profile. There is a good chance that CEC draws will continue to include CRS scores that are considered low compared to historical draws. There is some thought among the immigration legal community that this might spill over to the Federal Skilled Worker and Federal Skilled Trades category as well, though there are no guarantees. If you are considering creating an Express Entry profile and are not sure of your eligibility, please feel free to contact us today to discuss your case. For more information contact our immigration law department. “This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, ImmigrationFebruary 24, 2021March 1, 2024
Historic Express Entry Draw In Canada’s latest Express Entry draw today for permanent resident candidates, a historic low cut-off of 75 Comprehensive Ranking Score points led to invitations sent out to an astounding 27,332 candidates. This is a clear step toward the government’s promise to ramp up economic immigration to make up for losses in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While there is a lot still to makeup, this is a positive sign in the right direction. It is initiatives such as this that seek to aid in Canada’s economic recovery. This unprecedented cut-off score applied to foreign nationals with demonstrated skilled work experience in Canada of at least one full-time year. Those who previously felt they lacked points in one area or another may be pleasantly surprised to receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence today! For more information contact immigration lawyer Maya Krishnaratne at maya.krishnaratne@devrylaw.ca “This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, ImmigrationFebruary 13, 2021February 13, 2021
Canadian Post-Graduate Work Permit Extension International students in Canada often rely on the coveted post-graduate work permit (PGWP) to secure jobs after graduation, which experience often goes on to earn them essential points in Canada’s Express Entry route to permanent residence. As covered in one of our previous blogs, this valuable Canadian work experience can often make or break an international student’s chances of success in achieving permanent residency. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, holders of PGWPs have found themselves either unable to find jobs or have been let go from jobs in Canada, and many have watched their time-limited permits run out while missing the opportunity to make use of them. Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship just announced a temporary policy that will allow students in this position to apply for a new permit valid for another 18 months. While the job market continues to be unpredictable, this is a positive step in the right direction and provides international students already in Canada who have struggled to gather Canadian experience an extended opportunity to do so. International students who contribute more than $21 billion annually to the Canadian economy often rely on their education as a stepping stone to permanent residence to the Canadian economy. For more information contact immigration lawyer Maya Krishnaratne at maya.krishnaratne@devrylaw.ca “This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, COVID-19, ImmigrationJanuary 8, 2021January 8, 2021
New Extensions To Canada’s Working Holiday Permits DSF’s immigration law group is hopeful about a 2021 that will see increased immigration to Canada by skilled young workers to complement our labour force and fill necessary labour shortages. Canadian immigration strategies regarding the Express Entry process for permanent residence announced this fall aim to do just that. See our interview with Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship for more details about that. And even further measures were recently announced with respect to temporary work permits. On December 11, 2020, Canada’s immigration minister and Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs signed a new bilateral youth mobility agreement between Canada and Italy. This will see an expansion to existing work-and-travel opportunities between Canadians and Italians between the ages of 18 and 35. Click here – http://bit.ly/3mI78PN The International Experience Canada program allows citizens aged 18-35 of a number of countries to work in Canada under agreements that allow reciprocal opportunities for Canadians. Available work permit categories and lengths of time allowed per category in Canada depend on where the person is from. A full list can be seen here – http://bit.ly/38zrZzM Since 2006, Canada has had such agreements with Italy. The current agreement with Italy has allowed Italians to come to Canada for up to 6 months on Working Holiday work permits and to extend their stay for up to 6 months further as a visitor. The Working Holiday permit is an open work permit that allows the temporary foreign worker to work in Canada for any employer. Under the new bilateral agreement, expected to be ratified in 2021, the options available to Italians have increased to allow up to 12 month long initial permits with the possibility of extending for a further 12. This can provide crucial Canadian work experience to Italians considering applying for permanent residence down the road as such experience can provide points in Canada’s Express Entry process for permanent residence. The agreement also allows Italians to participate in the Young Professionals category, a closed work permit category that provides for employer specific work permits in professional jobs. This participation can prove further useful for those seeking eventual permanent residence as employer specific job offers may provide even further points in Canada’s Express Entry process for permanent residence. While the COVID-19 pandemic has created some roadblocks this year for IEC participants to come to Canada to commence work, the new bilateral agreement hints at a more hopeful and expansive 2021 for Italians seeking work and travel options to Canada. For more information contact immigration lawyer Maya Krishnaratne at maya.krishnaratne@devrylaw.ca “This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, COVID-19, ImmigrationDecember 23, 2020December 23, 2020
Rejected work, study or visitor visa – what next? If you have carefully filled in the forms, gathered the numerous supporting documents and tried to provide as thorough an explanation for your application for temporary residence to Canada, it can be deflating to receive a denial letter. While often an application may be rejected simply because the case was not strong enough, there may be things an applicant overlooked in the application process and could therefore “fix” in a subsequent application.While Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) suggests here that you should not apply again if you were refused the first time, this does not preclude submitting an application that presents new or revised information that may make the case stronger. The IRCC also advises that hiring an immigration representative such as an immigration lawyer won’t increase your chances of success.While the mere submission of an application by a representative will not in itself increase your chances, an experienced immigration lawyer can review your initial application, reasons for refusal and assess whether there may be further information that can and should be included in a subsequent application. A lawyer can also assess the merits of a judicial review application, where you can argue that the officer reviewing your application was unreasonable in rendering a decision and ask a judge to send it back for review by a new officer.If you feel that your application was unreasonably denied despite a robust application, it is worthwhile to consider if and how to improve upon it and resubmit.For more information on immigration law, please contact Maya Krishnaratne, Immigration Lawyer at Devry Smith Frank LLP, 416-446-5841, Maya.krishnaratne@devrylaw.ca“This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, ImmigrationOctober 28, 2020November 24, 2020
Immediate Family Members of Canadians – Entering Canada Since the onset of the pandemic, the rules about who can enter Canada have been confusing and hard to keep up with at times. A particularly hard hit group has been “immediate family members” of Canadians. The temporary travel ban enacted under the Quarantine Act has consistently defined “immediate family members” as the spouse or common-law spouse of a Canadian; a dependent child of a Canadian; the parent or step-parent of a Canadian or their spouse or common-law partner; or the guardian or tutor of a Canadian. However, it has not always been clear who can enter and when, nor have the changes thus far to the rules been sufficient for all family members or loved ones of Canadians. Initially, the COVID-19 travel ban did not apply to “immediate family members” of Canadians so long as the purpose for their entry was not discretionary or optional. In the first few months of the pandemic, this meant airline personnel and border services officers were assessing whether a person’s stated purpose was discretionary. One person coming to visit their Canadian spouse for a few weeks may have been turned away while another in the exact same circumstances may have been let through depending on which officer they got. In June 2020, the travel restrictions were revised so that immediate family members of Canadians could enter regardless of their purpose so long as they could show they were coming for a period of at least 15 days to be with their Canadian family members. Inherently, this seemed to accept that anyone coming in for a period for at least fifteen days was not coming in for an “optional” or “discretionary purpose” and took some of the pressure off of travellers who no longer needed to convince an officer their travel was essential. Those seeking to come for less than 15 days have continued to be exempt from the travel ban but remain subject to the “non-discretionary”/”non-optional” rule. The June changes regarding immediate family members have remained in place up to now. Last week, the federal government announced that further expansion to the exception would be released on October 8, 2020. The proposed changes will allow grandparents, siblings, and adult children of Canadians (not currently exempt) to enter in certain circumstances. Other foreign nationals seeking entry for compassionate reasons such as critical illness or death are also expected to be included in the changes. Stay tuned for further updates. For more information on immigration law, please contact Maya Krishnaratne, Immigration Lawyer at Devry Smith Frank LLP, 416-446-5841, Maya.krishnaratne@devrylaw.ca This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, COVID-19, ImmigrationOctober 6, 2020November 30, 2020
This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.”
Reduced Travel Restrictions for Relatives of Canadians and PRs Recently, the government announced that “immediate family members” of Canadians and Canadian permanent residents will be exempt from the prohibition on entry to Canada if they are coming to be with their Canadian or PR family member for at least 15 days. This will hopefully serve to reduce the uncertainty many have faced since measures under the Quarantine Act came into force at the end of March, prohibiting entry to Canada for optional and discretionary purposes. Family members seeking to reunite with Canadian spouses, children and parents have up to now been often subject to an assessment by airlines and Canada Border Services Agency personnel about whether they were entering for an “essential purpose.” While ordinary rules regarding entry to Canada will still apply, this latest announcement should mean that those who can demonstrate they are coming to reunite for a period of at least 15 days may do so without having to demonstrate an “essential purpose.” “This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, COVID-19, ImmigrationJune 9, 2020September 29, 2020
Express Entry Roadmap On May 8, 2020, Devry Smith Frank LLP hosted an Express Entry Roadmap webinar to share insights and information on popular routes to Canadian permanent residence. The webinar was presented by Maya Krishnaratne, a partner in our Immigration Law Group. Highlights of the seminar and slides are available here. Please note that the information contained throughout is current as of the date of publishing this blog. If you would like specific direction relating to your own case, we encourage you to contact us for an assessment and most up to date information. Maya can be reached at 416.446.5841 or maya.krishnaratne@devrylaw.ca. “Our articles are intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, ImmigrationMay 13, 2020September 30, 2020
Canadian Spouse? Travel to Canada During COVID-19 Canadian Spouse? Travel to Canada During COVID-19 By now, you are probably aware that Canada like most other countries has implemented stringent travel restrictions on travellers to Canada in the midst of COVID-19. The restrictions affect everyone including citizens, visitors, workers, and their family members. The travel restrictions have come down in the form of Orders in Council (OICs), i.e. legal instruments created by the Governor General. While these provide basic rules surrounding restrictions and exemptions, they leave room for a lot of confusion as to how they apply in practice. This has been particularly so for spouses not currently living together in Canada where one spouse is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and the other a foreign national. This has led to foreign nationals with Canadian spouses in Canada being frequently denied permission to travel to Canada. According to the OICs, the basic restriction against foreign nationals travelling to Canada doesn’t apply to spouses of Canadian citizens or permanent residents so long as the foreign national has no COVID-19 symptoms and can prove they’re not coming here for a discretionary or optional purpose. Unfortunately, the OICs don’t define optional or discretionary. This has led to many instances of spouses being denied permission to travel to Canada since the prevailing OICs came into effect at the end of March 2020. Airline personnel and officers of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) have been tasked with assessing the travellers’ purpose in a short turnaround time based on whatever information the traveler provides. This has been and continues to be a distressing problem that keeps spouses apart longer than they perhaps intended. The Canadian government has been trying to provide further clarity by regularly updating its websites and practice directions, though these have at times led to further confusion. In perhaps what is one of the most useful updates so far, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) provided a substantial but non-exhaustive list of examples on April 29, 2020 of optional versus non-optional. That list clearly indicates the following are non-optional; coming to live permanently with a Canadian spouse, coming to spend the pandemic period with their spouse and to ensure each other’s wellbeing during this time, and to take care of ill family members who have no means to otherwise to do so. No doubt, spouses who fell into these categories were previously denied permission to travel up to now. Hopefully, this new direction from the IRCC will provide clearer parameters to airline personnel and CBSA officers making these tough assessments and will result in the reunion of spouses suffering the current hardship of being apart. If you, your spouse or any other family members have been denied permission to travel to or enter Canada, please contact our immigration lawyer Maya Krishnaratne at maya.krishnaratne@devrylaw.ca or 416-446-5841. “This article is intended to inform. Its content does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon by readers as such. If you require legal assistance, please see a lawyer. Each case is unique and a lawyer with good training and sound judgment can provide you with advice tailored to your specific situation and needs.” By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, COVID-19, ImmigrationMay 1, 2020September 30, 2020
Temporary Foreign Workers can enter Canada amidst COVID-19 Travel Restrictions This blog is co-written by our former articling student, Janet Son. The Federal Government announced changes to the travel restrictions as they apply to Temporary Foreign Workers (“TFW”) with some major caveats. TFW’s who are coming to Canada for an “essential purpose” are exempt from travel restrictions if they do not present symptoms. Essential services include: Necessary medical deliveries of cells, blood, tissues, organs and other similar life-saving human body parts Trade and transportation sectors that deliver goods and people such as truck drivers, crew on planes, trains and vessels Workers in the healthcare or critical infrastructure sector that regularly cross the border to work Those that have to cross the border to provide or receive essential services including emergency responders However, all other TFW’s on a work visa not considered “essential” will be subject to certain restrictions. If flying by air, TFW’s will be required to pass a health check by the airlines before they are allowed to board the plane. Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 will not be allowed to board the flight. According to Section 58 of the Quarantine Act, Emergency Order PC number 2020-0175, TFW’s that do not fall under the exemptions are required to self-isolate for 14 days upon their arrival to Canada whether or not they have symptoms. If they have symptoms upon arrival, depending on the severity of their condition, they may be placed in quarantine at the port of entry or sent to the hospital. Once recovered they will be assessed by the hospital and deemed safe to continue to their final destination within Canada. TWF’s can face hefty penalties for failing to report symptoms or to self-isolate for the mandatory 14 days, including fines of up to $750,000. Employers cannot allow their TFW’s to begin work until the 14-day self-isolation period is complete, even if it is at the request of the worker. This 14-day period must also be paid time. The Federal Government announced $50 million dollars to assist farmers and fish processers to offset the cost of 14 days of pay during the mandatory self-isolation period. These industries heavily rely on TFW’s for seasonal work. Employers are eligible for $1500 per TFW to help cover the cost. Furthermore, if a TFW becomes ill while in Canada, they should receive health coverage equivalent to residents of Canada. And for workers in the low-wage and primary agriculture streams including the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program, their employer is responsible for ensuring health coverage until they are eligible for the provincial plan. The employer must also immediately notify their local public health authority and ensure proper conditions for self-isolation for the TFW. Finally, TFW’s may be eligible for Employment Insurance or the Canada Emergency Response Benefit as long as they meet the eligibility requirements. TFW’s may also be eligible for paid or unpaid sick leave based on their specific employment contract and applicable employment legislation. These policies aim to strike the balance between the urgent need of Canada’s agriculture and fishing industry for TFW’s while attempting to ensure the safety of the TFW’s and the general public. If you have more questions about the Temporary Foreign Worker programs related to COVID-19, contact immigration lawyer Maya Krishnaratne at maya.krishnaratne@devrylaw.ca or 416-446-5841 or employment lawyer Marty Rabinovitch at marty.rabinovitch@devrylaw.ca or 416-446-5826. By Fauzan SiddiquiBlog, COVID-19, ImmigrationApril 28, 2020September 30, 2020