Beginning 20 April 2012, most Permanent Residents who require Permanent Resident (PR) cards will no longer have to pick up these cards at a Citizenship and Immigration Canada office. Instead, through a new pilot project, they will be able to receive their cards by mail.

As of yesterday, 8 May 2012, the maximum number of 10,000 Federal Skilled Worker applications has been reached. This cap on applications has been put in place for individuals applying under one of the 29 eligible occupations being targeted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced today that Canadian Experience Class applicants who are currently residing in Canada as Temporary Foreign Workers will soon see their permanent residency applications expedited.

The Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Jason Kenney, announced today plans to streamline the application process for skilled tradespersons seeking entry to Canada.

On 28 March 2012, Jason Kenney, the Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism, announced major changes to the ways in which foreign skilled workers will have their education credentials assessed before arriving to Canada.

The Government of Canada announced on 29 March 2012 a plan to reduce the backlog of Federal Skilled Worker (FSW) applications by returning all applications and government fees submitted prior to 27 February 2008. This will amount to a total of almost 300,000 returned applications, as well as approximately $130 million in refunded government processing fees.

Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney suggested Wednesday the possibility of legislating away Canada’s backlog of immigration applications.

"We’re looking at all options for dealing with these backlogs… It’s not fair to [applicants] and it’s not fair to our economy," said Kenney.

In an effort to cut down on spousal sponsorship fraud, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has put into action a new requirement where any new immigrant to Canada sponsored by a spouse or partner must have permanent residency (PR) status for 5 years before they themselves can sponsor a new spouse or partner from abroad.

Two sources in the past week reported a potential influx of Greek immigrants which could be on their way to Canada.

News1130 in Vancouver, and Metro News in Calgary, reported that these respective city’s Hellenic organizations have both fielded a huge increase of calls from people in Greece with interest in immigrating to Canada.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is signalling more changes to Canada’s immigration policy are in store.

According to new report by the Fraser Institute, Alberta is the most economically free jurisdiction in North America, topping all other provinces and states, based on data from 2009.

Immigration from Latin American countries to Canada has risen by 121% between 1996 and 2006.

The Government of Canada has placed a two year moratorium on the Family Class program for parents and grandparents. As of November 5, 2011, no new sponsorship applications will be accepted for that specific category of the Family Class program.

Next year, up to 10,000 additional immigrants will be allowed into Canada under the Federal Skilled Workers program.

This week, Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney will be unveiling the 2012 Immigration Action Plan. According to an early statement made by Kenney, immigration levels will stay around 250,000 newcomers a year.

A recently released study regarding immigration found that Canadians are still supportive of immigration. The study, which was released by Montreal’s Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) found that Canada continues to be a welcoming place for newcomers, with the many Canadians showing support for high levels of immigration.

Canadian immigration processing times are increasing as a backlog of applications is building up at visa offices. Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney suggested that a simple solution may exist – decrease the number of applications Canada accepts from people wanting to join their families in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada has updated their website with the number of applications received so far under the Federal Skilled Worker Program.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has just announced changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Immigrant Investor Program and the Federal Entrepreneur Program.

In less than one month, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will be announcing the new list of qualifying occupations for the Federal Skilled Worker program. Currently, applicants must have at least one year of skilled work experience in one of the 29 open occupations or have valid job offer from a Canadian employer.

A former Canadian Immigration Director has stated that Canada needs to increase its annual immigration intake by 100,000 a year to match needed population targets. Robert Vineberg, former Director of Federal-Provincial Relations at Immigration Canada, is calling for policy changes in order to boost immigration numbers in most provinces.

A recent study conducted by Tony Fang, a Canadian professor at the University of York in Vancouver, found that Canada needs to increase the number of immigrants coming to Canada in order to encourage investment in housing and to help boost the nation’s economy.

As Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Government of Canada have noticed an increase in the number of fraudulent marriages, they are proposing changes for the Family Class immigration category, specifically for spousal sponsorships.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has been consulting with relevant stakeholders on the proposed changes to the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Due to the high volume of responses, CIC has decided to extend the consultation period until March 31.

A recent study by the University of New Brunswick and Carleton University has discovered that immigrants who have completed an apprenticeship have a higher salary than immigrants with a high school degree alone.