Canadian Immigration News

Canada's International Youth Program encourages young Canadians to travel and work abroad; to acquire the skills, training, and cultural experiences that are so valuable in Canada and in the global marketplace. Canada has coordinated reciprocal work permit arrangements with close to 40 countries in which qualifying Canadians and international youth can visit each others' countries to experience a new culture and different work environment.

Through recent changes to the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, Canada has made it easier for graduating international students to obtain work permits and acquire Canadian work experience. Not only will the changes help Canada’s international student retention rate and ease current skills shortages, but they will also help these students on their way to becoming successful Permanent Residents - new immigrants who have already integrated into Canadian society thanks to the education and work experience they have obtained in Canada.

With a pressing need for skilled workers, Canada's Western provinces continue to implement new initiatives to help foreign workers get to Canada and start contributing to the labour force quickly. Human Resources and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is rolling out the welcome mat to temporary foreign workers, making the transition into the workforce easier, faster and with more protection.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada recently tabled a new bill to modernize the country's citizenship laws. New legislation will retroactively restore citizenship to the tens of thousands who lost, or never had Canadian citizenship because of several obscure clauses in existing legislation.

Recent modifications to the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) make it easier for immigrants to establish new businesses in the province.

The Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program is the Canadian government's primary means of helping employers address immediate skill and labour shortages. As labour tensions continue to mount across industries, Canadian employers have been making use of this program to fill a growing number of vacant positions.

To overcome the challenges of having internationally-obtained qualifications recognized in Canada, a new government office has been established to provide support services to newcomers as they navigate the credential recognition process.

According to a recent study by consulting firm Deloitte and Touche LLP, many North American CEO’s are having trouble finding IT workers and are looking to foreign skilled workers to staff their organizations.

Under the expanded Alberta Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), the province will now be making Canadian Permanent Residency nominations for individuals in manufacturing, transportation, food and beverage, and hospitality occupations. Alberta employers have been suffering from chronic labour shortages in these industries; the new PNP is designed to alleviate them.

In mid-February of this year, it was announced that the Canadian Immigration Visa Office in Dhaka would offer a full range of immigration services by July 2007 (see original news release). It was recently confirmed that this start date, released by the Immigration Law Consultancy Bureau (ILCB), is incorrect. The High Commission of Canada has confirmed that the full-service office in Dhaka will not be operational until 2008.