Dear all,
Here I am posting the FAQs posted on CIC website for FSW applications post 26th June 2010.
They may clear many doubts/queries in our mind, for which we keep on asking posts to our friends.
Hope this will be of help.
Federal Skilled Worker Program Changes
1.Who are federal skilled workers and why do we need them?
Federal skilled worker immigrants are selected based on their ability to become economically established in Canada. Canada needs federal skilled workers because they have the right mix of skills, education, and experience to meet the current and long term demands of the economy. They also have the transferable skills to adapt to a changing labour market.
2.Why are temporary foreign workers and international students no longer eligible to apply for permanent residence under the federal skilled worker program?
Temporary foreign workers and international students are still eligible to apply under the federal skilled worker category if they have an offer of arranged employment or experience in one of the 29 in-demand occupations.
However, we've removed the eligibility criterion that applied to temporary foreign workers and students specifically to avoid overlap with the now-established Canadian Experience Class and the Provincial Nominee Program, both of which target the same pool of applicants.
3.Why are you introducing a cap?
We are now receiving more federal skilled worker applications than we can process and accept each year. We have more than enough applications on hand now to fill many of our needs. A cap is the only guaranteed way to limit the number of applications we receive. Without the cap on applications, processing times will get longer and a new backlog could be created.
We will continue to admit the same number of federal skilled workers as in previous years, and in fact we believe that there will be higher economic admissions this year in support of the recovery and further reductions in the backlog.
4.Is the annual cap by calendar year, fiscal year or from the date the instructions are published?
The first year will begin on June 26, 2010 and end on June 30, 2011. Subsequent years will be calculated from July 1st to June 30th.
5.What is meant by a cap? Does that limit refer to the total number of applications received or the total number of applications processed, or the total number of applications that are successful?
The cap is a limit on the number of complete applications considered for processing. In this case, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will only consider a maximum of 20,000 complete applications under the occupation list. There is no limit to the number of applicants with a job offer. Within the 20,000 cap, a maximum of 1,000 federal skilled worker applications per occupation will be considered for processing each year.
6.Why are you imposing a limit per occupation?
We're introducing a limit of 1,000 applications per occupation to better manage the supply of applications on the occupation list. We have seen higher than expected numbers of applicants claiming experience in eligible occupations. The limit will allow us prevent an over-representation of any one occupation on the list.
7.What will happen with applications received after the cap is reached? How will applicants know their application isn't being processed?
These applicants will be informed, in writing, that their application will not continue for processing and that their processing fees will be returned.
8.How will applications subject to new instructions be processed as compared to applications subject to the first set of instructions and the backlog?
All applications subject to ministerial instructions (everything received since February 27, 2008) will be considered for processing in the order they are received.
All federal skilled worker applications received before February 27, 2008 fall into the backlog, and will be processed concurrently with the applications received since that date (and that are subject to instructions).
9.Why are you eliminating the simplified application?
Since we changed to the simplified application we've noticed a significantly higher number of applicants withdraw when asked for their supporting documents, or full application. By eliminating the simplified application and asking for all the documentation at once, we will make processing more efficient. Eliminating the simplified application shaves 120 days off the total processing time, because this is the time we allowed applicants to send in their supporting documents.
What website should I visit then in order to input the information?
