Processing Instructions
Effective July 1, 2012, no new FSWP applications, except those made under the PhD eligibility stream and those with a qualifying offer of arranged employment, will be accepted for processing. Furthermore, no new federal IIP applications will be accepted on or after July 1, 2012.
Applications from skilled workers selected by the province of Quebec and investors selected under the Quebec Investor Program are not affected by the temporary pause, and will continue to be accepted and processed according to the policies of the province of Quebec and per established priorities.
FSWP and federal IIP applications received on or after July 1, 2012
Only FSWP applications from foreign nationals with a qualifying offer of arranged employment in Canada and from eligible international students who are currently enrolled in, or who have completed a doctoral (PhD) program from a recognized post-secondary institution in Canada no more than twelve months prior to the date their application is received, will be processed by the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
All other FSWP and federal IIP applications received by the CIO on or after July 1, 2012 will be returned to the applicant with a letter advising them of the temporary pause.
Processing fees shall be returned in full to the applicant.
Limit on the number of PhD eligibility stream applications to be processed
With respect to applications under the PhD eligibility stream, complete applications will continue to be put into processing until the annual cap of 1,000 is reached, as established by Ministerial Instructions that came into force on November 5, 2011.
The current cap year for the PhD stream ends on October 31, 2012, and unless otherwise indicated in a future Ministerial Instruction, the cap will be automatically reset on November 1, 2012.
FSWP and federal IIP applications received before July 1, 2012
No new FSWP applications can be accepted for processing, except those made under the PhD eligibility stream and those with a qualifying offer of arranged employment, regardless of the date of receipt at CIO, given that the global application cap of 1,000 applications covering July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 has been met.
Additionally, no new federal IIP applications can be accepted for processing regardless of the date of receipt at CIO, given that the one-year cap of 700 applications covering July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012 has been met.
FSWP applications coding in processing system
FSWP applications with a qualifying offer of arranged employment received on or after July 1, 2012 at the CIO, are to be coded as sub-category “MI3” in conjunction with special program code “MI5” as an interim workaround measure pending the release of MI5 GCMS coding updates, anticipated in late July or early August 2012.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2012/ob438.asp
