Canadian Immigration News

Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander today revealed plans for comprehensive reforms to the Canadian Citizenship Act. These are the first major reforms to take place since 1977. The changes are part of Bill C-24, which has yet to be passed by Canadian Parliament.

This past January, a total of 16,000 immigrants officially became Canadian citizens. This is fully twice as many as in January 2013, where only 8,250 people obtained citizenship.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) announced yesterday that visitors to Canada will now be automatically considered for a multiple-entry visa. This new policy will come into force this Thursday, February 6, 2013. In addition, the fee for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) will be decreased from $150 to $100, regardless of whether the visa issued is a single- or multiple-entry visa.

After only a month, the Parent and Grandparent sponsorship program has reached the maximum number of applications that will be accepted this year. The program, which re-opened on January 2, 2014, had placed a cap of 5,000 on application intake.

According to the Globe and Mail newspaper, the Canadian government is preparing to enact new changes to the country’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).

According to a new plan released this week, the Canadian government hopes to attract 450,000 international students by 2022. This is double the current number of international students currently studying in the country.

The city of Calgary, in the Canadian province of Alberta, has made the New York Times’ list of must-see destinations for 2014.

As of January 10, 2014, the Saskatchewan intake cap for international skilled workers without a job offer has been filled. The cap, set at 250, is the first to fill in the popular Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP).

Between January and December 2013, high numbers of visitor visas and study permits were issued by Canada’s visa offices in New Delhi and Chandigarh, India. A total of 84,672 visitor visas and 13,613 study permits were issued during this time frame.

On Tuesday, January 7, the Government of Canada announced that it would donate $20 million over the next three years to support efforts to eradicate polio in Pakistan.