Canadian Immigration News

A Libyan family, originally deported from Canada five years ago, will be allowed to return to Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced plans to resettle up to 5,000 Iranian and Iraqi refugees, presently in Turkey, by 2018. Citing "escalating violence in the region," Immigration Minister Jason Kenney outlined his government's intention to "help Turkey deal with this growing pressure." He also commended the government of Turkey "for keeping her borders open to those fleeing the ongoing conflict in the region."

Canada’s visa office in Chandigarh, India has reported a record number of visa issuances for 2012. The office, situated in the country’s Punjab region, processes a variety of applications including those for study and visitor visas.

The Canadian economy generated over 40,000 jobs in December 2012, according to the latest Labour Survey published by Statistics Canada. While a majority of these jobs were created in the province of Ontario (33,000), Manitoba (5,200), Saskatchewan (4,000), Newfoundland and Labrador (2,700), and Prince Edward Island (1,300) also recorded significant job increases.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has proposed changes to the International Student Program. These changes are intended to benefit students while taking steps to prevent and reduce fraud.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced that the new points system for the Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) will take effect on May 4, 2013. At that time, the program will begin accepting applications to its Skilled Worker category.

A new rule change will allow some applicants for Canadian permanent residency to be considered for a ‘bridging open work permit’ if their current work permit is set to expire.

Starting January 2, 2013, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will begin accepting applications for a new Federal Skilled Trade program designed to facilitate the entry of overseas skilled tradespersons into the Canadian workforce. Aimed at addressing “serious labour shortages in some regions of the country”, the program will also aim to revamp an immigration system that “has not been open to these in-demand skill workers,” according to Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.