As of January 3, 2012 all new applicants for Canadian Immigration must include the results of either English or French language proficiency test, and either:

• international students who have completed at least two years of study towards a PhD in a Canadian University, are in good academic standing at the time of application, and not recipients of an award requiring them to return to their home country to apply their knowledge, OR
• international student who graduated from a Canadian PhD  program no more than 12 months before the date of their application is received and not recipients of an award requiring them to return to their home country to apply their knowledge and skills, OR
• have a valid offer of arranged employment in Canada, OR
• be a skilled worker who has had one year of continuous full-time or equivalent part-time paid work experience in at least one of the following eligible occupations within the last ten years:

1. Restaurant and Food Service Managers
2. Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture) – 64
3. Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
4. Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners – 217
5. Biologists and Related Scientists
6. Architects – 309
7. Specialist Physicians – 447
8. General Practitioners and Family Physicians – 463
9. Dentists
10. Pharmacists
11. Physiotherapists – 122
12. Registered Nurses
13. Medical Radiation Technologists – 33
14. Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists – 21
15. Licensed Practical Nurses – 293
16. Psychologists – 75
17. Social Workers – 304
18. Chefs – 66
19. Cooks – 159
20. Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades – 82
21. Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades – 194
22. Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System) – 83
23. Industrial Electricians – 97
24. Plumbers – 22
25. Welders & Related Machine Operators – 33
26. Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics – 34
27. Crane Operators – 6
28. Drillers & Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction – 6
29. Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service – 86

Please note that 6,205 application has been received towards the maximum quota of 10,000 as of January 3, 2012. Each above mentioned occupation also has a maximum cap of 500.

• 0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 672
• 0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture)  96
• 1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 1000 (Cap reached)
• 1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 209
• 2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 553
• 2151 Architects 515
• 3111 Specialist Physicians 454
• 3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 510
• 3113 Dentists 611
• 3131 Pharmacists 951
• 3142 Physiotherapists 209
• 3152 Registered Nurses 1000 (Cap reached)
• 3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 36
• 3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 14
• 3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 158
• 4151 Psychologists 118
• 4152 Social Workers 399
• 6241 Chefs 85
• 6242 Cooks 181
• 7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 90
• 7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 226
• 7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 118
• 7242 Industrial Electricians 132
• 7251 Plumbers 40
• 7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 45
• 7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 37
• 7371 Crane Operators 4
• 7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 13
• 8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 66

Ashish (“Ash”) Duvadie
Barrister & Solicitor (Canada Immigration Lawyer)
Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the total application received under Canadian Federal Skilled Worker category toward the overall current cap of 20,000 stands at 2,988 as of October 29, 2010. Between June 26, 2010, and June 30, 2011, a maximum of 20,000 complete Federal Skilled Worker applications will be considered for processing.

Please take a look at the chart below to see occupations that are filling quickly.

Currently, within the 20,000 cap, a maximum of 1,000 federal skilled worker application per eligible occupation until June 30, 2011. It seems that the top three occupations filling quickly are Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management (900 filled), then Registered Nurses (405 filled) and Pharmacists (260 filled).

0631 Restaurant and Food Service Managers 116

0811 Primary Production Managers (except Agriculture)  29

1122 Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management 900

1233 Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners 40

2121 Biologists and Related Scientists 141

2151 Architects 165

3111 Specialist Physicians 126

3112 General Practitioners and Family Physicians 157

3113 Dentists 197 3131 Pharmacists 260

3142 Physiotherapists 55

3152 Registered Nurses 405

3215 Medical Radiation Technologists 8

3222 Dental Hygienists and Dental Therapists 4

3233 Licensed Practical Nurses 18

4151 Psychologists 37

4152 Social Workers 81

6241 Chefs 17

6242 Cooks 44

7215 Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades 19

7216 Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades 53

7241 Electricians (except Industrial and Power System) 32

7242 Industrial Electricians 36

7251 Plumbers 8

7265 Welders and Related Machine Operators 7

7312 Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics 14

7371 Crane Operators 0

7372 Drillers and Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying and Construction 2

8222 Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service 17

As you see that it is important to start your application as soon as possible to get within the quota allocated for the occupation and also within the total limit before the deadline of June 30, 2011. Therefore, it makes sense to get a free evaluation from a qualified Canadian professional such as a Canadian Immigration Lawyer.

Ashish (“Ash”) Duvadie
Barrister & Solicitor (Canada Immigration Lawyer)
Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada

Dear friends,

VoiceAmerica has invited me as a guest speaker to talk of the subject of ”Immigration Rebuilding Our Economy “.  Please find a link below to tune at http://www.voiceamerica.com/voiceamerica/vepisode.aspx?aid=47487 on July 20, 2010 at 12pm ET (9am PT).  I would also appreciate any suggestion that you might have on current Immigration policies of Canada/USA and how it could be improvied in rebuilding our economies.

Ashish (“Ash”) Duvadie
Barrister & Solicitor

The Canadian Government is proposing new eligibility criteria for the immigrant investor program so it makes an even greater contribution to the Canadian economy. Proposed regulatory changes will require new investors to have a personal net worth of $1.6M, up from $800,000, and make an investment of $800,000, up from $400,000. These proposals were pre-published on June 26, 2010 in the Canada Gazette for a 30-day public comment period.

Canada’s current criteria for investors are the lowest in the world, and have not been changed since 1999. As a result the program draws a larger number of applicants than can be admitted every year under the immigration plan, and processing times are increasing.

Until the changes are finalized, the Canadian Government will stop accepting new investor applications to prevent a flood of applications before the new criteria take effect, which would stretch processing times even further. When the new criteria are in place, new applications will be processed alongside the old ones.

Please contact us for further information regarding Canadian Immigration.

Ashish (“Ash”) Duvadie
Barrister & Solicitor (Immigration Lawyer)
Ottawa, Canada

Effective immediately, as of June 26, 2010, Canadian Government has made significant changes to its immigration policy. This changes will affect all potential immigrants on and after June 26, 2010. As such, the Canadian government will limit the number of applications considered for processing to 20,000 per year as a way to better manage the supply of applications with labour market demand. Within the 20,000 limit, a maximum of 1,000 applications per occupation will be considered. The limit does not apply to applicants with a job offer.

The New In Demand Occupation List is as follows:

1. Restaurant and Food Service Managers
2. Primary Production Managers (Except Agriculture)
3. Professional Occupations in Business Services to Management
4. Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
5. Biologists and Related Scientists
6. Architects
7. Specialist Physicians
8. General Practitioners and Family Physicians
9. Dentists
10. Pharmacists
11. Physiotherapists
12. Registered Nurses
13. Medical Radiation Technologists
14. Dental Hygienists & Dental Therapists
15. Licensed Practical Nurses
16. Psychologists
17. Social Workers
18. Chefs
19. Cooks
20. Contractors and Supervisors, Carpentry Trades
21. Contractors and Supervisors, Mechanic Trades
22. Electricians (Except Industrial & Power System)
23. Industrial Electricians
24. Plumbers
25. Welders & Related Machine Operators
26. Heavy-Duty Equipment Mechanics
27. Crane Operators
28. Drillers & Blasters – Surface Mining, Quarrying & Construction
29. Supervisors, Oil and Gas Drilling and Service

Further, all new applicants irrespective of their ability, experience or mother tongue need to take examination to prove their language ability in either English or French.  For further information, you can also take look at the Canadian Government’s website.

Therefore, it is now imperative  to move fast and get immigration petition right from the beginning to be able to fit within in the quotas (1,000 for each occupation) allocated in a given year.  Not getting right from the start could mean application rejection and missing quotas for the year. Not to mention, chance to immigrate to Canada if the Occupation lists changes again.  Please contact us if you would further information or help in immigrating to Canada.

Ashish (“Ash”) Duvadie
Barrister & Solicitor (Immigration Lawyer)
Ottawa, Canada

The Globe and Mail just published news highlighting serious problems facing prospective immigrants to Canada. It has to do with the prevalence of unscrupulous and bogus immigration consultants preying on innocent potential immigrants to Canada. These uncertified consultants are lynching prospecting immigrants to Canada. They are providing false hope, lying and even charging anywhere from $1,500 to $30,000.

Just within Canada, these bogus immigration consultants number more than 2000. Without a doubt, one can imagine, there exists a high possibility of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of these bogus immigration consultants residing outside of Canada preying on innocent potential immigrants to Canada.

Therefore, the best suggestion to any prospective immigrants hoping to make Canada home is that they should be careful about hiring an immigration consultant. Due diligence on part of the prospective immigrant is highly warranted to verify if the consultant is certified by the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants.

On the other hand, an excellent option would be to hire a Canadian Lawyer. The Canadian Lawyers, by virtue of their designation and membership in a provincial law society, can represent prospective immigrants to Canada. Further, hiring a lawyer is a smart investment and good decision. The other alternative is doing it yourself.
Canadian Lawyers are governed by a provincial law society which requires high ethical standards and checks on complaints by clients. A potential immigrant to Canada can find out if the lawyer is in good standing or not by visiting the law society’s web site such as Law Society of Upper Canada.

Ashish (“Ash”) Duvadie
Barrister & Solicitor

A Canadian Member of Parliament (MP), Gerard Kennedy has introduced a private member’s bill to amend Canada’s immigration laws.  If this bill were to pass and become law, it will alter current Immigration  and Refugee Protection Act. This bill is aimed at allowing “war resisters” to stay in Canada. Most of whom are U.S. military personnel currently in Canada who refused to participate in the Iraq War on the grounds that it’s illegal and immoral.  For details see The Toronto Star…

The Government of Canada is giving special considerations to some Afghan nationals if they wish to relocate to Canada.  This special immigration measures is only available to local staff who face exceptional risk or who have suffered serious injury as a result of their work for the Canadian government.

Spouses of Afghan nationals killed because of their work with the Canadian government will also be eligible under this immigration measure to relocate to Canada. The dependent children of those who qualify would also be eligible.

Further, all who fall under this category will also have to meet standard immigration requirements such as criminal, medical and security screening.

The Canadian government plans to implement these measures in October 2009.