Canadian Immigration News

The Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) will begin accepting applications under three of its most popular immigration streams next week. These streams are the Express Entry Human Capital Priorities Stream, the International PhD Graduate Stream, and the International Masters Graduate Stream.

Canada's second-largest city, Montreal, will vote on Monday on whether the city should be designated a "sanctuary city." If the city council approves the idea, as is expected, Montreal will join other Canadian cities such as Toronto, Vancouver, and Hamilton, which have official policies not to discriminate against undocumented immigrants and refugees by denying them services. Moreover, sanctuary cities also pledge not to use immigration status, or lack thereof, as a pretext to arrest or deport individuals if they come into contact with law enforcement on non-criminal offences such as parking tickets.

The popular International Skilled Worker – Express Entry sub-category of the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) has reopened for 500 new applications, as February 14, 2017.

Through this sub-category, eligible candidates in the federal Express Entry pool may apply for a provincial nomination certificate from Saskatchewan. A provincial nomination certificate through this sub-category gives the candidate 600 additional points under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), and that candidate will then be in line for selection at a subsequent draw from the pool.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has updated the process for international students who are applying for a Social Insurance Number (SIN) to work on-campus. As of February 10, 2017, international students no longer need an employment contract to apply for a SIN.

The latest Express Entry draw for immigration to Canada has broken new ground, with the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) point threshold dipping below the 450 mark for the first time ever. In total, 3,664 candidates in the pool with 447 or more Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points were issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence on February 8, 2017.

The Nova Scotia Office of Immigration is boasting record immigration numbers to the province, with many skilled workers, entrepreneurs, refugees, and family member of Canadian citizens and permanent residents having made a new home in the province. Overall, preliminary figures for last year to the end of October reveal that 4,835 newcomers arrived in Nova Scotia, the highest intake in decades.

The first immigration draw of the year under the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP) has taken place, with 457 candidates having been issued an Invitation to Apply (ITA) to the BC PNP on February 3. These candidates had previously created a profile in BC's unique Skills Immigration Registration System (SIRS), a mechanism that allows the province to rank and select potential newcomers across a range of sub-categories.

The government of Canada's upcoming federal budget will include long-awaited reforms to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), according to Employment Minister Patty Hajdu. Reforming the program has been a priority since the Liberal government took office 15 months ago.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the government department which oversees immigration and refugee affairs in Canada, has introduced a temporary public policy concerning certain foreign nationals who are affected by an Executive Order signed by U.S. President Trump on January 27, 2017. Under the temporary public policy, the government of Canada may allow foreign nationals affected the by the U.S. Executive Order to apply for temporary status in Canada, or to extend their stay.

A widespread rumour that Canada is due to begin a new immigration lottery, similar to the DV visa lottery in the United States, is untrue. The story stems from an article published online that citizens from 16 countries could apply as of March 1, 2017.