Canadian Immigration News

John McCallum, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, has stated his goal of significantly increasing immigration to Canada beyond its current record level as a way to fill the country's labour needs and rise to the demographic challenges faced by an aging population.

The latest draw from the Express Entry pool has seen a total of 754 candidates being issued Invitations to Apply (ITAs) for Canadian permanent residence. The draw took place the morning of August 10, 2016, and is the fortieth draw since the Canadian immigration selection system was launched in January, 2015. Each candidate who received an ITA had 490 or more Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points.

Canada’s Minister of Immigration, John McCallum, is currently in Beijing to meet with representatives from the Chinese Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Public Security to discuss opening five new Canadian visa offices across China.

As the 2016 World Social Forum gets underway in Montreal today, it is likely that many would-be delegates and invitees will not be in attendance. Many applications for Temporary Residents Visas (TRVs), also known as visitor visas, were rejected by the government of Canada, or were not processed in time for the event.

The Director of Communications at the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC), Daniel Roukema, has received the 2016 Consumer Protection Award from the American Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulations (CLEAR). This award recognizes that the ICCRC actively improves the Canadian immigration procedure for clients who retain the services of an authorized Canadian immigration representative.

The province of British Columbia (BC) has issued 602 Invitations to Apply (ITAs) to candidates for immigration to Canada through the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (BC PNP). The ITAs were issued across three categories: Express Entry BC - Skilled Worker, Express Entry BC - International Graduate, and Skills Immigration – Entry Level and Semi-Skilled.

Manitoba has conducted the nineteenth draw under its Expression of Interest (EOI) immigration system, with a total of 609 candidates issued a Letter of Advice to Apply (LAA) on July 29, 2016. This province, located in central Canada, issues LAAs through two sub-categories of the Skilled Workers category of the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP); 155 Letters of Advice to Apply (LAAs) were issued to candidates through the Skilled Workers in Manitoba sub-category, while 454 LAAs were issued through the Skilled Workers Overseas sub-category.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has invited 755 candidates to apply for Canadian permanent residence in the latest draw from the Express Entry pool, which took place on July 27, 2016. The minimum number of Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) points required in order for a candidate to receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) was 488.

As of August 2, 2016, foreign buyers of residential property in the Vancouver area will have to pay an extra 15 percent tax. The new tax, which was unveiled this week by the government of British Columbia (B.C.), is part of provincial plan to slow the foreign speculation that many blame for making the region’s homes the most unaffordable in Canada.

Two Canadian teenagers found unexpected trouble over the weekend while playing Pokémon Go, the augmented-reality mobile-based video game that is taking the world by storm. While immersed in the virtual world, they were apprehended illegally crossing the border into the United States.