By Attorney Henry Moyal
NEW LAWS, NEW WORK PERMITS AND PR CARD RENEWAL
This week we are highlighting four specific areas of immigration that have recently been amended:
1. NEW IMMIGRATION CHANGES
As we discussed in earlier articles, the Federal Minister is proposing new changes to the immigration system in the hope of expediting applications and reducing the backlog. The proposed reforms would empower the government to limit the number of applications accepted for processing and to prioritize skilled labour categories decided by the immigration minister. While not official yet, from the information leaked by the media, instructions will apply to:
• applications for permanent residence made outside Canada, except refugees.
• Family Class sponsorship applications.
• applications for permanent residence made inside Canada, except refugees
• applications for temporary residence status made inside Canada
• applications for H&C made outside Canada (but not made inside Canada).
The Minister would be able to:
• establish categories of applications to be processed
• determine the order in which the applications should be processed
• fix a limit on the number to be processed
• provide rules for repeat applications
2. MINIMUM INCOME FOR AN EMPLOYER TO HIRE A LIVE IN CAREGIVER
It appears that several nanny agencies are promoting work in Canada for live in caregivers and promising to find Canadian employers to hire them. That may be fine, but it also appears that the employers are not aware of the amount of income they need to earn to hire the caregiver. The embassy will surely request proof of declare income and it would surely save everyone the expense and heartache to know the amount required ahead of time. The formula is as follows:
Low Income Cut Off level (depending on family size) + wages of caregiver (approximately $20,000).
3. REPLACEMENT OF THE “MAPLE LEAF” / “ PERMANENT RESIDENT CARD
Permanent Resident cards were first introduced in 2002 and are valid for five years. In the past, in order to renew a PR card, the applicant had to surrender the old one and wait months to obtain the replaced/extended one. This often caused problems for many who wanted to travel abroad in the interim.
Effective April 21, 2008, permanent residents applying to renew their PR card:
may hold on to their still valid PR card and return it to a Citizenship and Immigration Canada officer when they pick up their new card;
should return it with the application for a new card, if the card has already expired.
In all cases, a replacement card will not be issued until the previous card is returned or otherwise accounted for.
4. THREE YEAR POST GRADUATE WORK PERMITS
Effective immediately, international students who graduate from eligible programs at Canadian post-secondary institutions would be able to obtain an open work permit under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, with no restrictions on the type of employment and no requirement for a job offer. The duration of the work permit has been extended to three years across the country. In the past, the program only allowed international students to work for one or two years, depending on location.
Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed immigration lawyer in Toronto, Ontario. The above article is general advice only and is not intended to act as a legal document. Send questions to Attorney Moyal by fax, phone or email canada@moyal.com
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